Participation in Local Journalism : Assessing Two Approaches through Access, Dialogue and Deliberation

64 Pou ci e ce a icle, o quo e his a icle, pa a ci a es e a igo : Lau a Ah a, Vic o Wia d, « Pa icipa ion in Local Jou nalism. Assessing Two App oaches h ough Access, Dialogue and Delibe a ion », Su le jou na- lisme, Abou jou nalism, Sob e jo nalismo [En ligne, online], Vol 7, n°2 - 2018, 15 décemb e - Decembe 15 - 15 de dezemb o. URL : h p://www.su lejou nalisme.com/ e Lau a Ah a, Vic o Wia d - Pa icipa ion in Local Jou nalism Pa icipa ion in Local Jou nalism Assessing Two App oaches h ough Access, Dialogue and Delibe a ion lau a ah a COMET Uni e si y o Tampe e Finland lau a.ah a@s a .u a. i iC o Wia D ReSIC Uni e si é lib e de B uxelles & V ije Uni e si ei B ussels Belgium [email p o ec ed] Pa icipa o y jou nalism e e s o a a ie y o discou ses and p ac- ices implica ing he ac i e ole o audiences and ci izens in news p oduc ion and dissemina ion p ocesses (Bo ge e al., 2103; Ca pen ie , 2015; Domingo e al., 2008; Paulussen e al., 2007; Wall, 2017). Pa ici- pa ion is no a new concep (e.g., Pa eman, 1970) and a ci izen pa icipa ion adi ion al eady exis ed wi hin he mass media amewo k (Ch is ians e al., 2009: 25). No ions such as communi y jou nalism (Reade and Ha che , 2012) and public jou nalism (Haas, 2007) can be seen as p edecesso s o digi- al pa icipa o y jou nalism. The no ion has, how- e e , gained mo e popula i y as well as new laye s o meaning o e he pas decade, especially due o possibili ies o e ed by digi aliza ion (K eiss & B en- nen, 2016). The esea ch communi y has been eage o s udy he democ a izing possibili ies ha pa ic- ipa o y jou nalism o e s (Bo ge e al., 2013). Fo example, ecen social and poli ical shi s ha e spa ked in ensi ied deba es o e how pa - icipa ion is connec ed o he issues o us and c edibili y, and i s po en ial posi i e e ec s on de- moc acy (e.g., Pe e s & B oe sma, 2012). On he one hand, pa icipa o y jou nalism hus appea s as a democ a izing possibili y. On he o he , ques- ions ega ding he unp o essional, uncon ollable 65 Su le jou nalisme - Abou jou nalism - Sob e jo nalismo - Vol 7, n°2 - 2018 and un uly na u e o ci izen pa icipa ion seem o d aw limi s o his po en ial (e.g., Lewis 2012). In his ega d, some schola s ha e indica ed ha pa icipa ion, especially in he digi al con ex , has become amed as an o e ly indi idualized p ojec , as opposed o jou nalism’s aim o ep esen and engage collec i i ies (Pe e s & Wi schge, 2015; K eiss & B ennen, 2016). In his si ua ion, he con ex o local communi ies appea s as a ui ul g ound o assessing pa icipa- o y jou nalism and i s democ a ic po en ial, bo h online and o line. A he local le el, pa icipa ion ends o be ei he linked o p o essional jou nalism whe e ci izens a e in i ed o engage wi h news in- s i u ions; o o g ass oo s p ojec s, whe e ci izens c ea e ini ia i es o become pa o one, allowing hem o p oduce news hemsel es. Local adi ional newspape s a e o en seen as being na u ally close o ci izens, allowing hem o engage in geog aphical- ly limi ed and hema ically p ecise public issues and os e ing communi y in eg a ion, and he eme ging online hype local news si es ha e been seen as po- en ial sa io s o he declining news indus y and i s loosened ci izen engagemen (Nielsen, 2015; Me zga e al., 2011). Howe e , s udies also e eal ha he local con- ex wi h i s s ong communi y o ien a ion is no a gua an ee o a - eaching democ a izing e ec s. Fo example, Ah a (2010) has shown how he o - line public jou nalism app oaches o local and e- gional newspape s emained limi ed due o hei p ojec -like o pe soni ied na u es, and Williams e al. (2014) ha e indica ed ha e en i he on- line hype local si es ha e co e ed local poli ics and p oblems, sou cing has emained limi ed o local o icials, much like in he adi ional news ou le s. Bo h app oaches hus ha e hei ad an ages and d awbacks. In his a icle, we will he e o e sum- ma ize ecen e idence om p e ious s udies on he successes and sho comings o local pa icipa- ion, bu we also poin ou ha empi ical analyses o en ha e li le o say abou he no ma i e jus i i- ca ion o pa icipa ion. Hence, we y o elabo a e his sho coming by adding o empi ical e idence o local pa icipa o y jou nalism, and cla i ying he no ma i e and concep ual basis o such jou nal- ism. In o he wo ds, we examine and assess, side by side, wo e y di e en app oaches: a young online- i s ne wo k o ci izen hype local si es in B ussels, Belgium (Dewey) and a en-yea -old pub- lic jou nalism s yle ee newspape in S ockholm, Sweden (Söd a Sidan). We b eak down he no ion o pa icipa ion in o elemen s o access, dialogue and delibe a ion o be able o analyze and assess – in he spi i o jou nalism c i icism – he demo- c a ic po en ial o he wo app oaches. undE s andinG pa iCipa ion in hE loCal Con Ex Pa icipa ion encompasses a a ie y o ac i i ies anging om access o pla o ms, and om o mu- la ing opinions o p oducing con en (Bailey, Cam- mae s & Ca pen ie , 2008: 12-15). I has gene a ed a wide a ay o esea ch s emming om di e en adi ions wi hin jou nalism s udies. As no ed, he local – and ecen ly especially he hype local – con- ex has d awn plen y o a en ion om he esea ch communi y. F om his li e a u e, we ha e iden i ied ou main pe spec i es om which pa icipa ion in he local con ex has been examined. Fi s , we can iden i y s udies ha ha e analyzed he s yle o co e age ha pa icipa o y app oach- es in local jou nalism ha e p oduced. A s udy on a Flemish egional newspape , o ins ance, e ealed ha while ha d news emained he ealm o p o es- sional jou nalis s, so news had been app op ia ed by ci izens, who used hei pe sonal in e es and knowledge o c ea e so news con en (Paulussen & D’Hee , 2013). Bo ge e al. (2016) con i med his end when analyzing a di e si y o pa icipa o y in- i ia i es in he Ne he lands. Thei con en analysis showed ha local pa icipa o y p ojec s ha e a en- dency owa ds so news opics ha ely on pe sonal expe ience and i s -hand wi nessing (Bo ge e al., 2016: 16). Ano he s udy om he same coun y in- dica ed ha a collabo a i e egional media p ojec esul ed in an inc eased numbe o communi y- e- la ed hemes in he co e age, bu no necessa ily in adically di e en s yles o co e age in e ms o sou cing o posi ioning he local people (He mans e al., 2014). Ano he pe spec i e has ocused on unde s and- ing he p oduce s and use s o local pa icipa o y jou nalism. Ea lie on, he ocus seemed o be on he a i udes o jou nalis s (Lewis e al., 2010), bu i has become mo e ypical o examine he mo i a ions and oles ha a e p o ided o ci izens in local jou - nalism. Fo example, Can e (2013) iden i ies ci i- zens’ pa icipa o y posi ions in he con ex o a local newspape in he UK as sou ce, esou ce o collab- o a o . This concu s wi h wha Pe e s and Wi schge s a e: he in ensi y o ci izens’ pa icipa ion may a y om minimal o maximal (2015). In F ance, so called “pu e playe s”1 ha e a ce ain “pa icipa o y logic”, ying o spa k and media e public deba es h ough commen chains and on social media. Pa - icipa ion o local audiences is in luenced no only by geog aphical p oximi y bu also by sociological simi- la i ies o audience membe s, such as hei high cul- u al capi al o hei pe sonal in e es s (Bousque , Ma y & Smy naios, 2015). 66 Lau a Ah a, Vic o Wia d - Pa icipa ion in Local Jou nalism A hi d pe spec i e ocuses on he sus ainabili y o pa icipa o y app oaches in local jou nalism and examines whe he i is possible o p oduce s abili- y and economic success (Ha e e al., 2017). Hess and Walle (2017) summa ize ha no all local ap- p oaches ha e p o en success ul, bu he local con- ex holds p omises because he e a e “niche” ma - ke s o au hen ically local news ha is impo an o people bu no widely a ailable. Howe e , hey also a gue ha local pla o ms a e no necessa ily buil o make big p o i s (2017: 200-201). Howe e , hin- d ances encoun e ed du ing pa icipa o y p ojec s (and he end o many o hem) highligh he di icul- ies o se ing up las ing p ocesses. In hei s udy o 123 hype local news websi es, an Ke kho en and Bakke conclude ha “hype local news websi es a e bo h p omising and ulne able” (2014: 12). The ou h pe spec i e widens he ocus by s ud- ying local news ecosys ems. Recen s udies ha e em- phasized how wha ends up being he news is o en he esul o a collec i e p ocess in ol ing a a ie y o jou nalis ic and non-jou nalis ic ac o s (Ande - son, 2013). Fi ms one and Coleman ocused on he ecosys em o news p oduc ion in Leeds (2014; 2015) and no iced ha e en hough a a ie y o ac o s (poli icians, local media, ci izen jou nalis s, com- muni ies) in e ac wi hin a dynamic ecosys em, he ine ia o ins i u ions (may hey be poli ical o jou - nalis ic) pushes ci izen jou nalism o he ma gins (Fi ms one & Coleman, 2015). Fu he mo e, Do- mingo and Le Cam ha e demons a ed how ac o s nego ia e he local news na a i e by playing wi h and inside jou nalism, bu mains eam media s ill ac s as an obliga o y poin o passage o whoe e wan s o con ol he na a i e (Domingo & Le Cam, 2015; Le Cam & Domingo, 2015). These pe spec i es a e insigh ul in p o iding knowledge abou he con en , ac o s, business mod- els and he in e ac ion be ween non-ins i u ional and ins i u ional playe s in local jou nalism. Howe e , hey do no p o ide much guidance in how o assess pa icipa ion in no ma i e e ms. K eiss and B en- nen (2016) indica e ha pa icipa ion has become one o he main no ma i e a gumen s in jou nalism s udies in he digi al age (along wi h deins i u ionali- za ion, inno a ion and en ep eneu ship), bu schol- a s a e no always explici abou hei no ma i e iewpoin s. No ma i e concep s may hus be inspi- a ional as hey p o ide a language o c i ique, bu he c i ique should no be done in a manne ha is me ely one-sidedly emb acing he no ions o lea ing hei no ma i i y hidden (K eiss and B ennen, 2016: 300-310). He e, we will aim o ake on he challenge o combining empi ical in es iga ion wi h no ma i e c i ique. To do his, we p opose a heo e ical ame- wo k ha combines no ma i i y wi h insigh s ha challenge he idea ha pa icipa ion in he jou nalis- ic con ex would always be abou democ acy. analy iCal modEl o aCCEss, dialoGuE and dElibE a ion While sea ching o non-jou nalis ic ocabula y o jou nalism c i icism, Heikkilä and Kunelius (1998) coined a h ee-s ep amewo k o e alua ing he democ a ic po en ial o jou nalism hough he no ions o access, dialogue and delibe a ion. When hei a icle was w i en in he 1990s, he no ion o pa icipa o y jou nalism did no ye exis . A ha momen , he au ho s we e mo e in e es ed in ques- ioning “ he monopoly o jou nalis s o de ine he o- cabula y wi h which jou nalism can and should be e alua ed” (Heikkilä & Kunelius, 1998: 81). Thei a icle was hus no in ended as an analy ical mod- el o pa icipa o y jou nalism, bu i did, howe e , poin ou o he hen eme ging no ion o pa icipa- ion in i s conclusion: “The challenge o jou nalism is no only o hink abou , who can pa icipa e, bu also abou , wha so o si ua ions a e c ea ed o pa icipa ion.” (Heikkilä & Kunelius, 1998: 82) I is exac ly his la e ques ion ha holds analy - ical po en ial. The si ua ions ha jou nalism c ea es o pa icipa ion could be zoomed in o by b eaking down he concep o pa icipa ion in o he elemen s o access, dialogue and delibe a ion. This can help in iden i ying he pa icipa o y si ua ions and as- sessing whe he hey a e democ acy-suppo ing o no . In a la e piece by Ah a, Heikkilä and Kunelius (2015), he analy ical powe o he h ee elemen s was discussed in he con ex o digi al jou nalism. I was concluded ha e en i he h ee concep s de i e om he mass media e a, hey can s ill be used o analyze he democ a ic po en ial o jou nalism in he ne wo ked en i onmen ha may appea as decei - ingly la and open. To be able o c i ically examine he kinds o pa - icipa o y si ua ions ha a e c ea ed in local jou nal- ism, we will nuance he o iginal io o access, dia- logue and delibe a ion wi h mo e ecen models and indings (Ca pen ie 2015; Ah a 2017). This means ha we will also conside , wha people become pa o when hey pa icipa e in jou nalism (c . Ca pen i- e 2011; 2015). Fo example, Ah a (2017) iden i ied i e di e en domains o which ci izens’ pa icipa ion was o ien ed o in h ee di e en ou le s. Thei pa - icipa o y ac i i ies we e o ien ed o (1) public li e o poli ics, bu also (2) jou nalis ic con en p oduc- 67 Su le jou nalisme - Abou jou nalism - Sob e jo nalismo - Vol 7, n°2 - 2018 ion, (3) communi ies ha un he publica ions, (4) cul u al side-p ojec s and p oduc ion such as ilm, li e a u e and hea e and (5) ca ee possibili ies be- yond he ou le s hey wo ked wi h. This means ha when ci izens we e pa icipa ing in jou nalism hey became pa o i e domains: (1) he public sphe e, (2) jou nalis ic wo k p ocess, (3) o ganiza ions o communi ies, (4) cul u al ield, as well as (5) wo k- ing li e. The h ee i s ones we e he mos p e alen domains, and hence hey a e in eg a ed below in o he discussion o access, dialogue and delibe a ion. Access. Heikkilä and Kunelius (1998) a gue ha access is a concep ha i s well in o he ocabula y o bo h p o essional jou nalis s and heo is s o de- moc acy. In he academic accoun s on pa icipa ion and jou nalism, access also appea s as he concep ha is mos ag eed upon (c . Domingo e al., 2008; Ca pen ie , 2015). The idea is ha pa icipa o y p ac ices should i s p o ide access o ci izens o ge in, o gain p esence o isibili y in jou nalism (Ah a e al., 2015; Ca pen ie , 2015; Domingo e al., 2008; Pe e s & Wi schge, 2015). The ques ion o access is abou paying a en ion o and ecogniz- ing ci izens as public ac o s. Hence, access can help in iden i ying how open he ga es eally a e o ci i- zens in jou nalism (Singe e al., 2011). The idea o gaining access can be u he elabo- a ed in e ms o whe e is i exac ly ha jou nalism p o ides access o (see Table 1). He e we can sep- a a e he possibili ies o access o he communi y o p ac ice (Wenge , 1998) ha coo dina es publica- ion, om gaining access in o he con en p oduc ion p ocess. The o me e e s o he idea o gaining a ype o membe ship in a g oup, be i a p ojec eam, news oom o ganiza ion o a loose ne wo k. The la - e , in u n, e e s o gaining an en y in o how s o- ies a e o e ed, selec ed and aken in o p oduc ion. Las ly, access o he public sphe e e e s o he idea ha ci izens do no me ely ge engaged because hey a e in e es ed in becoming membe s o a commu- ni y o p oducing s o ies, bu because hey ha e an in e es in b inging o h (neglec ed/ma ginal) issues ha should be e lec ed upon in he public sphe e and hence seek ecogni ion o hem. In his ype o access, ci izens can become ecognized as pa o so- cie y h ough he oppo uni ies ha he media o e s o public sel - ep esen a ion (Ca pen ie , 2011: 67). Dialogue. A e gaining access, possibili ies o dialogue eme ge. The p ocess o dialogue can b ing many bene i s o democ a ic li e: o ien a ion owa d cons uc i e communica ion, dispelling o s e eo- ypes, hones y in elaying ideas, and he in en ion o lis en o and unde s and he o he (McCoy & Scully, 2002: 117). We can ask how jou nalism is able o help in c ea ing and sus aining he quali ies lis ed abo e by p oducing exchange (ins ead o me ely p o iding in o ma ion). In jou nalism, dialogue can be seen as a ecip ocal me hod o ep esen ing so- cial eali ies as well as including ci izens in ex ensi e consul a ion be o e o a e he s o ies a e made (Heikkilä & Kunelius, 1998; Ah a e al., 2015; Pe- e s & Wi schge, 2015). Lewis e al. (2014) a gue ha ecip oci y is a key componen in he c ea ion o us , connec edness and social capi al and ha jou nalism, especially communi y jou nalism, should and could ocus mo e on enabling o ms o pa ici- pa ion ha mu ually bene i all he in ol ed ac o s. Ca pen ie (2015), oo, e e s o he ole o media in p oducing socio-communica i e ela ions, e en i he uses he no ion o in e ac ion ins ead o dialogue2. The ole o jou nalism he e is o ac as a acili a o ha helps di e en pe spec i es mee each o he – ins ead o he pe spec i es e ading o des uc i ely con on ing each o he . Again, we see i use ul o ecognize ha his e- cip ocal exchange may happen in a ious domains (see Table 1). Fi s , i is ea u ed in he domain o communi ies o p ac ice in which people ac oge h- e hus c ea ing a sense o sha ed pu pose and be- longing. Dialogue can also be p esen in jou nalis ic con en p oduc ion, in ecip ocal news-making p ac- ices ha a e based on bo h, speaking and lis ening (Ananny, 2014: 364-365) and hus acili a e possibili- ies o social in e ac ion. Las ly, dialogue in he pub- lic sphe e e e s o public exchange o iewpoin s as ep esen ed in he jou nalis ic ex s o ea u ed in he commen sec ions ela ed o he a icles. This exchange can hen esul in ( e) o mula ion o he issues ha equi e public a en ion. Delibe a ion. The concep o delibe a ion shi s ou a en ion o e icacy and whe he i is possible o make a di e ence wi h pa icipa ion (McCoy & Scully, 2002: 118; Ah a e al., 2015). A delibe a i e p ocess allows pa icipan s o e lec upon hei iews, and in his easoning p ocess hey migh be able o p oduce some hing ha hey could no wo k ou on hei own (Ba be , 1984; Heikkilä & Kunelius, 1998). In e ms o jou nal- ism c i icism his means ha wi h his concep we can assess whe he and o wha deg ee jou nalism is ac ing as a ca alys no only o e lec ion and exchange, bu also ac ion and change, so ha ci i- zens a e in ol ed in he p ocess and play a ole in he o ma ion o public opinion and decision-mak- ing (Heikkilä & Kunelius, 1998: 71). Ca pen ie (2015) e e s o his hi d s ep wi h he no ion o pa icipa ion i sel , bu we sugges ha pa icipa- ion is he ou come o he h ee s eps. Howe e , Ca pen ie ’s (2015: 9, 16) poin abou co-decid- ing as an in eg al pa o pa icipa ion, should be no ed he e: we see ha delibe a ion ha builds 68 Lau a Ah a, Vic o Wia d - Pa icipa ion in Local Jou nalism on dialogue, is one possible way o co-decide and sha e powe . To be able o use delibe a ion as an analy ical ca ego y, we need o conside , again, he a ious do- mains (Table 1). Fi s , we can iden i y delibe a ion among people in he communi ies o p ac ice: in his domain, pa icipan s can ha e an impac on how he communi ies a e un. As a esul , us and sense o join pu pose may esul (McCoy & Scully, 2002: 122). Second, he s ep o delibe a ion o e con en p oduc ion is impo an in ha i allows pa icipan s o in luence wha is ul ima ely conside ed as jou nal- ism o news. Las ly, delibe a ion can be assessed in ela ion o public sphe e. He e we can ask, whe he pa icipa o y jou nalism plays any ole in how he de ec ed issues a e deal wi h and sol ed in public. In Table 1, we ha e summa ized he discussion abo e. We p opose he able as a ma ix model o analyzing and assessing he democ a ic po en ial o pa icipa o y jou nalism. This combina ion also p o- ides a me hodological oolki . EsEa Ch quEs ions Th ough he no ions o access, dialogue and de- libe a ion we wish o know mo e abou he pa ici- pa o y si ua ions c ea ed in he wo dis inc i e case s udies, hence asking: (RQ1) Wha a e he speci ici ies o pa icipa o y p ac ices o wo di e en local ou le s ega ding ac- cess, dialogue and delibe a ion? By hinking h ough he esul s wi h he h ee do- mains in mind, we wan o assess he en i e b ead h o pa icipa ion in hese app oaches: (RQ2) Wha do he wo cases ell us abou he po en ials and limi a ions o he di e se o ms ha pa icipa ion in local jou nalism adop s? Two cases o local pa icipa o y jou nalism The wo case s udies a e (1) a ci izen-based online ini ia i e in B ussels, Belgium, he Dewey p ojec 3, and (2) a p o essionally-p oduced p in publica ion in S ockholm, Sweden, Söd a Sidan. They ep esen di e en app oaches o pa icipa o y jou nalism in e ms o hei main publishing pla o ms (p in s. online), o ganiza ion (p o essional s. ci izen) and unding basis ( o -p o i and ad e ising based s. non-p o i and olun ee based). Howe e , hey also ea u e simila i ies. Fi s ly, on op o p in , Söd a Sidan has a websi e and social media p esence (e en i no e y ac i e), and one o he jou nalis s pub- lishes an independen online neighbo hood si e as a side-p ojec ; and wo online Dewey ou le s also pub- lish pape e sions o hei a icles, one as qua e - ly magazines and o he as lea le s sha ed in public enues. Secondly, bo h ope a e in u ban, capi al ci y a eas and co e ou di e en municipali ies, mak- ing hem hyb ids be ween he egional, local and hype local le els. Las ly, hey sha e a philosophy o pa icipa ion. Dewey is a non-p o i ha was launched by a hand ul o ci izen o he municipali y o Schae beek in B ussels in 2014. The p ojec ocused a i s on a- cili a ing he p oduc ion o ci izen news o a websi e and a qua e ly hype local p in publica ion4 in one municipali y, bu la e on g ew wi h demands om indi iduals om o he dis ic s o B ussels. Cu en - ly, Dewey is a ne wo k o ou hype local and pa ic- ipa o y online news pla o ms: Ezels ad, Wha o , Dazibao and Pixels5. The ou p ojec s a e o di e - en size: he numbe o ac i e con ibu o s a ies Table 1: Ma ix model o analyzing pa icipa o y jou nalism. Pa icipa o y s ep Domain Access (How o ge in?) Dialogue (How o p oduce exchange?) Delibe a ion (How o make a di e ence?) Communi y o p ac ice Ge ing en ance in o he p ojec o o ganiza ion ha uns he publica ion Building o ecip ocal ela ionships and a sense o belonging wi h communi y membe s Making a di e ence in how he communi y o he p ojec is un, inding join goals Con en p oduc ion p ocess Gaining an en y in o o e - ing, selec ing and p oducing s o ies Exe cising news ga he ing and p esen a ion p ac ices ha acili a e in e ac ion In luencing decisions o e con- en and e en ually also wha is conside ed as news Public sphe e Gaining ecogni ion as an ac i e agen and pa icipan in public issues Engaging in public exchange o iews ha esul s in issue o mula ion Ha ing an impac on how p oblems a e sol ed ia public easoning and p essu e 69 Su le jou nalisme - Abou jou nalism - Sob e jo nalismo - Vol 7, n°2 - 2018 om 1 o 10 and o e ime in each hype local, as some pa icipan s only con ibu e o he p ojec oc- casionally. The hy hms and s yles o he ou le s also di e , as does he numbe o iewe s (be ween a ew dozen and a ew hund ed, and con o e sial i ems eaching up o 10 000 single use s’ iews on a e oc- casions). The websi es a e, howe e , uni ed h ough he discussions be ween he ounde s, h ough a common aes he ics o all he websi es, and a com- mon edi o ial policy. Dewey desc ibes i sel as p o- ducing local, plu al and p ac ical in o ma ion in a manne o ci izen, hype local and cons uc i e jou - nalism. The pa icipan s a e o en in ol ed in o he local p ojec s as well, and usually belong o a leas one o he h ee ca ego ies: (1) hey ha e close ies o jou nalism bu a e no ull- ime employees (pho- og aphe s, ee-lance s, esea che s), (2) hey a e e y ac i e wi hin he local communi ies (p omo ing local ga dens, al e na i e means o anspo a ion, o igh ing agains p i a e housing p ojec s), o (3) hey ha e a high cul u al capi al (s uden s, local a - is s, e c.). Ha ing said his, i is clea ha he ou hype local g oups ha e ye o build wide communi- y bases, including ci izens om all walks o li e. Söd a Sidan (The Sou he n Side)6 is a local ee newspape o he sou he n subu bs o S ockholm in Sweden. The pape comes ou in p in (and in pd - o m online) once a week and i has home deli - e y. The pape was es ablished in 2006 as a coun- e -mo e o ano he local newspape , which many el igno ed he possibili ies o public deba e and p oblem-sol ing (Beckman, 2011). The pa icipa- o y ideals o he Ame ican-based public jou nalism mo emen (Haas, 2007) ha e been an in eg al pa o Söd a Sidan’s philosophy om he s a . This means ha he pape wishes o engage i s eade s in i s jou nalis ic p ocess wi h he aim o make he local public sphe e mo e di e se and open o peo- ple o ac as ci izens. The news oom, o example, o ganizes so called eade panels o in i e people o discuss cu en e en s o base i s co e age on hese con e sa ions. The sou he n subu bs in S ockholm ha e a ela i ely high numbe o esiden s wi h im- mig an backg ound and hey ha e been ega ded o su e ei he om ina en ion o excessi e nega i e a en ion by he mains eam media (Beckman, 2011: 33). The e o e, Söd a Sidan aims o ep esen local neighbo hood li e and i s di e si y ai ly in e ms o e hnici y, gende and age. The pape is a ully ad e - isemen - unded ini ia i e and om 2011 onwa ds pa ly owned by a la ge newspape chain. The ed- i o ial eam consis s o i e o se en people and he eam ea u es ull- ime s, pa - ime s and eelanc- e s. Ci izen collabo a ion is ca ied ou wi h a ious g oups, bu he news oom appea s o be especially well connec ed wi h local associa ions, spo s clubs, you h and cul u al cen e s as well as schools. Ma e ials and me hods The p ima y ma e ial o his esea ch is com- posed o obse a ions and in e iews. A Söd a Sidan, a se en day-long pe iod allowed he obse - a ion o daily news wo k and in e ac ions be ween jou nalis s and ci izens. A o al o 11 in-dep h in- e iews we e conduc ed wi h 12 in e iewees: i e wi h jou nalis s, one wi h he edi o in chie and six wi h ci izens ha had pa icipa ed in a eade panel o he newspape . A Dewey, ac i e pa ici- pan -obse a ion has been aking place o he las wo yea s, wi h one o us ac ually launching one o he hype locals. E en hough he obse a ion pe iod was longe , i was mo e spo adic and closely in e - wined wi h ac i e pa icipa ion. A se ies o 11 in e - iews we e conduc ed7: h ee wi h p ojec leade s and eigh wi h pa icipan s. Al oge he , he ma e ial p esen s limi a ions in ha i o iginally s ems om wo di e en esea ch p ojec s, and ea u es wo di e en languages (Swedish and F ench). None he- less, he ma e ial p o ides a di e si ied ye compa- able ma e ial o 22 in e iews in o al, along wi h obse a ion and he use o published con en o e - i y and en ich da a. All exce p s p esen ed in he analysis ha e been ansla ed by he au ho s om Swedish and F ench o English. The in e iewees a e anonymized bu coded wi h numbe s o sepa a e hem om one ano he (e.g. D1= in e iewee 1 o m Dewey, S2 = in e iewee 2 om Söd a Sidan). The analysis o he da a ollowed a heo y-d i en quali a i e analysis. We c ea ed he ma ix model o analysis o he da a wi h nine speci ic ca ego ies (see Table 1, abo e). In e iews as well as no es we e ca e ully ead and coded in o nine ca ego ies. Fo linguis ic and p ac ical easons, each o us cod- ed hei own in e iews, e en i we me egula ly du ing he analysis o speci y he ca ego ies and o make su e hey held he same meanings. Once all quo es om all in e iewees and obse a ions we e placed in he ma ix, we summa ized ou indings by sea ching o meaning ul hickenings as well as con- adic ions in he da a. Discussing and compa ing esul s ac oss he h ee s eps, he h ee le els, and he wo ope a ions, allowed us o analyze he da a in a sys ema ic manne . Esul s Acces Dewey. Ou indings indica e ha access is a key componen o he Dewey p ojec as i is in ac a key elemen o he p ojec ’s edi o ial policy, join ly de eloped by he ou hype locals. The homepages o he a ious websi es8 s a e ha Dewey aims a 70 Lau a Ah a, Vic o Wia d - Pa icipa ion in Local Jou nalism building “plu al in o ma ion” which is no news “ ha emana es o only one g oup o one au ho i y, bu news ha s a s wi h locals and allows di e en so- cial g oups o communica e”. Acco ding o his phi- losophy, access o he p ojec is open and acili a - ed by he leade s o each hype local. As a cen al p inciple, all mee ings a e open. Ci izens a e in i ed o pa icipa e in he p ojec h ough e en s (dissem- ina ed by mailing lis s, pape lea le s and on social media), websi es calls and in o mal con e sa ions. Howe e , his obse a ion has o be coun e balanced wi h he ac ha he ou ini ia i es a e s ill modes in e ms o public ecogni ion, he e o e no all po- en ial pa icipan s e en know abou he p ojec s. Fu he mo e, as no ed abo e, he p ojec has so a mainly been able o a ac he a en ion o ce ain kinds o ac o s (ac i e ci izens, o en wi h high cul- u al capi al o ies o p o essional jou nalism). In e ms o con en p oduc ion p ocess, access is also made as easy as possible. The ou hype locals use Wo dP ess as a con en managemen sys em and y o make he pla o m accessible by p o iding u o ials and ad ice. Howe e , many use s pe cei e di icul ies and a e o en a aid o use he sys em. The obs acles a e bypassed by sending ex s di ec ly ia email o social media messaging o leade s who hen edi and o ma he news pieces. This is also how pa icipan s who a e less in e es ed in w i ing hemsel es, can s ill send con en o be o ma ed and published by o he s. The pa icipan s app eci- a e he way access in o he p oduc ion p ocess is assis ed: “I is all e y ee and in o mal. A ha mo- men [a e a i s ace o ace con e sa ion] he [a p ojec leade ] added me o he mailing lis o he w i e s’ g oup o discuss, o see how hey handled he con en ool [Wo dP ess] and he codes o access he pla o m.” (D7) In o mal aining hus plays a ole in accessing he p oduc ion p ocess a Dewey. Access o con en p oduc ion p ocesses is also gua an eed by o ganiz- ing mee ings and by collec i ely co ec ing and ed- i ing he a icles, o en on GoogleDocs. Dewey has also o e ed access in o he p ojec s h ough a ious o he ac i i ies, mainly wo kshops and e en s, which allows membe s o s ep in. This esona es wi h he idea ha pa icipa ion can in some cases also occu beyond jou nalism and spill ou o a ious side p o- jec s acco ding o indi idual in e es s (Ah a, 2017). The e o e, building g oup cohesion and di iding asks play a big ole, as s a ed by a p ojec leade : “Pe sonally, I ake he lead [a deciding opics and s a ing a icles] mo e a he momen , and he p ojec always needs me o ge hings going. Howe e , [ano he pa icipan o he p ojec ] is always he e wi h me o he logis- ics and p ac icali ies. And hen [o he pa ic- ipan ] has a big alen o go and alk o people we don’ know: wi hou he we would be los du ing ou in es iga ions. And hen [o he pa icipan ] akes ca e o he d awings.” (D3) Finally, pa icipan s o Dewey ha e aken an in e es in public issues h ough he p ojec . Mo e han jus o hemsel es, hey y o be he oice o local indi iduals and g oups. Fo example, one pa - icipan (D10), s a ed how a hype local had helped in “ elaying he oice o hese people o a la ge au- dience” in a case o ci izen ga dening p ojec . Söd a Sidan. Gaining an en ance in o Söd a Sidan as a news-p oducing o ganiza ion is mo e lim- i ed han a Dewey due o he ac ha he p o es- sional eam is no elian on ci izens on a day- o-day basis. The e o e, access o Söd a Sidan’s communi y is sus ained in a mo e symbolic ein, o example h ough he use o accessible language in he s o- ies and he use o local people in pho os so ha eade s eel included. Fu he mo e, “e e y ime you in e iew people, you also ie hem o he pape ” exp essed a jou nalis (S6). Howe e , mo e conc e e means o ge in o he o ganiza ion a e some imes opened, and he e he main me hod consis s o o ganizing eade panels. This e e s o a p ac ice in which he newspape in- i es ci izens – ei he di ec ly ia emails and phone calls, o openly ia ads in he pape – o join a panel o 8–12 people o discuss a ious issues in he news- oom o in o he local enues. I is e y ypical ha panelis s a e sough om among indi iduals who ha e had p e ious engagemen wi h he newspape . The edi o in chie no ed how sensi i e he ec ui - men p ocess is o hese panels and he expe ienced he p essu e o be able o ga he oge he a ep e- sen a i e panel o “ egula people” om he egion. Resul s a Söd a Sidan di e om Dewey in e ms o access o p oduc ion p ocesses, because he possibili ies o p oduce ci izen con en a e mo e limi ed. The pape does in i e locals o w i e eade le e s, blog pos s o columns, bu he in- e iewed panel membe s we e no in i ed o con ibu e con en , a he o o e he jou nalis s hemes hey would wan o see co e ed (you h, c iminali y and schools we e men ioned, o exam- ple) and ma e ial o s o ies. Howe e , no all op- ics we e aken in o accoun , showing how p o es- sional con ol ac ed as a ga ekeeping o ce. In his case, access o he p ocess was mo e es ic ed and s uc u ed. Ne e heless, gaining access in o he panel had made i e y conc e e o one o he 71 Su le jou nalisme - Abou jou nalism - Sob e jo nalismo - Vol 7, n°2 - 2018 pa icipan s how he newspape sus ains he local public sphe e: “When you ac ually ge a chance o, how do I exp ess his, o ge in wi hin he local newspa- pe , you ac ually unde s and how impo an hei wo k is and ha ac ually hey a e doing i o a pu pose. – I ac ually, i is also a good, no ma ke ing, bu a good way o p omo e he communi y o ac ually de elop.” (S11) Access o he public sphe e was also ecognized by a emale panel membe who had spen he pas yea s a home ca ing o wo child en as a possibil- i y o “become pa o socie y” (S9). And ano he membe exp essed how he el ha wi h his public appea ance he could show eade s ha a “guy like me” (S10, s uden wi h immig an backg ound) can appea in he pape so ha his pee s migh also eel ep esen ed. Dialogue Söd a Sidan. Whe eas access appea s as he key dimension o he pa icipa o y p ocess in Dewey, in Söd a Sidan i is dialogue. Dialogue was i idly ap- pa en in all he iden i ied h ee domains. One o he jou nalis s no ed in an in e iew ha “i is kind o impossible o do public jou nalism wi hou alking wi h people.” (S4) Dialogue in he news making p ocess was close- ly in e linked wi h dialogue in he Söd a Sidan’s ex- ended communi y o p ac ice, be ween jou nalis s and ci izens. Howe e , o pa icipan s, ci izen- o-ci - izen dialogue was he single mos mo i a ing and e- wa ding aspec in he eade panel expe ience. The alks we e desc ibed as pleasan , su p ising, di e se and li ely, and acili a ion was app ecia ed. The well-guided and dialogic panel con e sa ions we e alued e en by one o he mos c i ical panelis s, who c i icized access in ha his opics we e no ak- en up, bu alued guided dialogue. Many men ioned ha he mee ings challenged hei p ejudices abou o he esiden s, and one exp essed how he alks had made he “ eel impo an ” (S11). The panel de- ba es showed he di e si y o opinions and helped o ind issue o mula ions, o ge o he “g ound p ob- lems” (S9). On op o panels, o he p oduc ion p ac ices a Söd a Sidan can also be desc ibed as dialogic. Jou - nalis s unde lined ha much mo e han in o he news ooms hey had wo ked o , a Söd a Sidan hey we e expec ed o do epo ing “ou in he ield” in o de o mee people in pe son. Fo ins ance, a epo e desc ibed how his assignmen was o in e - iew a local Facebook g oup ac i is and he decid- ed o mee him ou doo s, a he local ma ke place, which led o an unplanned, dialogic g oup in e iew o locals who joined in. In addi ion, in he news oom, he edi o o en guided his s a o “lis en ca e ully” o people o ge o he bo om o hei iews. Dialogue in he public domain was, ne e he- less, s ongly shaped by jou nalis s’ ac ions, and no hose o ci izens, whose impac was limi ed o he ea ly s ages o he p oduc ion p ocesses. Howe e , his app oach allowed jou nalis s o guide he pub- lic discussion “beyond p imal eac ions”, as summa- ized by he edi o -in-chie , and c ea e dialogue in he public domain. Fo example, in a s o y conce n- ing he possible es ablishmen o an asylum seeke s’ ecep ion cen e , he jou nalis s posi ioned a a i- e y o ac o s, such as he police, esiden s, asylum seeke s, local poli icians and o icials, in a dialogic ela ionship. Dewey. A Dewey, dialogue a he communi y o p ac ice le el happens a mee ings and pa ies, public e en s and o he andom encoun e s, as well as online ia Facebook and emails. These in e ac- ions allow pa icipan s o ge o know each o he bu also discuss wha he p ojec should co e and how. Indi iduals can also ind ideas o s o y opics and discuss each o he ’s wo k. This indica es ha communi y dialogue eeds in o he p oduc ion p o- cess. This is especially clea in ha he w i ing and edi ing p ocess can be ecip ocal: “E e y ime someone w i es an a icle he can submi i o e ision. We ha e a Facebook page o “con ibu o s”. I you ha e ime o ead, you can e ise i . I depends on who as well, bu [p ojec leade ] always submi s his a icles and you can commen i , di ec ly on he websi e. O he s use Google Docs and hen [same p ojec leade ] pu s in on he websi e.” (D9) The Dewey p ojec he e o e os e s dialogue in con en p oduc ion p ocess in ha a lo o alk o- cuses on wha he a icles should look like. These in e ac ions esul in o iginal pieces and s yles o co e age, such as 20 pages long one-on-one in e - iew, a gende -neu al in e iew, poems o in e ac- i e maps. Dialogue is hus good o in e nal g oup cohesion and c ea i i y, bu i can also slow down p oduc ion p ocesses o he poin ha some hype - locals ha e e y ew published s o ies: “I con inuously y o ha e a high pe cen age o iendly momen s and no o jump in o “do- ing”, o ha e un and spend a nice e ening. I don’ ca e ha we a e going o spend 20 % o he ime alking abou [one o he hype lo- 72 Lau a Ah a, Vic o Wia d - Pa icipa ion in Local Jou nalism cals] and 80 % o he ime doing some hing else, i is ok. I ealize ha i is e en neces- sa y.” (D3) The main p oblem o his dialogical na u e o communi y building and con en c ea ion is ha a lo o ene gy and ime is in es ed in discussions and e lec ions a he expense o ac ion, which has e en made some indi iduals lea e Dewey – a pa adoxical esul , conside ing he access- ocused aim o he p o- jec . Added o he you h o Dewey as a p ojec and i s lack o expe ience and esou ces, dialogue a he le el o communi y and p oduc ion p ocess seems o p e en he p ojec om gene a ing ac i e dialogue in he local public sphe e, e en i i is a goal o he p ojec in i sel . Delibe a ion Dewey. The dialogic na u e o Dewey in he do- mains o communi y and con en p oduc ion eeds in o how pa icipan s can ha e an impac o e he p ojec ’s cou se o ac ion. Hence delibe a ion is mos p esen in hese domains, oo. Pa icipan s a e able o in luence he goals ha a e se as well as he ypes o s o ies ha ge published. This, in he end, opens up a way o ha e an impac on wha is ega ded as news. This is isible when indi iduals o e o gi e hei consen o e ce ain decisions in he mee ings: “We ha e o ganized a wo kshop a [a local ca é]. I was a wo kshop o e lec on he op- ics, i was e y nice, i allowed us o see wha e e yone deemed impo an . We applied he p inciples o collec i e media ion o ind op- ics ha ga he ed consensus.” (D7) Howe e , some imes leade s o he hype lo- cals ake decisions by hemsel es o p ac ical and ime-sensi i e easons, hus sidelining he mo e sha ed decision-making p ocess. Fu he mo e, de- cision-making ega ding con en p oduc ion o en akes a a he inac i e o m o silen consen du - ing mee ings o on GoogleDocs pla o m when com- men s a e me ely accep ed by he o iginal w i e wi hou u he e lec ion. This poin s ou ha be- yond opic selec ion, Dewey is acing challenges in s imula ing delibe a ion and hus sha ing powe o e he news p oduc ion p ocess. Hence Dewey also emains as a a he modes acili a o o local public delibe a ion. The published ex s do gi e he pa icipan s as well “ eal people” (D6) ea u ed in he s o ies a public oice in locally ele an public issues, and occasional eac ions o local poli icians and communi y leade s, mainly on social media, indica e a ce ain le el o public ecog- ni ion. Bu o he wise, we ound li le e idence ha he hype locals ha e a signi ican impac on local public delibe a ion. Söd a Sidan. A Söd a Sidan, he newspape is seen as an ac i e agen in public delibe a ion and p oblem-sol ing. The desc ip ion on he newspa- pe ’s Facebook page s a es: “I is impo an o us o be oo ed in people’s s o ies, o acili a e mee ings ac oss di e en social ba ie s and o ocus on solu- ions.” The philosophy o public jou nalism (Haas, 2007) a Söd a Sidan has been de eloped owa ds a solu ion-o ien ed di ec ion. This means ha he dialogic app oach o posi ioning a ious oices in a ecip ocal ela ionship is no conside ed enough – he ul ima e aim is o each, h ough delibe a ion, possible solu ions o collec i ely ecognized issues. Jou nalis s see ha hey “cons an ly ha e a o- cus on solu ions” (S2). In addi ion, he willingness o ind solu ions o he communi y’s p oblems was gi en as a mo i a ion by a couple o he panelis s o a end he panel, and he e we e o he s who ex- p essed an unde ined idea o “ha e an impac ” (S9). In o he wo ds, he delibe a i e and solu ion-seeking e hos in he domain o public sphe e is s ong in Söd a Sidan’s app oach, e en i he ac ual impac o his app oach is mo e di icul o e alua e. Some o he panelis s exp essed ha hei pa icipa ion had an impac on how hey engaged in online and o line discussions wi h hei pee s a e he s o ies we e published, bu he e we e mo e men ions on how li le, in he end, hei pa icipa ion a ec ed hei su oundings. I you compa e Söd a Sidan o Dewey, ci izens he e do no ha e as di ec an impac o in luence he way how he o ganiza ion is un. Ne e heless, he delibe a i e dimension o Söd a Sidan’s o gan- iza ion becomes appa en h ough he willingness o he news oom s a o ake ci izens’ sugges ions se iously. Sugges ions a e e y seldom igno ed: a phone call om a ci izen ypically esul s ei he in a p omise by a jou nalis o check he issue o a po en ial s o y, o in an in i a ion o he ci izen o w i e a le e o a column on he opic. In he domain o con en p oduc ion, delibe a- ion is appa en a Söd a Sidan in ha ci izens a e aken along as public delibe a o s on he pages o he newspape . This is especially he case in a s o- y ype called “På o ge ”9, which is desc ibed as a “delibe a i e news ea u e” (Beckman, 2011) and highligh ed as he si e in which local people ge o do “public easoning” (S2) as “ac i e c ea o s o lo- cal communi y” (S1). In he p ocess o making “På o ge ”-s o ies, delibe a ion wi h sou ces may esul in changing he s o y heme o iewpoin al oge h- 79 Su le jou nalisme - Abou jou nalism - Sob e jo nalismo - Vol 7, n°2 - 2018 P .No âmbi o da discussão a ual sob e o papel da pa icipação no jo nalismo, es e a igo p opõe analisa as p á icas pa icipa i as no con ex o local. Inspi ados na c í ica do jo nalismo, analisamos as o mas de pa icipação cidadã em dois p oje os especí icos. O p imei o consis e de uma ede associa i a de si es de no ícias hipe - locais em B uxelas (Bélgica), chamada de Dewey ASBL. O segundo é um jo nal semanal g a ui o e p o issional p oduzido em Es ocolmo (Suécia), chamado de Söd a Sidan. O es u- do e e como base 22 en e is as semies u u adas, bem como pe íodos de obse ação nas duas es u u as. A pa icipação, nos dois p oje os, oi examinada po meio de um modelo ma icial em ês ní eis: (1) a comunidade local, (2) as p á icas de p odução, e (3) a es e a pública local; e ambém po ês e apas: (1) o acesso, (2) o diálogo, e (3) a delibe ação. O obje i o oi examina como os cidadãos conside a am a possibilidade de pa icipa no no iciá io local. Embo a a pa icipação es eja no âmago do DNA desses dois p oje os, os esul ados mos am que ela se ealiza de o ma dis in a em cada um deles: o Dewey ga an e um acesso ao p óp io p oje o, bem como à p odução de in o mações, en ando esponsa- biliza os indi íduos e ambém da a eles meios de se exp imi ; já a abo dagem do Söd a Sidan é mais e icaz no que diz espei o às e apas de diálogo e de delibe ação e, assim, os cidadãos in luenciam a manei a na qual os p oblemas são a ados na es e a pública local pelos jo nalis as. Es a compa ação e idencia a plu alidade de o mas e de signi icações que a pa icipação ado a no con ex o local. Pala as-cha e: No ícias locais, jo nalismo local, pa icipação, acesso, diálogo, delibe ação