Sambrook outlines four types of contributions that citizen journalism brings to traditional news:

-    Eyewitness experience
-    Sharing opinion
-    Revelation and discovery
-    Sharing expertise and networked journalism

The first of these, eyewitness experience, has been around for decades in various forms: readers and viewers have always sent in pictures or videos of events to news organization. Today, they are much easier to gather, send and be published.

Opinion is a staple of traditional news organizations as well, via Letters to the Editor pages. But today on the Internet, audience opinion is much more widespread. Anyone can publish their muses on a blog or sound off in forums and chats. Journalists following these online discussions often find ideas for stories.

Sambrook used the example of “Rathergate,” when a report done by CBS News in the United States concerning George Bush’s National Guard record was proven by bloggers to be based on fabricated evidence, to exemplify his third point. Passionate citizens can now investigate the stories that matter to them and publish their own findings immediately for the world to see.

Mainstream media can also learn from the “revelation and discovery” of their audience. For example, one blogger found that phosphorous was being used by the American armed forces in Iraq. Once that blogger picked up on the story, the mainstream media used its deep resources to investigate the story further.  

Networked journalism, the newest idea in user-generated content is actually a mix of amateur and professional journalism. Currently, the idea is being developed by Jay Rosen, professor at New York University, through his NewAssignement.net project. The idea stems from the fact that any journalist’s collective audience knows more than that journalist. By working together, amateurs and professionals can compile a comprehensive, factually correct piece that will ultimately benefit society as a whole.

What about the professionals?

The sudden jettison of the entire connected world into the once elite publishing realm has been a shock for traditional journalists. Sambrook says that their there is a learning curve for all. At the BBC, initially journalists were skeptical about including material from their public into the Beeb’s everyday functions. But now journalists are welcoming the contributions and the BBC is publishing much more user-generated content in its reporting. For instance, it has launched “World have your say,” an interactive program through which the audience is invited by the Beeb to dictate the news agenda.  

When it comes down to it, Sambrook points out that news organations have always accepted photography from viewers and readers and compares the integration of blogging with standard phone-ins to news organizations. All that has happened is that technology has made interaction with the audience much easier.  

All in all, Sambrook feels that inviting readers to contribute content through various platforms has definitely made the BBC a better organization. Keep your eyes peeled to see what innovations Britain’s public broadcaster and one of the world’s foremost online news companies, comes up with next. And don’t miss coverage of the 14th World Editors Forum in Cape Town, including Richard Sambrook, on the Editors Weblog.