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Amani Channel presents research on CNN's iReport

On August 5, 2010, Amani Channel presented research about CNN's iReport with some of the nation's top Mass Communications scholars at the annual AEJMC Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Channel's research entitled: "Gatekeeping and Citizen Journalism: A Qualitiative Examination of Participatory Newsgathering," was among a handful of student papers that were accepted into AEJMC's Civic and Citizen Journalism Interest Group.

The paper focused on gatekeeping practices associated with CNN's user-generated site iReport, and how content is solicited, selected, vetted, and then shared on CNN's TV news programs and its Website.

"As far as I know, this is the first time that CNN's iReport unit has participated in academic research related to its operations," said Channel, who conducted 8 interviews with iReport staff. "The pupose of this study was to determine if any participatory gatekeeping models may be emerging," he said.

Gatekeeping is a longstanding Mass Communications theory that explains the process by which news content is selected and distributed. "CNN has not only developed technology that helps producers identify potentially newsworthy content, it has also established practices for quickly verifying whether or not content produced by the public meets established news standards," Channel explained.

The study was part of Channel's graduate research at the University of South Florida. He received his Master's in Mass Communication on May 8, 2010.

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