Sources are the backbone of any good story. It adds dimension by providing the perspective of others who have had a firsthand experience with the subject matter or even someone with a greater understanding of the subject.
User feedback is a great way for the audience to engage with a story. Not only can this form of participatory journalism provide suggestions for how to improve as a storyteller but can provide additional information to a story that may have otherwise remained missing.
User-generated content is a step further from just a comment. This is a greater contribution to a story in the form of other media types such as photography or video. The user remains the underlying contributor between these two participatory journalism forms.
Crowdsourcing is the most collective form of participatory journalism as it requires multiple people to contribute to a singular piece of content. This comes with the advantage of each member contributing a unique piece to the whole that only they can provide.
Citizen journalism is just what the name implies. It puts some (not all) of the power that comes with being a journalist into the hands of the average person. This helps provide a more in-depth look into a story by telling it with a more first-hand account of events as well as a different perspective in general.
The most obvious example of user feedback is the comment section of any news publication. This provides an outlet for the audience to voice their opinion. One downside that comes with the comment section is that it can become quite one-sided as there is often a lack of a back-and-forth conversation.
Examples of sources can vary widely from experts on certain topics, people who are affected by events, or even those in positions of power who have control over relevant issues.
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