Abstract.
Since 2005, the Internet has given rise to several novel initiatives concerning journalism designated by the generic term "citizen journalism". Underlying a set of heterogeneous systems, a unique principle can be observed: web users, who are not professional journalists, contribute directly to the production of the daily news. These practices raise a series of questions, one of which is the link, in the media and journalism, between professional and amateur practices (pro-am) and which we will examine in this article.
Keywords: journalism, citizen journalist, pro-am.
This text is from a paper presented October 9th 2007 in Natal (Brazil) at the opening of the colloquium Comunicação, História e Política organized by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte.
This paper is based on work carried out jointly with Florence Le Cam, senior lecturer, and Olivier Trédan, doctoral student at University of Rennes 1, CRAPE-Arènes, GIS M@rsouin.