This research explores how and why the consolidation of participation is taking place in renowned participatory journalism. The research will focus on practices of participation in three different recognised participatory journalism efforts from Europe in which professionals and amateurs collaborate together. All the studied cases are participatory but they encourage and organise journalistic participation a little differently.
The research is a multi-sited ethnographic study. Empirical data will be gathered by conducting participant observation and interviews related to (1) a pan-European online magazine Cafebabel based in France, (2) a Swedish hyperlocal and public journalism style newspaper Södra Sidan, and (3) a Finnish alternative newspaper Voima and its website. The whole data set of transcribed interviews, textual field notes and visual documentation will be analysed by categorizing the data and finding patterns in the texture of participatory practices.
The motivation for participation in the cases vary from generating a truly European public sphere, to contributing to a fairer representation of neighbourhoods and ethnic minorities, and offering an alternative view to political issues. The objective of the research is thus to map the spectrum of participatory practices and their motivations and to produce a typology of practices in order to critically evaluate why certain aspects of participation have become consolidated whereas others have not, and to contribute to the development of fruitful forms of participation in journalism.
Theoretically, the study draws on practice theory. This framework enables seeing participatory journalism as a field of practices between professional journalism and independent citizen communication, not merely as a technological or occupational question. The research will thus also aim to asses and develop the framework of practice theory for journalism studies.
Keywords: Civic participation, Journalism studies, Multi-sited ethnography, Participation, Participatory journalism, Practice theory, Public journalism
The funder of the project: Academy of Finland and the University of Tampere
The time period: 2013–2016
Researcher: Postdoctoral Researcher Laura Ahva