Women in Citizen Media – The Image of the Modern Female Journalist Małgorzata Łosiewicz

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Women in Citizen Media –

The Image of the Modern Female Journalist Małgorzata Łosiewicz

Citation: Łosiewicz, M. (2011). Women in Citizen Media – The Image of the Modern Female Journalist. W: J. Smól (red.), Naprawdę jaka jesteś, nie wie nikt: obraz kobiety w języku i literaturze (s. 253–273). Poznań: Instytut Naukowo-Wydawniczy

Maiuscula. ISBN 978-83-931527-7-3.

© Korzystanie z tego materiału jest możliwe zgodnie z właściwymi przepisami o

dozwolonym użytku lub o innych wyjątkach przewidzianych w przepisach prawa, a

korzystanie w szerszym zakresie wymaga uzyskania zgody uprawnionego.

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W OMEN IN CITIZEN MEDIA - THE IMAGE OF THE M ODERN FEMALE JOURNALIST

Małgorzata Łosiewicz

Uniwersytet G dański

W om en in Citizen M edia

- The Im age of the M odern Female Journalist

At th e tu r n o f th e 1970’s an d 1980’s th e law th e n effective in Poland reinforced th e tra d itio n a l m odel o f Polish family. It was assum ed th a t n u m ero u s privileges of th e arc h e ty p a l Polish M other, as a ch ild ren -ra isin g hom e-m aker, w ould lim it th e activities o f w om en to th e areas in question. T he p e rio d o f tra n sfo rm a tio n o f th e socio-econ om ic an d po litical system b ro u g h t ab o u t a red u c tio n o f th e privileges related to p e rfo rm a n c e o f hom e a n d fam ily tasks. Since 22 June 2001 th e Polish law1 includes a rule p ro v id in g for equal rig h ts o f m en an d w om en, p ro h ib itin g d isc rim in a tio n o f job-seek ers by em ployers-to-be, also for g ender reaso n s2.

As far as th e professional situ a tio n o f w om en' is co n cerned, „a considerable im p act on th e g ro w th o f professional em ploym ent o f w om en h a d th e ex p iratio n o f th e retire m e n t schem es allow ing m assive retire m e n t o f w om en o f 55 years o f age w ho cou ld claim 30 years o f pensionable serv ice”3. In 2010 th e econom ic activity rate o f w om en equaled 49% (65% in case o f m en)4.

As research shows, th e „glass ceiling effect” forcing w om en to s ta rt a business o f th e ir ow n for fear th a t - if em ployed - th ey w ould n o t be p ro m o ted to h ig her a n d b e tte r p a id p o sitions ow ing to th e ir gender, has been g rad u ally d eclining. 37%

o f P o la n d ’s sm all firm s are ow ned by w om en, th e ratio being one o f th e h ig h est a m o ng EU M em b er States. In ad d itio n , ever greater n u m b ers o f w om en take up professional em ploym ent, n o t only to e a rn a living, b u t - even to a g reater extent - to satisfy th e ir ow n professional am b itio n s”.5 W om en are presen t in all fields of

1 A r t 12 p ar. 3 a o f tlic A c t to A m e n d th e A c t on E m p lo y m e n t a n d P re v e n tio n o f U n e m p lo y m e n t o f 2 2 Ju n e , 2001 (J o u rn a l o f L a w s N o . 89, ite m 973).

2 T h e A c t a lso m e n tio n s o th e r c rite r ia , s u c h as age, ra c e, n a tio n a lity , p o litic a l o r re lig io u s b e lie fs a n d tra d e u n io n m e m b e rs h ip . C f. m o re b ro a d ly : J o u rn a l o f Law s N o. 89, ite m 973.

3 J.K . K o w a lsk i, K o b ie ty b r y lu ją w b iz n e s ie [F e m a le -O w n e d B u s in e s s e s S h in e ], “ D z ie n n ik . G a z e ta P ra w n a ”, vol.

7 4 / 2011, p.6.

4 R e p o rt b y S e d la k 8 c S e d lak , S y tu a c ja k o b ie t n a r y n k u p r a c y [W o m e n in th e L a b o u r M a rk e t], F o r a b r o a d e r d is c u s s io n see D .K a n ie w s k a , R a p o r t na te m a t a k ty w n o ś c i za w o d o w e j z o k a z ji D n ia K o b ie t [A R e p o r t o n W o m e n ’s E c o n o m ic A c tiv ity O c c a s io n e d b y W o m e n ’s D ay] h ttp :// w w w .w ia d o m o s c i2 4 .p l /a r ty k u l/r a p o r t_ n a _ te m a t_ a k ty w n o s c i_

z a w o d o w e j_ z _ o k a z ji_ d n ia _ k o b ie t_ 1 8 5 5 0 5 .h tm l, [accessed o n 18.05.11]

5 J.K . K o w a lsk i, o p .c it, p.6.

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NAPRAWDĘ JAKA JESTEŚ. NIE WIE NIKT

business life, th e ir activity being p a rtic u la rly conspicuous in th e sector o f services.

For th e p u rp o se o f th is paper, the a u th o r shall explore th e area of m ass m edia as th e field o f professional activ ity o f w om en.

Profession: Journalist - the Case of Poland’s Market

Present-day mass m edia have been experiencing a dynam ic development. It con

sists in a far-going transform ation involving new technologies which facilitate mass com m unication and thus exert im pact not only on social dialogue, but also on jo u r

nalists and the m odes of th eir operation.

As the research on the image of the Polish jo urnalist in 2010, carried out by the Institute of Public Affairs shows, “a journalist in Poland is a TV presenter, a m iddle- aged m an, n o t guided by any p articu lar sense o f a m ission, but rather doing a job as anyone else does”6. M en m ake up a m ajority of the people in the trade (57.5%), women accounting for the rem aining portion o f 42.5%7. Such is the image of a journalist, as viewed by the respondents (1,002 adults, ranging from 15 to 75 years of age) whose views were, undoubtedly, shaped by messages com ing from mass m edia. The respon

dents w ould talk about “m iddle-aged m en getting paid over the national average”8, the journalists being perceived mostly as „people conducting interviews and hosting discussions on the TV or radio, reporters or T V /radio presenters”9. Every th ird infor

m ant recognised, as journalists, authors o f press articles, only 3% o f the respondents m entioning the category of Internet journalists.

Journalists are persons enjoying high public tru st (they are tru sted by 75% of the society). In judgm ent of the respondents it is, first of all, the speed o f news com m uni

cation th at the journalists should take care of. Every second respondent expects them to convey absolute tru th to the public. The inform ants think, however, that it is mostly politics th at journ alists are interested in, which politics veils to them „the problem s of people in the street. The said is the p roo f o f a loss of contact betw een m ass m edia and the society, an alienation, as it were, of journalists from th eir readers/viewers/

listeners.”10

M eanw hile, for the jo u rn alists them selves, th eir „job is bo th passion and voca

tion. M ore th a n th re e -fo u rth s of those enjoy th eir profession, h a lf o f the jo u rn a list co m m u n ity not even th in k in g of changing it. At the sam e tim e great p a rt of the jo u rn alists p o in t out to adverse changes having tak en place in the jo u rn a lis t’s job.

These include:

6 J .K u c h a rc z y k (cd.), K io p iln u je s tr a ż n ik ó w .O d p o w ie d z ia ln e d z ie n n ik a r s tw o w d e m o k r a ty c z n e j P o lsc e , [W h o m A rc th e G u a rd s G u a r d e d B y? R e lia b le J o u rn a lis m in D e m o c ra tic P o la n d ], W a rsz a w a 2011, p.56.

7 M . P a lc z ew sk i, O b ra z p o lskieg o d z ie n n ik a r z a na p o d s ta w ie R a p o r tu SDP. K ró tk a a n a liz a [T he Im a g e o f a P o lish J o u r n a lis t as B ased o n a R e p o r t b y th e A s s o c ia tio n o f P o lish J o u rn a lis ts . A B rie f A n a ly sis] h ttp ://w w w .s d p .p l/o b ra z - p o ls k ie g o -d z ie n n ik a r z a , [accessed o n 17.05.11]

8 J .K u c h a r c z y k (cd.), o p .cit, p .56.

9 Id id e m ,s .5 6 10 Ib id e m , 56,57.

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a grow ing power of the Web, declining standards o f journalism ,

p u rsu it of sensation and growing tabloidization of m ass m edia, casual persons in the trade,

too easy access to „journalism ” by persons lacking due professional background and skills,

ever greater com m ercialization o f the profession: dependence on publishers, opi

nion poll results, advertising, dem and for inform ation o f a specific kind, heavy tim e pressure the journalists have to work u n d er”11.

Journalists recognize both advantages and draw backs of the Internet. They do real

ize the new opportunities it provides - u n lim ited access to m aterials, readers/viewers/

listeners, interaction w ith the latter. But there are m any unfavourable phenom ena as well, affecting th e job they do and th eir com m unity as a whole. M odern inform ation techniques allow anybody th at has access to the W eb to publish all kinds o f inform a

tion, the quality of it at tim es leaving m uch to be desired. M any people lacking profes

sional background and experience have directly and uncritically adopted the „we the m edia”12 slogan and considered them „journalists” from th at tim e on. This results in the Internet getting cram m ed w ith masses o f absolutely w orthless c o n te n t. The condi

tion of jou rn alist circles is being found the weak point by the journalists themselves.

D eclining educational standards o f the jo urnalists are being pointed out to, just as are their biased political opinions, pressure exerted by the editors heavily m onitoring view ing/listening/reading rates. That m onitoring fu rth e r translates into pressure on the journ alists by th eir bosses, the fact being stressed by 92%13 o f respondents. It is m ostly the way of presentation and the final shape of the presented m aterial th at is the contested m atter.

Despite draw backs of the job, 76% o f the polled journalists adm it th at they draw satisfaction from doing it, only 14%14 expressing unequivocal dissatisfaction. Hence being a jo u rn alist is a source o f pleasure to an overw helm ing m ajority of the profes

sionals.

In view o f th e presented results of research and discussions, a question can be asked: what, in fact, is m odern journalism ? A ccording to Teresa Sasiriska-Klas15, at least th e following options can be considered: those o f a job, mission, passion or sim ply trade. In the ever changing social, political and cultural environm ent it is perhaps impossible to give an ultim ate answer. The volatile environm ent m akes journalism evolve, leaving it no chance to resist to the h appening changes.

11 M . G rabarczyk-T okaj,Z £7w 0c/ a m b iw a le n tn y d z ie n n i k a r z e 2 0 1 0 [A n A m b iv a le n t Jo b - J o u r n a lis ts o f 2010] IM M , W a rsz a w a 201 0 , p .8. h ttp :// w w w .in s t y tu t.c o m .p l/r a p o rty /I M M /o _ fir m ie /D Z I E N N I K A R Z E _ 2 0 1 0 _ IM M _ m e d ia . p d f, [a c c e s s e d o n 19.05.11].

12 T itle o f a w e ll-k n o w b o o k by D .G illm o r m a r k in g a m e a n in g fu l b e g in n in g o f th e c itiz e n jo u rn a lis m . 13 M . G ra b a rc z y k -T o k a j,o p .c it, p.14

14 Ib id e m , p. 15.

15 T. S a s iń sk a -K la s , D z i e n n ik a r s tw o - z a w ó d c zy w yzw a n ie ? w : D z ie n n ik a r s tw o i ś w ia t m e d ió w [J o u r n a lis m - A Job o r C h a lle n g e ? [in:] J o u rn a lis m a n d th e W o rld o f M ed ia ], K ra k ó w 20 0 4 .

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NAPRAWDĘ JAKA JESTEŚ, NIE WIE NIKT

New Mass Media

The era o f com m unication, characterised by developm ent of m ass com m unica

tion techniques, m akes mass m edia p a rt an d parcel of the contem porary world. Their om nipresence translates into changes o f life o f both individuals and whole societies.

The transform ation of attitudes, views and institutions - w hether favourable or ad

verse - results in h um an com m unication becom ing unthinkable w ithout mass m edia involvement.

W hat are m ass m edia then? Mass m edia16, also referred to as m eans of m ass com m unication, are “institutions an d technical facilities used to convey inform ation to large, diversified an d anonym ous groups of people in a comprehensive and quick way.

They can be roughly divided into traditional m edia, such as books, press, radio, TV;

alternative m edia which include direct satellite and cable TV, VCRs, com pact discs, teletext, videotext, m ultim edia computers.”17 The facilities have im m ediate influence on the increase o f volum e and speed o f transm ission of inform ation. Despite the great role played by them they cannot be regarded as sole and sufficient m eans o f mass com m unication. In order to m ake the p icture o f the realities of m ass com m unication complete, social institutions pooling both technical m eans related to developm ent and d istribution o f content and team s o f people developing it for the use o f a m ass reader/

listener/viewer have to be m entioned as well. The addressees o f th eir messages are countless, socially diversified a n d spatially dispersed people who can include virtually anybody interested in the issued/broadcast m atter at a specific tim e.18 Yet the m eaning o f th e public n atu re of a m ass transm ission has to be broader. As Maciej M rozowski puts it: “th e transm ission is a vital com ponent of the public sphere, i.e. the social space where reasonable discussion on public affairs between political/business élites and citizen com m unities is possible. The public sphere should be open and accessible to anybody w illing to take the floor to discuss public m atters (and being able to do so) while respecting basic rules of a political discourse”19. A nd thus the features of mass com m unication, i.e. its periodical nature, conventionality and continuity help create social reality by intensification o f com m unication flows in three areas: the public area, the area of institutions and the private one.

N or can th e m eaning of m ass m edia to th e life of individuals and entire societies be neglected. W ith th e advent of m odern inform ation technologies and the appear

16 T h e n o tio n o f m a s s m e d ia c o m e s fr o m a c o m b in a tio n o f L a tin m e d ia (m e d ia o r m e a n s) a n d th e w o rd o f m a ss a llu d in g to m a ss p u b lis h in g /b r o a d c a s tin g a n d re c e p tio n . F o r a b r o a d e r d is c u s s io n cf. T. G o b a n -K la s: M e d ia i k o m u n ik o w a n ie m a so w e . Teorie i a n a liz y pra sy, ra d ia , te le w iz ji i I n te r n e tu (M e d ia a n d M ass C o m m u n ic a t io n . T h e o rie s a n d A n a ly se s o f th e P re s s, R ad io , T V a n d I n te r n e t] , W a rsz a w a - K ra k ó w 1999, p. 112.

17 J. S k r z y p c z a k (éd.): A k tu a liz a c je E n c y k lo p ed y c zn e . S u p le m e n t do W ie lk ie j Ilu s tr o w a n e j E n c y k lo p e d ii P o w szech n ej W y d a w n ic tw a G u te n b erg a . M e d ia , to m 11 [E n cy c lo p a e d ica l U p d a te s . A S u p p le m e n t to th e G u te n b e r g G re a t Ill u s tr a te d E n c y c lo p a e d ia , vol. 11], P o z n a ń 1998, p. 130.

18 M . Ł o sie w ic z, K re o w a n ie o b y w a te ls k ie j r ze c zy w isto ś c i p r z e z o rg a n iza c je p o z a r z ą d o w e n a p r z y k ła d z ie M e d ió w O b y w a te ls k ic h z E lb lą g a ,[ w:] J.K reft, J. M aje w sk i, M e d ia , B izn e s, K u ltu r a 2010 ( w d r u k u j [C re a tio n o f C itiz e n R ea lity b y N G O s - th e C a s e o f C itiz e n M e d ia o f E lb ląg (in:) W . K reft, J. M aje w sk i, M e d ia , B u sin e ss, C u ltu r e 2010 (in p rin t)].

19 M . M ro z o w s k i, M e d ia m a so w e . W ła d z a , ro zr y w k a i b izn e s [M ass M e d ia . P o w er, E n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d B u sin ess], W a rsz a w a 20 0 1 , p. 45.

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W OMEN IN CITIZEN MEDIA - THE IMAGE OF THE MODERN FEMALE JOURNALIST

ance o f new m edia, additional and earlier non-existent opportunities were offered to the readers/listeners/viewers. The transfer o f content becam e a two-way process and, consequently, a revolution was started w ithin th e curren t com m unication order in volving m edia. Those h itherto m aking up th e audience were provided with tools for developm ent and In the past, m edia users could only play a passive role, not being in a position to act as senders themselves, m uch less to provide any on-line feedback.

That o p p o rtu n ity was brought to them by the advent o f th e said new m edia that can be roughly defined as “com m unication, usually com puter-based technologies allowing or facilitating interactions am ong their users or betw een the users and the inform ation.

Full interactivity m eans th at those sending th e inform ation and those receiving it can exchange places, the sender reacting to a recipient’s statem ent w hich is itself a reac

tion to th e sender’s earlier statem ent. The notion of interactivity can be extended to include coupling of the m edia with a com puter so as to increase th eir usefulness and widen th eir application. C onnecting a com puter to m eans of telecom m unications or a transm ission system allows interactivity betw een system com ponents and gives one full control of the pace, stru cture and contents o f com m unication. The new m edia, understood as all the techniques of acquisition, recording, processing and tran sm is

sion of data/sound/im age m ake creators an d recipients o f the content equal p arts of the process o f com m unication”20. The one-way exchange of inform ation, w ith the re

cipient playing only a passive role, as characteristic for Web 1.0 operation (the first stage of th e Internet) proved to be o f little functionality to the users. It was than k s to their expectations that new opportunities appeared, m aking interaction possible on an unprecedented scale.

The practically unlim ited access to various content w ithout interm ediation and control o f m ass distribution systems has resulted in the “emergence o f blogs and p o r

tals, while the h itherto passive recipients, supplied w ith relevant tools, sta rt extending websites an d become creators o f the presented inform ation. O ne o f the first websites of th at k in d was Flickr allowing Internet surfers to publish th eir photos on-line and com m ent on those. In such a way a com m unity em bracing photo equipm ent/photog

raphy fans was form ed. O ther sim ilar websites include YouTube operating than ks to short films p u t by the netw ork users or Digg website allowing people vote stories up or down. It is on a sim ilar principle th at social news websites (Facebook) or encyclopae

dias (W ikipedia) are operated”.21

Follow ing th e idea of Tom asz G oban-K las, a new suppressed by contacts via m e

dia. That ty pe o f a society is characterized by m ed ia/in fo rm atio n techniques sup

p o rtin g alm o st each field of h u m an activity, th e said being tru e about global and

2 0 B. K ije w sk a , In te r n e t ja k o p r z y k ła d n o w y c h m e d ió w a e m a n c y p a c ja k o b ie t [T he I n te r n e t a s a n E x a m p le o f N ew M ed ia a n d th e E m a n c ip a tio n o f W o m e n ] h ttp ://w w w .m a s s c o m m .p l/s ta r t.a s p ? id ll= i n f o & id 2 2 = b r ie f & id 3 = l, [accessed o n l 9 .0 5 .l l ] . C f. D iz a rd W . Jr., O ld M e d ia N e w M e d ia . M a ss C o m m u n ic a tio n in th e In fo r m a tio n A ge, N e w Y ork 2000.

21 M .Ł o sic w ic z , B .K Ju sc k -W o jc isz k c , M e d ia o b y w a te ls k ie j a k o p la tfo r m a k o m u n ik a c ji m ię d z y lu d z k ie j,[w:] G .E . K w ia tk o w sk a , K . M a r k ie w ic z , K o m u n ik o w a n ie się. N o w e w y z w a n ia [C itiz e n M e d ia as a P la tfo rm o f In te rp e rs o n a l C o m m u n ic a tio n (in :) C o m m u n ic a tio n . N e w C h a lle n g e s ], L u b lin 2010, p.5 4 .

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local dim ension, individual and organizational contacts alike22. A group o f m edia using and com bining technology, telecom m unications, text, image, sound and so

cial interactions w ith th e involvem ent o f th e In ternet, is social m ed ia23. H ardly can the notion be easily explained, as there has been no com m only adopted (and ac

cepted) definition in the literatu re so far, ow ing to p e rm a n en t developm ent of the concept, referred to using different - an d not properly sorted out - term inology.

W hen m ak in g a review o f th e existing definitions, it is reasonable to sta rt from th a t provided by W ikipedia being a social m edium schem e itself. Presented in it is an explanation sta rtin g from the com m only used, global-wise English definition of th e social m edia, recognized as the “m edia available, first of all, on the Web and via m obile equipm ent, allow ing users exchange in form ation betw een one another.

(...) The m ode o f in teractin g an d p resenting inform ation depends on th e view po

in t o f th e users an d th e contents exchanged by the com m unities (stories and expe

riences). For com panies social m edia is a valuable source o f content created by th e users, referred to as UGC (U ser-G enerated C on tent) or C onsum er G enerated M edia (CGM))”24. As th e above definition reveals, from the social m edia’s p o in t o f view th e ir users are divided into two sectors, the private a n d th e business one. C onsidering th e users, o r com m unities, T. Sm ektala has defined e-com m un ity as a “co m m u nity o f th e In te rn et users who actively use th a t co m m u nicatio n platform for exchange o f in form atio n and messages related to th e ir com m on interests, beliefs o r attitudes.”25.

In his presen tation o f th e n o tio n th e a u th o r has n o t taken into account an essential aspect o f the social m edia, though, viz. technical solutions. This is w hy it is the definition by A ndreas Kaplan an d M ichael H aenlein th a t should come next in our review o f definitions. The authors have encapsulated the technical aspect in th eir considerations by stating th a t “social m edia is a group o f on-line applications based on W eb 2.0 ideology an d technology, allow ing the users to create and exchange co n

tent.”26 D elim itation betw een th e notions of social m edia an d Web. 2 was attain ed by the definition, w hich notions are, for th e m ost p a rt, used interchangeably and thus erroneously, since each o f th e notions has its specific m eaning. Differences betw een th em are presented by D o m in ik K azanowski. As the latter claim s, “as far as W eb 2.0 is concerned, there exists a m ain sender of th e m essage who, using tools o f In te r

net com m u nication, d irects a m aterial o r m aterial/em otional m essage to a w ider or narrow er group of recipients aim in g to evoke interaction. M eanw hile com m unities are based on p articip atio n and creation o f a context rath e r th a n content. Messages

22 T. G o b a n -K la s, M e d ia i k o m u n ik o w a n ie m a so w e [M e d ia a n d M a ss C o m m u n ic a tio n ] , W a rsz a w a 2 0 0 5 , pp . 293-295 23 M e d ia s p o lec zn o sc io w e [S ocial M ed ia ] h ttp ://w w w .k u rs u s a b ility .p l/s lo w n ik -in te ra c tiv e /m e d ia - s p o le c z n o s c io w e ~

a n g -s o c ia l- m e d ia , [ a cc e sse d o n 17.05.11].

2 4 M e d ia s p o lec zn o sc io w e [S ocial M ed ia ] h ttp ://w w w .k u rs u s a b ility .p l/s lo w n ik -in te ra c tiv e /m e d ia - s p o le c z n o s c io w e — a n g -s o c ia l- m e d ia , [accessed o n 17.05.11]

25 T. S m e k ta la , P u b lic R e la tio n s w In te r n e c ie [P u b lic R e la tio n s o n th e W eb ], W ro c la w 2 0 0 6 , p. 148.

26 A. K a p la n , M . H a e n le in , U se rs o f th e w o rld , u n ite ! T h e c h a lle n g e s a n d o p p o r tu n i tie s o f S o c ia l M e d ia , h ttp ://w w w . s lid e sh a r e .n e t/g u e s te f 2 b 2 f /s o c ia l- m e d ia - d e fin itio n -a n d -c la s s ific a tio n (accessed o n 16.05.11]

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provided via social m edia are also aim ed at soliciting interaction, but of a m uch w ider scope and in a way th at is less expansive in term s o f ideology an d em otions”27.

W hen it comes to definitions concerning the other sector of social m edia users, i.e. the business, the author finds the following definition by D. Trzeciak appropriate.

According to him , social m edia is “a set o f relations, behaviour patterns, em otions, em pirical knowledge and interactions betw een consum ers and brands, with m u lti

directional com m unication to exchange experience using advanced tools of com m u

nication’-8. In th at presentation im p o rtan t are relationships between the organiza

tion and consum er, which relations - th an k s to com m unication flows - lead towards a better recognition of m utual needs and expectations. Social m edia m ake up an arena here, to allow exchange of experience, standpoints and im pressions in the field direc

tly or indirectly related to the com m ercial offer.

Are wom en participants of social media? If so, do they rather participate in the business or non-business area o f the media? If they do not participate, however, what are the reasons? In order to answer th e questions, the author has carried a research on a group of full-tim e and weekend students aged 20-43 years. The activity of wom en proved to be m ore intense, as 87% of female respondents declared their active p ar

ticipation in social news websites29. They also m ake up the bulk o f participants of Facebook (63%) and the Polish website o f Nasza Klasa [Our Class) (69%). As the “2009 W om en an d Social M edia Study” report states, the only „m asculinised” social news website is Digg ( w ith m en accounting for 64% of the users)30. C om ing back to the research done by the author, as regards tim e spent on social news websites, women declared staying for 4 hours a day there, as opposed to 2.5 hours spent by men. The dif

ference is thus considerable and am ounts to 30% in favour o f women, who log in m ore frequently and stay longer. 72% o f the polled w om en declared that they would log in daily. W om en m ake acquaintances, discuss products and services, share opinions and experience, p u t photos or short films on the Web and com m ent on entries by other people. M en search for inform ation, first of all.

Such anim ation of the society has been a result of the m edia’s stim ulating role, allowing interaction o f com m unications flows between various subjects of the process occur. At first m edia raise interest in social affairs, thus contributing to free and public expression o f views. Next stage consists in the society getting inspired to participate

27 M a g d a le n a Lis, S o cia l m e d ia , p o r la le sp o leczn o scio w e, W eb 2 .0 [S ocial M e d ia , Social N e tw o r k in g P o r ta ls , W eb 2.0], h t i p : / / w w w .e u ro p a e .p l/in d e x .p h p ? o p tio n = c o m _ c o n te n l& v ie w = a rtic le & id = 3 3 8 :s o c ia l-m c d ia -p o r ta le - sp o e c z n o c io w e -w e b -2 0 & c a tid = 7 9 :a rty k u y & Ile m id = 1 2 0 , [accessed o n 10.05.11], a fte r D. K a zn o w sk i, N o w y m a r k e tin g [N ew M a r k e tin g ], V F P C o m m u n ic a t io n Sp. z o.o ., W a rsz a w a 2 0 0 8 , p. 50.

28 D. T rz e c ia k , C z y m sq S o cia l M e d ia - Era S o cia l M e d ia [W h a t A re S o cial M ed ia?. T h e E ra o f S o cial M e d ia l h ttp ://

in te ra k ty w n ie .c o m /b iz n e s /b lo g - e k s p e r c k i/s o c ia l- m e d ia /c z y m -s a - s o c ia l- m e d ia -e ra -s o c ia l- m e d ia - 7 9 5 6 , [accessed o n 18.05.11],

29 A s o p p o s e d to 64% o f m e n m a k in g s u c h a d e c la ra tio n .

30 N . D o lz y c k a , K o b ie ty w m e d ia c h sp o lec zn o sc io w y ch [W o m e n in S o cial M ed ia] h ttp ://s o c jo m a n ia .p l/k o b ie ly - w - m e d ia c h -sp o le c z n o s c io w y c h - c z -1 /. D a ta b a s e d o n th e re s e a rc h c o v ered b y “2 0 0 9 W o m e n a n d S o cial M e d ia S tu d y ” re p o r t d e v e lo p e d b y B lo g H er, ¡V illag e a n d C o m p a ss P a rtn e rs , [accessed o n 18.05.11].

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in civic undertakings and initiatives. It is in these considerations th at th e notion of a citizen society a p p e a rs.31.

Citizen Journalism

Citizen society is a term denoting „various forms of social self-organisation, as stem m ing from the sense of responsibility o f a specific com m unity for th eir fortunes.

The self-organisation is im plem ented w ithin the lim its o f law and aim s at identifica

tion of social goals being o f im portance for the com m unity32. Through the exam ina

tion o f a citizen society as composed of actively com m itted m em bers dealing with vital citizen issues, and assisted by the new m edia, the phenom enon of citizen jo u rn a l

ism can be arrived at.

Polish press law does not include the notion o f a “citizen jo urn alism ” or “citi

zen jo u rn alist”. Instead, there exists in it a rath er broad legal term of a “jo u rn alist”.

“A jou rnalist is a person dealing w ith editing, developm ent or preparation of press m aterials, employed by the m edium under a contract of em ploym ent or involved in the aforem entioned activities on behalf and u nd er authorization o f the m edium ”33.

Article 10 provides the definition w ith a supplem ent stating that: „The jo u rn a list’s task consists in service to the society and the state. In his/her activities the jo u rnalist is expected to observe professional ethics and rules of com m unity life, an d stay w ithin the lim its set by law” 34. The definition is question is a comprehensive one and clearly determ ines activities related to the profession. P utting it in a som ew hat simplified way: if a citizen jou rn alist writes for a citizen journalism website and edits, develops or prepares press m aterials on b ehalf and u n der authorization o f th e m edium , the said m eans th at he/she has the sam e rights (e.g. the right o f access to inform ation) and duties (e.g. th e duty to observe professional ethics and show p a rticu la r diligence and honesty when collecting and using press m aterials)35 as professional jo urnalists do.

The said is seem ingly logical, but w hen referring to the Polish-language edition o f W ikipedia, the following statem ents can be found there: “Citizen journalism is a kind o f journalism practiced by a non-professional jo u rn alist in the public interest.

Its origins an d developm ent are related to the Internet, since th at very m edium , as opposed to the press, radio or TV allows anybody to interactively co-create the con

tributed content and distribute it on a massive scale. The W eb m akes it possible to de

velop and publish articles in real tim e an d m aintain v irtual worldwide cooperation of journalists.”36 Elements of the definition p u t stress on the fact th at citizen journalists

31 M . M ro z o w s k i, o p.cit, p. 125-126.

32 Ib id e m , p.126.

33 A rl. 7 p ar. 2 ite m 5 o f th e A ct o f 2 6 J a n u a ry , 1984 - P re s s L a w (J o u rn a l o f L aw s o f 1984, N o. 5, ite m 24).

34 A rt. 10 o f th e A c t o f 26 J a n u a ry , 1984 - P re s s L aw (J o u rn a l o f L aw s o f 1984, N o . 5, ite m 24).

35 A rl. 12 p ar. 1. ite m 1 o f th e A c t o f 2 6 J a n u a ry , 1984 - P re s s L a w (J o u rn a l o f L a w s o f 1984, N o . 5, ite m 24).

36 D z ie n n ik a r s tw o o b y w a te lsk ie [C itiz e n J o u rn a lism ] h ttp :// p l.w ilc ip e d ia .o rg /w ik i/D z ie n n ik a rs tw o _ o b y w a te ls k ie , [accessed o n 18.05.11].

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W OMEN IN CITIZEN MEDIA - THE IMAGE OF THE MODERN FEMALE JOURNALIST

do not have jou rnalist background but are professionals in other fields. They m ake use of th e o pportunities provided to them by the Internet and Web 2.0 philosophy, w ith the sender becom ing, at the same tim e, the recipient, w ith double perspective achieved as a result. Also the im portance of the m edium w ith is unique features has been rather clearly em phasized in the definition. A nd the public interest has been specified as the objective differentiating citizen journalists from other ones. Citizen journalists th e m selves m ake attem pts to define the term denoting them . A group of authors attached to a local Obywatelski.slupsk.pl web p o rtal have defined a citizen jou rn alist as the “p er

son perceiving his/her job as a mission. The m ission’s objective lies in reconstruction of social infrastructure. Citizen editing team s describe th e reality, yet are not satisfied w ith m ere recording o f facts. By suggesting solutions an d instigating public debate they become a core o f the debate, not the objective.”37

The m ultitude of discussions and definitions results from the fact th at citizen jo u r

nalism is a fresh phenom enon in Poland. The first citizen journalism websites are about to celebrate th eir fifth anniversaries. For the situation to crystallize it is necessary to discuss w hat the essence of the phenom enon should be like. The following postulates seem, however, to be of utm ost im portance: “all journalists, w hether professional or citizen, should observe the same rules of im partiality, accuracy and honesty, as well as ethical rules ascribed to the job done by th em ” 3S.

Development and operation o f citizen journalism websites in Poland

P oland’s first citizen journalism website was the Polish-language version of W ik i

news, established in 2005. The year 2006 brought about a crop o f other developments, launched by professional m edia publishers. Next citizen journalism websites were established by big publishing groups, w ith iThink.pl site launched by Thinkm edia and W iadom osci24.pl by Polskapresse in April 2006, whereas in June there appeared a Polish version of EIOBA.pl, and in O ctober salon24.pl was started by Bogna and Igor Janke. July 2007 was m arked by the launching oflnteria360.pl which instilled the interest in th e citizen journalism schemes am ong Poland’s Web portals.

At present, the biggest and m ost po p ular citizen journalism services include:

W iadom osci24.pl, an initiative m ost closely related to professional news websites.

The texts published there are obtained from citizen journalists and from inform ation services.

Salon24.pl, a blog service dealing w ith socio-political issues where any registered user is allowed to publish; m any of those are professional journalists or politicians;

Interia360.pl, providing inform ation that does not fit in news agencies but are close to the m ind s of inhabitants of small towns, villages or other settlem ents;

37 D z i e n n ik a r z o b y w a te ls k i, [C itiz e n J o u rn a list]

htL p://w w w .o b y w a te lsk i.s I u p s k .p l/s e a r c h /n o d e /d z ie n n ik a r s tw o + o b y w a te ls k ie , [accessed on:20.03.10]

38 M . Ł o s ic w ic z , D z i e n n ik a r z o b y w a te ls k i, c z y li k to ? [C itiz e n J o u rn a lis t, o r W h o ?] [in] A .O g o n o w s k a (cd.), O b lic za n o w y c h m e d ió w [T h e F a c es o f N c w M ed ia ], K ra k ó w 2011, p. 162.

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EIOBA, a service rejecting the „news schem e” assum ption in favour of various topical m aterials. The m ost interesting of the delivered texts are selected by readers th roug h voting and published on the website’s m ain page;

iThink.pl, a website covering a wide range of topics (from politics or history to per

sonal problems or successes), offering an opportunity to publish texts supplied with photos/sound or put in short video films. It puts greater emphasis on reflections and assessment of past events th an on news. Independent and restriction-free, it is based on randomcracy, or random democracy m eaning that prior to publication of the text has to be accepted by at least three random ly selected persons. Each registered user is then allowed to vote for or against the article, thus either increasing or decreasing its score reckoned towards general evaluation o f the author. To publications placed on the website the Creative Com m ons licence rules are applied. These allow for publishing any texts from iThink in non-com m ercial media, the source and the author’s nam e being disclosed. In case of commercial-type m edia a consent of the text’s author is required.

A citizen journalism website for women, emerged in August 2009 at the initiative of Ewa Inn, is well-worth m entioning, too. Babski Comber.pl is „a service developed in fem inine language”. As the originator claims, “the odds are in favour (of BC) becoming a cosy and safe haven to which you will always keep gladly returning”39. The website responds to a dem and from female Internet users. They want to have a “non-nonsense website on women’s issues”, not focusing m ainly on celebrities and news from their ev

eryday life. The website offers to women a chance to provide for their „broadly term ed inner life”. W omen can put their texts and com m entaries there, express opinions, search for inform ation. A friendly layout is all in claret and grey shades. The header includes nine topics (Female Feast, Female World, To Know More, Som ething for Your Soul, Liv

ing w ith Passion, The Wide, W ide World, W ith a Sparkle, Tasty W riting, Small Rival

ries). The central p a rt is occupied by a longitudinal screen for the latest topic. Presented in the right m argin are: the ranking of texts (with scoring for the notes they receive and the frequency of the reading) and an inform ation bloc (A Baloon Scout, or W hat? W he

re? When?), intervention bloc (Those Fram ed or Dishonesty Stigmatised) and a forum (Wives Talk). So far (19 May, 2011) there 132 persons registered. The poznaj nas book

m ark presents 48 individual profiles and the profile of the editing team . The journalists’

activity is highly diversified (from 1 to 57 articles). Users include m en as well, with 3 profiles of m en w riting for Babski Comber.pl [Female Feast.pl] section.

The biggest website am ong those present on Poland’s m arket is W iadomości24.pl, created by about 40 th o u sand of registered citizen journalists. The W iadomosci24.

pi com m unity includes bo th those w riting and those com m enting, th eir input be

ing read by over a m illion o f active readers. Care for quality of the texts is taken by a 6-person editing team providing final proofreading. Besides m aterials received from citizen journalists entered in th e website are Polish Press Agency wires. Subjects of the presented m aterials vary greatly, from hilarious issues to those annoying or sad.

39 E. I n n , S e rw is tw o r z o n y w j ę z y k u k o b ie t [A W eb site C re a te d in F e m in in e L a n g u a g e ], h ttp ://w w w .b a b s k ic o m b e r.p l/

a r ty k u l/1 9 ,S e r w is -tw o rz o n y -w -je z y k u -k o b ie t.h tm l, [accessed o n l8 .0 5 .1 1 ]

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Generally speaking, touched are subjects close to the hearts o f the writers, concerning their local hom elands and issues related to the latter. Those w riting happen to fight for cases concerning - at tim es - just a few people, which no m edia are willing to talk about, but they also get involved in national cam paigns for the sake of natural envi

ronm ent, handicapped people or those socially excluded. W orld news and problem s can be learned from the Agency W ires section. Lots o f reviews and sporting events coverage is presented as well.

The website m akes it possible to go on journalist apprenticeships either directly at the editing office or on-line. Journalist Sum m er Schools and w inter workshops for the authors are arranged in addition.

M any apprentices starting at W24.pl continue th eir journalism adventure with m ainstream media. Radio/ TV broadcast stations, newspapers or Web portals willingly employ the m ost active citizen journalists, while in various m edia articles are published about citizen journalists and m aterials developed by them . Professional journalists also enter the websites to find pieces of firsthand inform ation which, for various reasons, are not likely to be found elsewhere. A few regional agencies avail themselves of materials developed by citizen journalists, publishing them in their pages.

W iadom osci24.pl website includes a Stylebook facility supposed to help those w rit

ing dispel th eir language-related doubts. Spelling, punctuation or stylistic consulta

tion can be of use to anybody about to close h is/her text and send it to the editing team . W riters can also find brief guiding rem arks on specific journalism genres there.

The supplied pieces of advice are categorised into the following sections: photo cap

tion, interview, statem ents, dates, hours, num erals, abbreviations, use o f small and capital letters, inverted comm as. In addition, m onitoring o f the errors w ith which those w riting m ost frequently m eet is carried out.

Rules o f the website, providing for the allowed use of it, are available to the public.

The roles o f those w riting and those using the service are specified in detail there.

Considered to be the user is “the individual th at uses th e website to draw data from it or p ut inform ation in it”40. The Registered User is a user th a t has undergone ei

th er the Full Registration or the Lim ited Registration procedure. H aving undergone the Full R egistration the user agrees for h is/h er “image to be distributed and m ade publicly available by the O perator”41. A Registered User w ith a Photo is a Registered User having undergone the Full R egistration procedure w ithout rem oval o f his/her image from the profile in the website. Entitled to registration are adult persons. As regards m inors, consent of their parents or legal guardians is required. “W hen using the Service, Users have to observe law, in p articu lar provisions of the Press Law, Civil Code, th e U nfair C om petition Suppression Act and the Act on Copyright and Related Rights. Users are also expected to observe th e Code of Journalism Ethics and good custom s.”42.

4 0 R e g u la m in s e r w isu [W eb site R ules] w w w .w ia d o m o s c i2 4 .p l,h t l p : / / w w w .w ia d o m o s c i2 4 .p l/re g u la m in /, [accessed o n l8 .0 5 .1 1 ].

41 Ib id e m 4 2 Ib d e m

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Wiadomosci24.pl can boast num erous prizes and distinctions. “By a decision of the Internet Academy Webstarfestival, Wiadomosci24.pl, a social netw orking website of cit

izen journalism was recognized Website of the Year 2009 under “C om m unity” category.

Also in 2008 the Wiadomosci24.pl website was awarded a Webstarfestival statuette by the Academy under the same category of “C om m unity”. A year earlier the website was awarded a prize under “Media” category by Internet surfers voting in the W ebstarfesti

val, and in 2006 a statuette was awarded to the website under “News and Inform ation”

category. Wiadomosci24.pl also placed first in the category of general inform ation web

site in the survey launched by “Symetria” agency in November 2007.”43.

Since 2006, on a periodical basis, W iadom osci24.pl hold a com petition for best citizen journalists/bloggers and citizen activists. As the prom oters of the com petition declare, th e com petition “reflects recognition to P oland’s newly em erging phenom enon o f service to others by spreading inform ation”44. Awarded under the com peti

tion are those publishing in th e Web w ithout receiving any fee who observe copyright rules and deliver m aterials that are reliable and useful. They are selected by m eans of voting done by surfers who appoint nom inees. A fterwards, from am ong the group of five finalists established th ro u g h the surfer voting the Citizen Journalist of the Year is appointed by the Award C om m ittee com posed of professional journalists. Besides appointm ent done by the Com m ittee, voting is also perform ed by the surfers to select those w orthy of the honorable title45. It has been three tim es so far th at the award/

distinction w inners o f the C om petition were wom en (Tab.l). It should be added at th at occasion th at the appointm ent was done twice by the C om m ittee, whereas it were surfers th a t selected a w om an once.

Table 1. award w inners of th e citizen jo u rn alist com petition in the years 2006-09

2006 2007 2008 2009

Appointed by the Committee Robert Sałata

Agnieszka Kawula (special distinction)

Andrzej Pieczyrak M arek Iwaniszyn Jolanta Paczkowska

Selected by means o f surfer voting

Oliwia Piotrowska K rzysztof Olejniczak Roman Stachowiak Marek Iwaniszyn

Mirosław Ogórka Marek Iwaniszyn Dawid Serafin

Paweł Rogaliński Damian Juszczyk Michał M isiorek S o u rce: a u th o r ’s o w n e la b o ra tio n basec o n w w w .w .24.pl [accessed o n 19.05.11]

4 3 O W ia d o m o ś c ia c h 2 4 .p l - g a rść p o d s ta w o w y c h in fo r m a c ji d la p r a sy , [W ia d o m o ś c i2 4 .p I - A H a n d f u l o f Basic I n f o r m a tio n fo r th e P ress] h ttp ://w w w .w ia d o m o s c i2 4 .p l/a r ty k u l/in fo r m a c je _ d la _ p ra s y _ 5 9 4 7 4 .h tm I, [accessed o n l9 .0 5 .l l ] ,

4 4 A .P lo n a , R o k 20 0 6 . P ie r w sz y k o n k u r s n a D z ie n n ik a r z a O b yw a te lsk ieg o i B logera R o k u [2006. T he F irst C o m p e titio n fo r a C itiz e n J o u r n a lis t a n d B lo g g er o f th e Y ear] h ttp ://d o ro k u .w ia d o m o s c i2 4 .p l/r o k -2 0 0 6 -p ie rw s z y -k o n k u rs -n a - d z ie n n ik a r z a -o b y w a te ls k ie g o - i- b lo g e r a - ro k u ,a rty k u l.h tm l? m a le r ia l_ id = 4 d 6 b c f0 0 1 6 fld a 9 c 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 , [accessed on 18.05.11],

45 M . Ł o s ic w ic z , D z i e n n ik a r z ... [C itiz e n J o u r n a l i s t ....] ,o p .c il„ p.166.

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Characteristic of the website is high dynam ics of its activities. These include n u m erous cam paigns, like ’’distribution of air tickets to any European city just before C hristm as, tickets to a concert of Polish stars at Wembley, books, films on DVD or cosmetics as prizes in com petitions, interviews of citizen journalists w ith Leach W ałęsa, Tomasz Lis, Dr. Janusz Kochanowski (the O m budsm an), patronage extended over com petitions, events, sem inars.”46. Journalists of w24.pl take up fight for socially im p o rtan t cases. They take standpoints on controversial issues, unfair solutions (like those concerning healthcare issues). A cam paign like th at was related to an open let

ter directed to the Head o f the N ational H ealth Fund, Jacek Paszkiewicz, in protest against a new rule th at set criteria excluding a large group of wom en from breast c an cer prevention program m e. It was assum ed th a t health and life o f m any Polish wom en could be p u t at stake and a dem and was m ade to cancel the rule in question.

The authors are, for the m ost p art, young people, but elderly ones, retirees in p a r

ticular are also active. Together they represent a m ost impressive range of career fields and professional backgrounds: from school students to teachers, econom ists, linguists, engineers to priests and models.

Women as Ctizen Journalists

W hen analyzing the field o f citizen journalism and th e role played by women in th at form o f com m unications, a question has to inevitably be asked, who the women being citizen jo urnalists are. W hy did they decide to take up w riting if they have other professions? W hat m akes them devote th eir tim e to developm ent o f m aterials, to deal

ing w ith problem s they can n ot sit quietly by? W hy do they reach places th at have never been seen by th e eye or a cam era o f a professional? A nd w hat are the reasons for them to listen to the people who never h ad a chance to talk to the m icrophone of a professional reporter?

Let us have a look on results of the research done by th e author, covering a group of citizen jo urnalists o f two Polish websites, w24.pl and iThink.pl. The facilities were se

lected considering the length o f th eir operation in the m arket and popularity. iThink.

pi offers to its users wider opportunities to shape and develop the m edium . The m ain slogan of iThink.pl is: “Express yourself!” and the p ortal puts em phasis on indepen

dence. Its goal is to build up relationships betw een its users based on interest in a spe

cific topic, which allows individual authors to develop on th eir ow n or join together to form groups for publishing com m on m aterials. Also the environm ent of the website, specially designed to that purpose, m akes it possible to the users to com m unicate with one another, establish profiles and send messages. The objective o f w24.pl is to provide reliable inform ation, by allowing non-professional journalists to publish th eir texts

4 6 P.N ow acki.W i'eifcn r o d zin a W ia d o m o śc i2 4 .p l i... co j a w n ie j robię? [T he G re a t F a m ily o f W ia d o m o śc i 24 .p l a n d ....

W h a t Is M y P lace in It?] h ttp ://w w w .w ia d o m o s c i2 4 .p l/a r ty k u l/w ie lk a _ ro d z in a _ w ia d o m o s c i2 4 _ p I_ i_ c o _ ja _ w _ n ie j_

r o b i e _ 1 0 0 1 4 4 - 4 - l - d .h t m l , [accessed o n 19.05.11].

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which then undergo necessary corrections done by the editing team . A uthors of the best texts are awarded prizes in k in d or m oney under the categories of: the best text, best author and the m ost frequently com m ented m aterial.

The research was conducted using a survey launched on the Internet. 132 persons who filled in and returned survey questionnaires responded to the questions thus m aking it possible to the author to determ ine the profile of a citizen journalist. The respondents can be broken down as follows:

W24.pl 105 persons iThink.pl 27 persons GENDER

G ender is one of the variables that differentiate participation in citizen journalism to but a small degree. A m ong citizen journalist the num ber of wom en is relatively higher (53%) th an th at of m en - 47% (fig. 1).

H Kobiety u Mężczyźni

fig u re 1. C itiz e n jo u r n a lis ts by g e n d e r

Source: au th o r’s own elaboration based on em pirical research AGE

Talking about age as a differentiating factor, it can be easily noticed th at diffe

rentiation w ithin specific age intervals is considerable. The youngest group of the re

spondents (aged 18-24) m akes up the m ost num erous group of citizen journalists and accounts for m ore th a n h a lf (54.54%) of the exam ined population (table 2).

Table 2. Citizen journalists by age

Women Men Total

18-24* 39,39% 15,15% 54,54%

25-34 4,54% 13,64% 18,18%

35-44 1,51% 3,03% 4,54%

45-54 3,03% 6,06% 9,09%

55-65 6,06% 3,03% 9,09%

Pow. 65 3,03% 1,51% 4,54%

*only adult persons were taken into account

Source: a u th o r’s own elaboration based on empirical research

It is wom en who predom inate in the group, w ith the percentage share o f 39.39%.

These usually are school and academ ic students, not burdened w ith the duties of wives

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W OM EN IN CITIZEN MEDIA - THE IMAGE OF THE M ODERN FEMALE JOURNALIST

and m others, who spend m uch tim e on personal developm ent and practicing their hobbies. The results achieved suggest a strong probability th at the older the age group, the sm aller the activity of its m em bers in citizen journalism is. In case of women, their activity m arkedly drops dow n as regards 25-34 and 35-33 intervals. A situation like th at can be ascribed to the period of m aternity reducing the leisure tim e th at can be devoted to issues of personal interest or hobbies dow n to a m inim u m . Elder wom en (55-65 an d 65+) also account for the predom inating p a rt o f citizen journalists o f th at age.

EDUCATION

The stru ctu re of the respondents’ education is presented in table 1. Participation in citizen journalism services is particularly popular am ong the group of persons w ith secondary comprehensive education confirm ed by the school leaving certifica

te (28.78%) and w ith w om en holding m aster diplom as o f graduate studies (19.69%).

The same groups dom inate as regards general ratios for m en and w om en jointly. As opposed to those figures, num bers of female citizen journalists claim ing secondary technical exam ination w ithout the school-leaving certificate or secondary technical exam ination w ith the school-leaving certificate, as well as wom en holding a bachelor or engineer diplom a o f undergraduate studies are relatively small. It is m en who d o m inate in th e groups. The research shows th a t wom en contributing, as writers, to the websites in question are better educated th a n m en are.

TABLE 3. E D U C A T IO N

Women Men Total

Secondary technical education without the school- leaving certificate

0,75% 3,79% 4,54%

Secondary technical education with the school- leaving certificate

1,51% 3,03% 4,54%

Undergraduate (bachelor or engineer level) studies 0,75% 3,79% 4,54%

Post-secondary education 7,57% 6,06% 13,63%

Graduate (m aster level) studies 19,69% 12,12% 31,81%

Secondary comprehensive education with the school-leaving certificate

28,78% 12,12% 40,90%

Source: a u th o r’s own elaboration based on em pirical research

SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL GROUPS

The structure of social and professional groups (table 4) reveals a m ajority o f higher

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school students, with the dom ination of women (34,09%). Second in tu rn is the m anage

rial (executive) staff group (18.18%) with women accounting for mere 6,82%. Next come professionals claim ing higher education (9.09%) with the share of women being 5.30%.

As regards administration/office staff, it s women who predom inate (the representation being at the level of 3.79%). W omen also more active in the group of retirees (6.06%).

The biggest share o f wom en includes the student group, where the use of Internet is alm ost com m on. Retirees, to w hom the Intern et is a novelty w ith which they got acqu

ainted as adults, form a m ost interesting group. They obviously appreciate th e good sides of the Web and m ake use of them , contributing to the websites and developing new personal interests.

Table 4. Social and professional groups

Women Men Total

Technicians 1,51% 3,03% 4,54%

Administration/Office staff 3,79% 0,75% 4,54%

Running business o f their own 1,51% 3,03% 4,54%

Professionals with higher education 5,30% 3,79% 9,09%

Retirees 6,06% 3,03% 9,09%

M anagerial (executive) staff 6,82% 11,36% 18,18%

Higher school students 34,09% 15,91% 50%

SIZE OF TH E PLACE OF RESIDENCE AN D DISTRIBUTION BY REGIONS The research has shown (table 5) th at female citizen journalists are m ostly wom en living in big agglom erations w ith m ore th an 500,000 inhabitants (29.54%). Rural in habitants m ake up the smallest group (3.79%).

Since a m ajority o f the respondents live in cities, th eir percentage in specific voivodships (provinces) depends, to a certain extent, on the urbanisation ratio o f the provinces. Relatively biggest num bers of citizen journalists live in mazowieckie (Ma- sovian) and śląskie (Silesian) voivodships. The provinces in question are highly u rb a  nized, w ith the urbanisation ratio exceeding the national average.

Table 5. Size o f the place of residence

Women Men Total

29,54% 25% 54,54%

City o f 100-500 thous. 9,84% 12,88% 22,72%

City o f 50-100 thous. 5,30% 3,79% 9,09%

City o f 20- 50 thous. 0 0 0

City up to 20 thous. 3,03% 1,51% 4,54%

Village 3,79% 5,30% 9,09%

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W OM EN IN CITIZEN MEDIA - THE IMAGE OF THE M ODERN FEMALE JOURNALIST

JOURNALISM ACTIVITY

It is custom ary for W iadom osci24.pl to supply each presented article w ith infor

m ation specifying the status o f its author (the person being referred to as a D ebutant, Trainee, Reporter, Journalist, Editor, Publisher) and level of h is/her activity, in term s o f published articles, galleries and com m entaries provided to other m aterials. The sta

tistics is updated on a ru n n in g basis.

The philosophy of iThink.pl in th at respect is som ew hat different. The presented article is supplied only w ith a counter of positive and negative reviews by readers of the m aterial plus a num ber of views. It is only from the au thor’s profile th at we can learn about h is/h er activity (num ber of publications) and the date of joining the service.

Again th e statistics is updated on a ru n n in g basis.

The research reveals th at citizen journalists are active persons (table 6). M ore th an (9%) publish th eir m aterials daily, as m any as 6,82% being women. 13.63 % do it a few tim es a week (9.09% of the general nu m ber being women). The bulk o f the people contribute th eir m aterials a few tim es a m onth (40.90% of the respondents, 24.24% of women). Also in the group of those least active, who publish once a m onth (4.54%) the representation of wom en is the sm allest (1.51% o f the respondents). As the su m m ary reveals, wom en m ake up a strong representation w ithin the group where level o f acti

vity is the highest.

Table 6. Frequency of supplying new articles

Women Men Total

24,24% 16,66% 40,90%

Once a month 1,51% 3,03% 4.54%

Less frequently than once a month 5,30% 12,88% 18,18%

A few times a week 9,09% 4,54% 13,63%

Once a week 7,57% 6,06% 13,63%

Every day 6,82% 1,51% 9,09%

Source: au th o r’s own elaboration based on em pirical research

LENGTH OF EXPERIENCE IN CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Female journalists also belong to the group of persons w ith the longest experience in contributing to the website (table 7). Should we adopt, as the criterion for dividing the population of the journalists into a group o f those w ith short and those w ith long experience, th e period of one year of the activity, then it is persons w ith the experience exceeding one year th at predom inate in the exam ined websites (59.08%), w om en acco

u nting for as m any as 37,11% o f the general num bers. M any of them (6,06%) have been contributing to the portals from the very beginning of their existence.

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Tablr 7. Length of experience in citizen journalism

Men Total

Less than a year 6,06% 7,57% 13,63%

From 6 months to 1 year 12,12% 15,15% 27,27%

From 1 to 2 years 13,63% 9,09% 22,72%

Over 2 years 17,42% 9,85% 27,27%

Since the beginning o f the w ebsite’s existence 6,06% 3,03% 9,09%

Source: au tho r’s own elaboration based on em pirical research

Conclusions from the conducted research A m ajority of citizen journalists are women.

The largest age group is form ed by the youngest wom en (the 18-24 age interval).

The older the group, the sm aller the share o f wom en in it. The 25-44 age intervals are dom inated by men. This can be possibly explained by involvement of the female p a rt o f the exam ined population into tasks related to m aternity and children raising at that stage of life.

W om en are better educated and predom inate in the groups of persons w ith secon

d ary comprehensive education and w ith higher (m aster level) education.

The persons are w orking ones.

A m ong female citizen journalists the largest group is students. Next positions in the list are occupied by women representing the m anagerial (executive) staff group, professionals w ith secondary education and adm inistration/office staff.

Female citizen journalists live m ostly in big cities (with m ore th an 500,000 in h a

bitants).

W om en are m ore active journalists th a n men. A m ajority of them publish their articles a few tim es a m onth or m ore frequently.

It is wom en w ith the citizen jo u rn a list’s experience longer th an a year th at p redo

m inate in the website.

Summary

Patryk Latacz, a jo urn alist of w24.pl writes: “Is it possible to im agine oneself our website w ithout women? It is often themselves th at set the tone of the discussion and surprise us ever m ore w ith th eir professional approach to the topic. There is nothing W iadom osci24.pl could be asham ed of. It is wom en th at are in the forefront here and I do not th in k anybody can be troubled by it.

W om en are m ore active, surprise the reader as gifted w riters and persons th at have a keen view about the surrou n d in g reality. A nd it is n ot the quantity, but th e quality of

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publications th at I m ean. The ranking, as m ade by the users, is the best p ro o f o f what I am saying. The top ten o f best ranked citizen jo urnalists includes as m any as 7 women!

“*7. In 2010 two female journalists o f w24.pl website were granted the LadyD titles48 for their jo u rn alist output in w.24.pl.

Yet prizes and laurels happen once in a while, whereas reality shows ano th er side o f journalism , som etim es painful and sad. O ne of the female journalists of w24.pl contributed a story of a successful jo urn alist intervention. The assistance rendered by the jo u rn alist became, however, the reason for grum bling by the person who received it. Instead of joy and thanks, the author m et w ith reproach and unfriendliness. W hen describing the case, the author observes: “ The jo u rn alist’s work gives a lot of satisfac

tion but can also be bitter like strong coffee. I personally found out w hat it is like when a great joy m om entarily tu rn s into depression and sorrow ... I keep th in k in g th at with th at text and all th at situation I adopted a baptism of fire. I tasted glory an d regret.

T rium ph and great disappointm ent. A nd, paradoxically perhaps, I was confirm ed in my belief th at - yes! I do w ant to be a journalist49.

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