The integration of user-generated content and networked journalism within professional journalistic frameworks at the Arabic news channels

Abstract

This research examines the integration of networked journalism and user-generated content into Arab broadcasting news. It aims to investigate how traditional media organisations collaborate and interact with their audiences.

The investigation takes the form of a casestudy with two Pan-Arab news channels, Al-Arabiya and Al Hadath. It studies journalists' perceptions and attitudes toward user-generated content and collaboration with the audience to form networked journalism practices. The research uses a methodological triangulation comprising in-depth interviews, observation and content analysis of two selected programmes that embrace audience collaboration: the I see and Your interaction TV programmes.

Furthermore, the research explores the impact of the adoption of user generated content on gatekeeping and decision making in broadcasting newsrooms. It also highlights the emergence of social media units in newsrooms and the use of editorial analytics metrics to track audience interactions and to monitor trends and UGC relevant to journalists and news programmes. The results of this study identified five factors related to the adoption of UGC and networked journalism: personal perceptions, editorial direction, crisis reporting, the pressure of competition and the impact of deadlines and workload.

The research findings indicate that user-generated content and the gathering of content from social media have become integrated into newsroom daily routines. They identify the methods used to verify and integrate such content into news bulletins and programmes, as well as to collaborate with activists and citizen journalists on the ground.

Moreover, this study offers an insight into the growing challenges of verification and fact checking in the digital age. The research results emphasise the importance of clear practical guidelines and codes of conduct for journalists and newsrooms in the digital age. The findings also highlight potential risks that could be overlooked by news organisations, such as the impact of user generated content on the mental health of journalists, and the safety of citizen collaborators, especially those operating in conflict zones.