Internet and new communication technologies have drastically changed the way we send and receive messages, changing also the professions engaged in the gathering and diffusion of information. The Internet is by many presumed to have had a democratising effect on journalism, as it can be used to spread counter-hegemonic information and dismantle false objectivity (Castells, 2009, Rodriguez 2012). In this thesis, I examine this assumption by targeting one example of alternative journalism practice online. Through a case study of Paraguayan independent news site E’a, the thesis investigates how digital media affects newsroom structures and organisation as well as the role and objectives of the journalists. Previous theories and research on old and new alternative media, offered by scholars such as Susan Forde, Chris Atton, Leah A. Lievrouw, Olga Guedes Bailey, Bart Cammaerts and Nico Carpentier, are set against the voices of the practitioners producing E’a in this qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews. The thesis comes to the conclusion, that the Internet brings both benefits and drawbacks in the case of E’a. As a cheap way of publishing news, the digital platform serves as a lifebuoy for a project with a very limited commercial base. But the low Internet access in the country (and therefore presumed low impact of the project) and the change in organizational structure (web journalism resulting in a less collaborative form of working) leave the majority of the practitioners with network pessimism and a growing desire offline. Potential future research could look closer at alternative newscontent online, how it is perceived by the readers, as well as group dynamics and gendered participation in the digital era.

Orientador: Maria Cristina Gobbi / Resumo: A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo estudar a OTT-RJ (Onde Tem Tiroteio- RJ), uma rede de comunicação colaborativa online utilizada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, que publica diariamente alertas sobre tiroteios, balas perdidas, arrastões, entre outros tipos de situações de violência. Pretende-se verificar de que maneira suas postagens contribuem para o processo de construção da cidadania e qual a efetiva participação na criação de políticas de segurança pública a partir dos alertas publicados em diferentes redes sociais. O caráter colaborativo -- com denúncias recebidas da própria população --, a divulgação em tempo real, os critérios de checagem e publicação das informações em suas páginas nas principais redes sociais e o desenvolvimento de um aplicativo para celular também serão temas observados na pesquisa. Sob a mirada de uma revisão teórica que trata dos conceitos de Mídia Cidadã e Comunicação Popular, Alternativa e Comunitária, o foco do estudo está nas possibilidades de transformação social a partir dos alertas e das denúncias feitas pela população e para a população. Do mesmo modo, o trabalho busca verificar os níveis de participação dos cidadãos, como a grande mídia repercute essas informações e, por fim, se existe alguma ação do Estado no sentido de transformar a realidade denunciada. Parte-se da premissa de que um novo processo comunicativo, que tem como foco a colaboração, possibilitada pela interação nas redes sociais, está se desenhando – interessa saber... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The current research has as it's objective to study the OTT-RJ (Onde Tem Tiroteio- RJ), a online collaborative information network that publish everyday about shootings, lost bullets, robberies, between other situations of violence, used in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. It is intended to verify in witch way it's posts contribute for the process of citizenship construction and what is the effective participation in the creation of public security politics starting from the alerts published in different social media. The collaborative character – with reports coming from the own population –, the real time disclosure, the checking criterias, the posts of information in ther pages in the main social medias and the development of a phone app will also be themes observed in this search. under the gaze of a theoretical review that treats the concepts of Citizen Media and Popular Communication, Alternative and Community, the focus of the study is in it's possibilities of social transformation starting from the alerts and reports done by the population and for the population. In the same way, the work search to verify the level of citizen's participation, how the big media repercute this informations and, lastly, if there's any action from the State in the sense of transforming the reported reality. It starts of the premise that a new communicative process, that has like it's focus collaboration, made possible by the interaction in the social media, is getting started -- the in... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

With camera, smart phone, and wireless connection to a worldwide distribution source on a single device that fits in your pocket, now billions of citizens are able to become sousveillant micro-media activist – in real time. This case study investigates purposive texts in detail from over 50 hours of live and archived streaming video webcasts taken from geographically diverse sites. The goal is to explore how this tool is being used by videographers in a complex 21st century social movement. My sample video texts were gathered in late February and early March 2012 as the Occupy Movement stirred to life after a relatively quiet winter (from the corporate media’s point-of-view). In this project, I examine how Occupy’s use of live-streaming video combines “mediated co-presence” (Giddens 1984; Ito 2005) with “networked autonomy” (Castells 2011) to represent the ambivalent face of a complex, postmodern movement for social justice. / text

La recherche qui est au centre de ce travail de thèse porte sur les opportunités d’apprentissage qui s’offrent à la personne à l’occasion de la rencontre avec d’autres cultures que la sienne. Elle se focalise plus spécifiquement sur l'observation d'une « communauté » virtuelle, également organisation internationale, consacrée au partage d'informations et de témoignages sur le Web et les réseaux sociaux. Cette communauté, appelée Global Voices, est une organisation de médias qui se divise en régions et langues. Elle compte plus de 800 participants. La plupart de ces participants sont des auteurs et des traducteurs bénévoles.Le cadre conceptuel de la recherche mobilise des théories de l’apprentissage, et notamment celles qui concernent les apprentissages par la participation dans les communautés, dans leurs dimensions interculturelles. Nous nous sommes appuyé également sur certains apports de la sociologie de la communication.Nous avons utilisé une approche monographique pour étudier la « communauté » et ses dynamiques de travail et de participation. Les résultats de cette recherche sont aussi le fruit d'une observation impliquée qui repose sur notre participation à plusieurs postes au sein de Global Voices sur une durée de six ans. L’analyse des données recueillies montre comment les interactions au sein de l’organisation, et les histoires et les témoignages qui se partagent sont aussi pour les membres de Global Voices des expériences d’apprentissage qui mobilisent des processus complexes d’ordre cognitif mais aussi affectif. / The research presented here deals with learning opportunities available to peoplewhen they encounter a different culture. The thesis focuses specifically on the observationof a virtual « community », also an international organization, devoted to share informationand personal accounts online through social media. This community, called Global Voicesis a media organization whose content and teams are divided in regions and languages. Thecommunity is made of over 800 participants, most of them volunteer authors and translators.The conceptual frame of the research uses theories of learning, specially thosedevoted to describe learning through participation in communities, and in an interculturaldimension. We have also searched support on the contributions coming from the Sociologyof Communication.The research uses a monographic approach to study the « community » and itsdynamics of work and participation. The results of the research are also the fruit of anengaged observation work supported by my own participation, a 6 year long participationthat included different roles and levels of engagement inside Global Voices.The analysis of the data show the ways in which interactions at the heart of theorganization, as well as the stories and testimonies shared through Global Voice’s work arealso learning for its learners. Finally, it is concluded that these learning experiences alsobring with them complex processes of a cognitive, but also affective order.

Cette recherche académique s’intéresse à l’émergence des pratiques contemporaines du traitement de l'actualité en ligne, récemment mises à la portée de non professionnels grâce au développement des technologies de l'information et de la communications, et regroupées sous la notion de journalisme citoyen. Deux axes différents mais complémentaires constituent la base essentielle du programme de recherche : Le premier axe consiste à s’interroger sur la nature et l’identité de la profession de journaliste, ses poids et ses limites, ses évolutions après l’émergence du web, l’arrivée de nouveaux supports médiatiques et sa confrontation avec les nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication. Il s’attache également à comprendre et analyser l'essence, les particularités, les dimensions et les défis de la pratique journalistique amateur mise à la portée de tous via la technologie numérique. Le second axe est constitué d’une étude de cas sur les médias citoyens en persan. Il comprend plusieurs pistes de recherche et d’analyse : la sphère journalistique et l'environnement médiatique en Iran. Les circonstances de l’usage d’Internet et le taux de confiance des internautes face aux sources d’information citoyennes. La réception par les journalistes professionnels iraniens du phénomène de journalisme citoyen et celui de l’intervention en ligne de citoyens ordinaires sur l’actualité. Les priorités des créateurs de médias citoyens, leurs propres méthodes dans la collecte, le traitement et la publication de l‘information en ligne. La thèse prend en compte également les limites, restrictions et enjeux identitaires de cette nouvelle pratique journalistique au regard de ses pratiquants. / This academic research focuses on the emergence of contemporary practices in the treatment of online news recently brought within the reach of non-professionals through the development of information and communication technologies, and grouped under the concept of citizen journalism. Two different but complementary approaches constitute the essential basis of this research study: The first approach is to examine the nature and identity of the profession of journalism, its weight and its limits, and its evolution after the emergence of the Web, as well as the arrival of new media technology and its confrontation with information and communication technologies. It also attempts to understand and analyze the essence, characteristics, dimensions and challenges of the uses of amateur journalism brought to the attention of everyone via digital technology. The second approach consists of a case study of citizen media in Persian. It includes several researches and analyses, such as: The sphere of journalism and the media environment in Iran; the way in which Internet is used and the rate of trust of internet-users vis-à-vis the source of online information from citizens; the manner in which Iranian professional journalism receives citizen journalism and ordinary people’s involvement in the current affairs; the priorities of the creators of citizen media, and their own methods of collecting, processing and publishing online information. This thesis also takes into account the limitations, restrictions and identified issues of this new journalism practice in relation to its practitioners.