Welcome to "On Assignment," the podcast that goes behind the headlines to explore the changing world of journalism. I'm your host, Gath Townsend. Today, we're talking about a phenomenon that's everywhere in the news: user-generated content, or UGC. It's the photos, videos, tweets, and stories shared by everyday people that often end up in professional news reports.

To help us understand user-generated content in news, its potential, and its challenges, we're joined by Dr. Marisol Treviño, an expert in digital media and journalism. Dr. Treviño, thank you for being here.

Thank you for having me, Gath. It's a fascinating and important topic right now.

Let's start with the basics. What exactly is user-generated content?

Simply put, user-generated content is any material created and shared by individuals, rather than professional media staff. It includes things like text posts, photos, videos, audio recordings, comments, and even reviews found on social media platforms, websites, and forums. It's content produced "outside the realm of a profession and professional routines."

So, it's not produced by trained journalists?

That's right. And while the term "UGC" became popular in the early 2000s with the interactive web, but the idea of audiences contributing content isn't entirely new. You can think of letters to the editor or call-in radio shows as early forms of user-generated content. The key difference today is the sheer volume and variety, driven by digital tools like smartphones and social media.

And how has this explosion of UGC changed journalism?

It's fundamentally changing the news business. UGC can complement, add to, inform, or even form the basis of professional journalism. It's particularly valuable during breaking news events or crises when professional journalists can't be everywhere at once. Eyewitness accounts and media shared from the scene, like during natural disasters or protests, provide a sense of immediacy and authenticity that audiences respond to.

It allows voices traditionally ignored or neglected by mainstream media to have a platform. It can also drive the news agenda, pushing mainstream organizations to cover stories they might otherwise miss, according to Michael Lithgow, An Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Athabasca University. This shift is moving journalism from a one-way lecture to more of an open conversation.

I can hear the comments coming in from our listeners already as it sounds like it blurs the lines between who is a journalist and who isn't.

It absolutely does. It turns audiences from passive receivers into active content creators. This has led to concepts like "participatory journalism," where mainstream media integrate user contributions, and "citizen journalism," where people gather and publish news independently. While citizen journalism is entirely user-driven, participatory journalism involves professionals framing and incorporating user input. Another term is "networked journalism," which emphasizes collaboration between mainstream media and the audience.

With so much content coming from non-professionals, how can news organizations ensure quality?

I imagine a newsroom could have to wade through piles of useless information and bad reporting to get to the content they want to use. And that's before we even mention misinformation and disinformation created specifically to deceive.

So are news organizations training people to create UGC?

That's an absolutely crucial question. While many newsrooms use content that's already out there, some organizations are taking steps to cultivate and train citizen contributors. For instance, The Documenters Network, powered by City Bureau in Chicago, recruits, trains, and pays engaged citizens to attend public meetings and create a public record through structured note-taking, photos, and audio/video. They are trained in newsgathering but focus on creating structured data rather than traditional articles. This information then can help editors and journalists back in the newsroom make informed decisions about what stories to pursue. It's about efficiently using the limited resources they have. The Documenters Network is currently in 28 cities and municipalities from big metro areas like Chicago and Philadelphia to more rural areas like Centre County, Pennsylvania and Cape May County in New Jersey.

And this isn't limited to the United States. ABC Open in Australia runs digital-skills workshops to help rural residents tell their stories and contribute to the platform. The platform HasseltLokaal, a local community website in Belgium, requires coordination and even training for its amateur journalists.

So, it's not just about receiving content, but actively working with contributors.

Yes, quite. However, resource constraints and daily routines in busy newsrooms can make this high-touch approach challenging. Journalists are often under pressure and may fall back on traditional, familiar sources like news agencies. The volume of UGC is vast, and managing and moderating it is time-consuming. Some news organizations have created dedicated social media units or new job profiles specifically to handle this influx of content.

Ok, so newsrooms are getting the content, interpreting it, moderating it and then using it. But what about the audience? Do readers trust UGC as much as content from professional journalists?

That's a significant challenge. Research indicates that using UGC can actually decrease the perceived trustworthiness of a news article. This effect isn't always dramatic, but UGC use doesn't seem to improve any of the factors that make up trustworthiness.

Readers have concerns about the quality, objectivity, independence, and accountability of non-professional contributors, who may have personal biases. Even when UGC is presented alongside professional content, audiences might "muddle the messages together" and not distinguish the different sources or standards.

There's also, as you mentioned earlier, the risk of misinformation, disinformation, and unprofessional content appearing in UGC, which requires rigorous policing by news organizations. Studies show that while people generally support content moderation, they can be critical of its application to specific examples.

Trust in news media generally seems to be low, and using UGC, especially unverified content, can risk a news organization's credibility and reputation. Adding to this, there's the challenge of political polarization, where users might perceive fact-checks differently, especially for content from influential figures, leading to lower consensus on accuracy.

So, how do news organizations navigate these trust issues and maintain quality and editorial standards when using UGC?

Verification is absolutely key. Journalists have a fundamental duty to verify all information they publish. This is seen as a core element of their professional identity and credibility.

Best practices involve rigorous checking, even under tight deadlines. Verification methods can include cross-referencing information with trusted sources like news agencies or other credible outlets, contacting the original content creator for more details or permission, and using online verification tools. However, no single tool can fully verify everything, and the process is labor-intensive.

My fallback is, "When in doubt, leave it out."

News organizations also need clear guidelines and codes of conduct for journalists handling UGC. These guidelines should cover verification, obtaining consent from the creator, giving proper credit, privacy, and duty of care.

Transparency is also crucial. News organizations should be clear with their audience about what they will do with contributions and clearly label UGC as such. Lack of clear labeling or crediting can confuse the audience and diminish trust.

Despite the challenges, many news organizations are working to integrate verification and moderation into their workflows, sometimes using automated systems, like Logora, alongside human review, although human judgment is still essential, especially for complex content, as noted in research on community guidelines. Journalists must still act as gatekeepers, despite concerns that workload and time constraints impact verification.

It sounds like a constant balancing act between embracing new sources and maintaining journalistic integrity.

It is. UGC offers tremendous opportunities for richer, more authentic, and immediate news coverage. But leveraging that potential requires significant investment in training, verification tools, clear guidelines, and dedicated staff to manage the volume and ensure accuracy and ethical use. CJR Guide to Crowdsourcing and the BBC, HasseltLokaal in Belgium, and many others have developed extensive guides for their organizations. And these can be invaluable jumping-off points for news organizations wishing to use user-generated content in their newsrooms.

It also requires a shift in newsroom culture and structure to truly foster collaboration between professionals and the public. Ultimately, it’s about adapting traditional journalistic values—like verification and gatekeeping—to the digital age, ensuring that the audience is well-informed and trusts the news they receive.

Dr. Marisol Treviño, thank you for shedding light on this complex and evolving area of journalism.

My pleasure, Gath.

That's all for this episode of "On Assignment." Robert Sterner produced this episode from The Assignment Desk.

Next week on On Assignment: We explore “Quantum Civics”—why zooming in on local news might be the key to bridging national divides, with help from groups like Braver Angels and their powerful “Walk a Mile in My News” project.