Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
The contribution of professional journalism to democratic citizenship is well-established, but the proliferation of online user-generated news begs the question of whether citizen journalism plays a similar role. Use and trust of both professional and citizen journalism were investigated for their associations with political knowledge and participation. User-generated journalism was negatively related with knowledge of national political figures, but strongly and positively associated with higher levels of online and offline participation; professional news media produced gains in knowledge and offline participation. Trust in user-generated news amplified the link between citizen journalism and online participation.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Kaufhold et al. (2010) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: