CHANGES IN JOURNALISM: THE AMATEUR REPORTER AND THE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL NETWORKS/MUDANCAS NO JORNALISMO: O REPORTER-AMADOR E A ANALISE DE REDES SOCIAIS/CAMBIOS EN EL PERIODISMO: EL REPORTERO-AFICIONADO Y EL ANALISIS DE REDES SOCIALES

what are the main characteristics of the amateur reporter and how can we study him? This theoretical and methodological work analyzes the recent changes in the field of journalism with the passage from the citizen reporter to the amateur reporter: individuals who produce news from their own spaces, without submitting to journalistic issues and newsworthiness criteria. Methodologically, we will first discuss the phases of journalism and then emphasize the characteristics of the amateur reporter and techniques to study it, such as Social Network Analysis (SNA) and semi- structured interviews. The thematic is relevant to contemplate contemporary challenges of communication and of researches in the virtual environment. Among the results, we point out that, among other things, the amateur reporter receives no remuneration, dedicates his free time and leisure time to journalistic practices, enters and leaves journalism at any moment and has no method of gathering information.