Why Citizens Still Rarely Serve as News Sources: Validating a Tripartite Model of Circumstantial, Logistical, and Evaluative Barriers

Authors

  • Zvi Reich The Department of Communication Studies, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Keywords:

citizens, news sources, news access, technology, participation, Israel

Abstract

Despite being equipped to an unprecedented extent to become substantial news players, despite a growing need for their journalistic input, and despite the promise of user-generated content to give them voice, ordinary citizens remain a negligible news source. To explore why this is so, I propose a model that indicates journalists’ reliance on citizens is hindered by three factors: circumstantial (situations calling for input from citizens arise ad hoc), logistical (using them requires greater journalistic effort), and evaluative (journalists appreciate their contributions less). A broad comparison of contacts with ordinary citizens against contacts with other source types (N = 2,381) in Israel strongly validates this model. To enhance their access, citizens may need not only a technological revolution but also a social, cultural, and epistemic revolution.

Author Biography

Zvi Reich, The Department of Communication Studies, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Zvi Reich is a senior lecturer at the Department of Communication, Ben Gurion University of the Negev who specializes in journalism research and newsmaking and a former journalist.  

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Published

2015-03-02

Issue

Vol. 9 (2015)

Section

Articles

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