Civic, professional and amateur: ethical profile of citizen journalism from an interdisciplinary perspective

Abstract

As an alternative to the instrumental approach with which it has been studied in academic literature, from the perspective of the study, the contribution of citizen journalism is the development of its own ethics code as a result of the appropriation of practices originating in journalism that migrate to everyday life; said ethics is not strictly professional but rather a hybrid system of civic concepts and values. With an interdisciplinary perspective and mixed descriptive design, the article proposes an approach to the profile of citizen journalism in the northwestern border of Mexico, through the analysis of ethical-professional practice and differentiation in the public sphere. In results, cluster analysis and use of Grounded Theory show the combination of civic, professional and amateur traits. In both cases, the profiles approach vulnerable sectors and maintain distance from economic interest and the government.