Nick Hayworth, channels manager of ITV Local London, outlined how the broadband wing of the local TV service was trying to win back favour with its lost viewership – the trick? Mixing citizen journalism and more traditional news online.

To maintain the public trust and integrity of each, he added, a clear separation is placed between citizen media and professional journalism on the site.

“The problems of trust occur for us when we start to carry mini documentaries or standalone citizen news videos, since ITV Local was launched we have been sent hundreds of videos made by local people that effect them, in those films there are often some strongly held opinions and scenes that sometimes tell us in very graphic ways some of the major social and political issues.”

ITV, he says, maintains the standard of citizen journalism content and keeps its 39 local borough channels in London distinct from its traditional news through ‘compliance, labelling and separation’.

Listen here for his definition of what this means:

[audio:http://www.journalism.co.uk/sounds/itv.mp3]