Instead, community members have a wide range of online elements, such as blogs, websites and social media, to disseminate their stories. Therefore, media outlets have been forced to widen the definition “of mass media from ‘one-to-many’ to ‘many-to-many’ communication.” Interactive journalism is similar, but not identical, to collaborative journalism, in which rather than converse with the reporter, individual reporters without affiliation to the parent organization contribute and provide news items and reports.
The proliferation of online platforms has enabled community members to share their stories through various channels, such as blogs, websites, and social media. As a result, media outlets have been forced to broaden their understanding of mass media, moving from a traditional "one-to-many" model to a more contemporary "many-to-many" communication paradigm. Interactive journalism shares similarities with collaborative journalism but operates under different principles.