Citizen journalism is becoming an increasingly large influence on the mainstream media.

Citizen journalism is most often considered to be people without journalism training reporting the news to a wide audience. There are different definitions of the term as well. Some citizen journalism occurs when people happen upon breaking news and reporting their story. Other accounts come from people who want a different angle of a story covered and take it upon themselves to do so.

Citizen Journalists usually see themselves as complementing and supplementing the regular media and, in some cases, holding mainstream media up for scrutiny. Unlike regular journalism with its publishing deadlines and the determination to deliver "complete" stories, collaborative journalists using blogs can develop or examine a story one piece at a time, often updating a developing story each day. The participating citizens can also debate, question, and further develop their own findings in an ongoing way.