Participatory Journalism is Worth Watching

I have been doing a lot of informal research lately into participatory journalism. The concept is simple - major media outlets are increasingly soliciting their readers, viewers and users to actively participate in the editorial process. I have been asking what impact this might have on how we practice PR? At what point should we begin pitching readers as well as traditional media gatekeepers we have relationships with?

My client recently pointed out to me that participatory journalism actually began in the '60s when Sports Illustrated writer George Plimpton strapped on a football helmet and actually experienced what it was like to play in the NFL for the Detroit Lions. Plimpton chronicled his adventure in the classic book (and later the movie) called Paper Lion. The trend has steadily evolved ever since pioneer Plimpton.

In the early '90s, for example, the major TV news networks began incorporating raw unedited footage from viewers who happened to be on the scene when news broke. Shows like MTV's The Real World blurred the envelope even further when they chronicled the actual lives of seven strangers forced to live under the same roof. The reality TV phenomenon is a close cousin of this phenomenon, but it's really entertainment, not journalism.

For now, participatory journalism means that big media are increasingly soliciting the assistance of micro media outlets to help them build their franchises. Dan Gillmor from the San Jose Mercury News epitomizes what some call "open source media." He has been steadily posting new chapters of his new book on this subject, which he calls Making the News. He is using his blog to solicit reader feedback so that he can make his book the most useful reference available on the topic. Similarly, The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington recently begun to solicit readers to become official bloggers for the paper to expand their local news coverage, according to this post on The Public Journalism Network.

For now, this all bears watching. But evenutally, I envision a future when PR pros will be pitching their neighbors to write about clients for the local newspaper and not just the actual trained scribes we court today. What are your thoughts? Are you pitching readers? Share your comments to this post so we can all learn from your experiences.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I am doing a research paper on participatory journalism particularly in the 60s, but am having a hard time finding sources. Could anyone help me? I am very fasinated with this idea and would love to broaden my knowlege of it.

Thanks.