ABSTRACT
One of the ways that ordinary people become citizen journalists is through participating in one of the various journalism training programs found around the world. A less frequent approach has been the offering of citizen journalism training via massive online open courses, such as “Journalism Skills for Engaged Citizens,” taught by professors from the University of Melbourne on the Coursera platform. Much citizen journalism training is not guided by any explicit theories of learning. Just as professional journalism seeks to maintain legitimacy by policing its borders, legitimate peripheral participation is also about legitimization as a key practice in maintaining authority and power by members of a community. Face-to-face citizen journalism training generally revolves around some sort of workshop(s), seminars or related type of session. In Winnipeg, a citizen journalist described coaching as supportive and contributing to a collaborative atmosphere: “Our editor would take our ideas and expand on them for others would interject with positive suggestions”.
