Digital Humanitarians
Citizen journalists on the virtual front line of natural and human-caused disasters
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12908671 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Wendy Norris (0000-0002-5833-9504, University of Colorado Boulder, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 2-3 |
| Pages | 213-228 |
| Publication date | 2016-09-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journalism Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17512786.2016.1228471 |
| OpenAlex | W2519248458 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 38 |
Eyewitness user-generated content has dominated the study of citizen journalism in crisis and conflict zones. However, the convergence of online networked technologies, like social media, collaborative mapping and real-time information management, gives ordinary people the capacity to commit acts of journalism from afar. Networks of virtual volunteers act as digital humanitarians who rapidly assemble situational awareness at the onset of natural and human-caused disasters through crowdsourcing, data analysis and crisis mapping to aid on-the-ground emergency response. While they have been studied through the multi-disciplinary lens of information science, computation, geography and emergency management, digital humanitarians have received little attention in the journalism literature. This exploratory study contends that the knowledge-based content produced by these groups is citizen journalism akin to data-driven investigative news. Two case studies and a cross-case analysis consider this argument through digital humanitarian work of the Standby Task Force on the 2015 European refugee crisis and the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador. These and other emerging crisis/conflict zone examples suggest a broader perspective is needed on citizen journalism not bounded by eyewitness user-generated content. Future research directions to explore digital humanitarianism as a form of citizen journalism are also offered
Citizen journalism · Crowdsourcing · Disinformation · Journalism · Media studies · Political science · Public relations · Social media · Sociology · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Radio, Podcasts, and Digital Media
Revisiting citizen journalism scholarship in the Web Era (1994-2023)
Change to persist - The adaptation of European Red Cross societies to changing patterns of volunteering
Forensic Architecture and the Aesthetics of Post-Human Testimony
Perfiles y roles de los conductores de TV en momentos de desastres
A framework for analyzing digital volunteer contributions in emergent crisis response efforts
La Gordiloca and the vicissitudes of social media journalism on the U.S. – Mexico border
Small-scale crisis response mapping
Assessment of the adequacy of mobile applications for disaster reduction
Public Perceptions and Attitudes Towards the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism
Crowdsourcing
Citizen Journalism
Finding community through information and communication technology in disaster response
Research design
Good Enough is Good Enough
Journalists as Crowdsourcerers
Information and Expertise Sharing in Inter-Organizational Crisis Management
Digital Inequality and Second-Order Disasters
Anything you can do, I can do better? Professional journalists on citizen journalism in six European countries
These Grey Areas”
The limits of crisis data
Supporting “Everyday Analysts” in Safety- and Time-Critical Situations
Data hubris? Humanitarian information systems and the mirage of technology
Expanding Homes and Increasing Inequalities
The Tension Between Professional Control and Open Participation
Start making sense
The New Geography of Journalism Research
A Media Sociology for the Networked Public Sphere
Big Data and Journalism
Embedding content from Syrian citizen journalists
Re-imagining crisis reporting
Preconditions for Citizen Journalism
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |