CITIZEN JOURNALISTS AND THEIR THIRD PLACES

Abstract

This research examines whether people who contribute to local news sites achieve feelings of community typically associated with America's “Third Places” (an Oldenburg, 1991, term that refers to the coffee shops, libraries and other community gathering spots). The article posits that some so-called “citizen journalists” find that they enhance their individual fulfillment, empowerment over information and local communal connections when they contribute to local news sites and blogs online. The research also explored why some otherwise motivated people remain non-contributors. Four realms of tension inhibit full engagement—perceptions of a social collective, authority over information, temporal confusion, and a spatial discomfort between physical and virtual worlds.