The Civic and Citizen Journalism Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is a group of teachers, scholars, professionals and students who are dedicated to the advancement of journalism that promotes civic and citizen engagement, and research and teaching about these traditions. It is rooted in the traditions of civic or public journalism as developed in the 1990s and has expanded to encompass participatory, audience-involved practices of journalism, including user-generated content.
The purpose of the Civic and Citizen Journalism Interest Group is to promote and enhance the teaching of such journalism; support and critique the research related to it; and nurture and expand the discipline of civic and citizen journalism education and scholarship.