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Spark 001: Central Valley Stories (Trook)

Spring 2025

Selected Newspaper Databases

Citizen Journalism

When members of the community participate in gathering, reporting and sharing the kind of information that we would expect from traditional news outlets. 

You've probably seen examples of this in your own life. Individuals at the scene of an event reporting out what is happening, typically from their point of view using social media. This information can be in-line with or contradicting traditional media outlets. An example of this is the Arab Spring in 2011 where coverage of protests and demonstrations was prominent on Twitter.

Social media content can sometimes be more difficult to verify than other news sources but you can still use the SIFT method and determine whether or not you find the information credible.

We'll include some additional videos below about bias and evaluating online content.  

 

Helpful guides from UC Merced