The Journalist Behind the Curtain: Participatory Functions on the Internet and their Impact on Perceptions of the Work of Journalism

Through a framework from the sociology of occupations, this study examines the consequences of increasing audience participation in journalism processes. This framework suggests that increased transparency between readers and journalists may weaken the occupation's authority. A weakening of exclusive authority in the eyes of the public may leave the jurisdictional area of journalism vulnerable to rival occupations, such as bloggers. The challenge from this budding activity suggests news audiences have continued to broaden their perceptions of what constitutes news, as findings from this study predict.