Quality Control: Perceived Effects of User-Generated Content on Newsroom Norms, Values and Routines

This study of local British newspaper journalists focuses on three aspects of entrenched newsroom culture -- news values and norms, work routines and outputs, and occupational roles – to explore the boundaries that journalists see as distinguishing them from outside contributors. Findings suggest they view UGC from a traditional professional perspective and weigh its benefits in terms of its contribution to the journalism they produce. While most are open to its inclusion on newspaper websites, particularly as a traffic builder and supplemental source of hyperlocal information, they believe UGC can undermine journalistic norms and values unless carefully monitored – a gatekeeping task they fear cannot fit within newsroom routines threatened by resource constraints of increasing severity