SoloJourno

This is a special report which was included in the Pew Project’s The State of the News Media 2009 (previously covered here):

As revenues and resources at traditional news outlets continued to decline, a number of independent new ventures have emerged, often led and staffed by refugees of the mainstream press.

These new sites vary in how they create content, the type of news they focus on and in how they fund their operations. Some are nonprofits; others have been given start-up money with the expectation of becoming self-sustaining; still others are full for-profit entities. Some cover very local news, others report globally and still others focus on niche areas such as health or science.

But one feature they all share is original reporting meant to fill what they see as an expanding void in what mainstream media now offer.

These ventures are a new feature of American journalism worth watching. For now, our sense is that they represent something complementary to the traditional news media, much in the way that an alternative weekly and city magazine complement, enrich and broaden the journalism in a given city. Yet something new is going on here that could grow beyond that.

What follows is a listing of some of the larger-scale ventures. Most began in 2008 but some started earlier and gained more solid footing during the year. We do not attempt to list all such undertakings here, but strive to touch upon the scope of what exists. We invite readers to alert us to other innovations.

Read the rest of this report.

This is a special report which was included in the Pew Project’s The State of the News Media 2009 (previously covered here):

From producing original content and commentary to sharing and ranking news produced by professionals, citizens became an even larger part of the daily news information flow in 2008.

To get a better sense of what citizen journalism sites (both news sites and blogs) offer and how they differ from websites tied to legacy media, a team of researchers from Michigan State University, the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina embarked on a two-part study, “Tracking and Analyzing Community News Models,” funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Knight Foundation.

One oft-cited appeal of citizen journalism is that it gives voice to average citizens, allowing them to contribute to daily news in a way that was not possible before the Internet. The new study, however, suggests that is far from universal. In particular, citizen-run blogs (traditionally those offering primarily commentary and links) trailed far behind other kinds of sites in every aspect of allowing users to post their own information. Citizen news sites, on the other hand (those producing original reporting), have embraced this more fully, even outpacing legacy sites.

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Preface to the Report:

The State of the News Media 2009 is the sixth edition of our annual report on the health and status of American journalism.

Our goals are to take stock of the revolution occurring in how Americans get information and provide a resource for citizens, journalists and researchers to make their own assessments. To do so we gather in one place as much data as possible about all the major sectors of journalism, identify trends, mark key indicators, note areas for further inquiry.

For each area we have produced original research and aggregated existing data into a narrative on the state of journalism that we hope is the most comprehensive anywhere. Statistical data also exists in an interactive format (see our index of charts), which allows users to customize their own graphics.

The report also includes A Year in the News, a comprehensive content analysis of media performance based on more than 70,000 stories from 48 news outlets across five media sectors, as well as a special look at Hispanic and African American media and an Interactive Topline that lets users explore the data for themselves.

This year’s study also includes special reports on Lessons of the Election, New Ventures online, a content analysis of Citizen Media in 46 communities. And coming soon: a Survey of Online Journalists and a look back at Campaign Coverage.

This report is the work of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, a nonpolitical, nonpartisan research institute. The study is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and was produced with the help of a number of authors and collaborators , including Rick Edmonds of the Poynter Institute and a host of industry readers.

The full report is comprehensive, totaling nearly 180,000 words.