23

producer and user of media content. this is pushing, to some extent, journalists to negotiate their professional roles that this involved application of technology, the use of social media in news production. A review of literature on UGC by Dr Naab and Professor Sehl in 2016 shows that studies revolve around research on UGC include investigations related to collaborations between audience and journalists, relationship between professional and participatory journalism, the integration of UGC in professional journalism practices and studies focused on studying the integration of technology in UGC and interaction between audience and professional discursive practice. In the context of newsrooms, UGC has been found helpful and also burdensome by journalists. To some extent, it becomes a tool for find news angle and news sources such as how social media has been utilized for this purpose. This leads to diversity of content being published in the media, ready to negotiate audience feedback, searching what is happening in the community and source verification process. Today, the needs for journalism to engage with online comments are becoming crucial and should not be totally ignored, observed by Masullo and Dr Pain in 2016. This develops more collaborative news environment, according to Professor Stuart Allan a notable journalism scholar in the UK, that will lead to better quality of journalism, fostering social empathy and advancing democracy by including marginalized voices, encouraging crowdsourcing and enhancing investigative journalism. However, to some cultures, UGC is negatively associated with quality journalism, when in comes to quality of public engagement, credibility of content, trustworthiness, accuracy and the impact of UGC to the overall well-being of the society. Conclusion Hence, UGC in general may be seen is changing the legacy of traditional journalism, both in terms of practice and media output. Although it is seen as unprecedented in terms of allowing inclusion of marginalized voices, it is also threatening journalism and the whole world as UGC is produced by untrained citizen, thus questions of credibility and trustworthiness are raised. How safe is our world and it abundance circulation of information that sometimes troublesome to be verified, raising another pertinent question of inclusiveness and democracy.

24 Publizr Home


You need flash player to view this online publication