Citizen journalism targets students

As access to online news continues to grow, young college students are encouraged to become involved in citizen journalism.

The Huffington Post and The New York Times are opting to use citizen journalists to gather local, community news. Adam Clark Estes, the editor of citizen journalism at The Huffington Post, stated in a blog post that the company will recruit 30 student reporters to cover college news, according to Brand Republic, an online hub for advertising, marketing, media and public relations.

The Huffington Post plans to include student reporters, photo and video journalists in its new journalism unit.

The Times will partner with New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute to create a community news site for the East Village. The local East Village site, which will be featured on the company's website, will be developed by NYU journalism faculty and students.

"I like the idea of citizen journalism because it gets people engaged in the political process," said Baruch journalism professor Bridgette Davis. "It's all about community news — that's the future of journalism."

According to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, 37 percent of Internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented or disseminated through postings on social media sites.

"Pro-Am Journalism is a clear trend," said Geanne Rosenberg, chair of the department of journalism and the writing professions. "At Baruch, our department began an active collaboration with Gotham Gazette and some students have had work published."

However, citizen journalism has often put into question journalistic integrity it carries. "It's important to have the same standards as other journalists," said Davis. The idea is "citizen journalism, with training and guidelines."

Brand Republic also reported that Richard Jones, a "veteran" journalist and former Times reporter will work as editor for the site.

"This collaboration with The New York Times emphasizes our commitment to the highest journalistic standards," said Brooke Kroeger, director of the Carter Journalism Institute, quoted in Brand Republic.

The Times has explored other collaborations, including a similar hyper-local project with CUNY Graduate School of Journalism for Fort and Clinton Hills in Brooklyn.

"I think this trend will continue and will present more and more opportunities to journalism students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels," said Rosenberg.