A study of US online community journalists and their organizational characteristics and story generation routines

Abstract

Scientific knowledge in the area of journalism has been predominantly a reflection of research on journalists from elite publications rather than journalists from smaller publications. This research seeks to create a foundation for future research through a web survey of online community journalists in the USA. This study measured the extent to which their perceptions and publications reflect organizational traits such as a reliance on routine sources, income derived from publication and employment of news staff. This descriptive research also found that most online community journalists had a degree, but not a degree in journalism and communication. Suggestions are put forth to further theory and research on community journalists.