Consumption and Production of User-Generated Content, Credibility, and Political Participation

This study examines how journalistic credibility and consumption of user-generated content (UGC) are related to political participation. Data from a national online survey shows two main pathways. One concerns traditional communicative pathways involving professional journalism credibility, traditional news use, and interpersonal political discussion. The other concerns citizen journalism credibility and UGC consumption and production on citizen news websites. Thus, while traditional political communication continues to play a role in political participation, citizen journalism practice presents unique opportunities for citizens to engage in politics.