Deadline for proposals (EXTENDED): November 30, 2022

Edited by Willemien Sanders and Anna Zoellner

Media occupy an increasingly central position in our everyday lives, facilitated by the development of increasingly smaller and smarter screens and sophisticated digital, interactive infrastructures. The mediatisation of society entails that the production of media is no longer limited to the field of audio-visual culture, communication and entertainment (such as film, television, radio, advertising, PR, and gaming) but pervades a range of other areas, including, but not limited to, governance, education, health care, tourism, the military, religion, and sports. In these areas, media content in the form of audio, video, apps, virtual and augmented reality, and social media is increasingly part of everyday practices.

Expanding the field and focus of existing media production research, this book explores this trend of media production in non-media domains. With non-media domains we mean domains other than legacy media (print, radio, television, film, and social media). Our focus lies on the production of media content that is not intended for communication to a wider public, such as popular and news media, and that is instrumental rather than intrinsic in its purpose: these media serve as a means to achieve some other goal. They facilitate professional and everyday practices (and will, arguably, often replace previous practices that did not include audio-visual media). In that sense, they are oriented to a specific professional/practice field. This includes media such as nutrition apps, serious games for military training, and augmented reality in tourism. In all these cases, the media texts are a means within a mediatised practice in a non-media domain. Propaganda material or public health communication, for example, would not fall in this category.

This kind of media production for non-media sectors is by nature interdisciplinary. It requires a mix of skills, techniques and technologies and therefore the collaboration of people from different sectors and work roles. We provisionally label this ‘cross-sector’ media production, to refer to the collaboration between the media sector and other sectors. This book explores how cross-sector media production functions, how different professionals collaborate – having different occupational identities, bringing in different perspectives and relying on a wide variety of work cultures, epistemologies, and ethics.

Topics may include but are not limited to the following technologies:

• virtual reality
  
• augmented reality
  
• web 2.0, web 3.0
  
• apps
  
• holograms
  
• serious games
  
• websites
  
• other sound and screen applications
  

Topics may concern but are not limited to the following sectors:

• education
  
• health care
  
• manufacturing
  
• sports
  
• travelling
  
• commerce
  
• home appliances
  
• design
• fine arts

The book will be structured in three corresponding sections: (1) theoretical debates on its origin and related developments, to discuss how we can understand cross-sector media production better; (2) methodological debates about such research, to explore methodological implications, challenges, and approaches; and (3) empirical research of cross-sector media practices, to investigate these particular production contexts including their conditions, processes and practices.   

Section 1

For this section we invite contributions that address the origins and conceptualisation of cross-sector media production. Contributions will discuss theoretical approaches and histories of digitalisation, mediatisation, platformisation, innovation and other relevant theories in different domains, with a focus on what these mean for cross-sector production specifically. The section will address various developments (technical, social, cultural, legal) that facilitate and co-shape cross-sector media production by setting and extending boundaries.

Section 2

The second section of the book discusses the investigation of cross-sector media production as research process. For this section we invite contributions that explore theoretical, epistemological, methodological and other challenges as well as solutions in the study of cross-sector media production practices. This section problematizes taken for granted research methods and approaches and invites discussion of alternatives and new directions, including those that go beyond conventional ethnography, as well as those instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Section 3

Drawing on empirical research of cross-sector media production practices, the chapters in this section will explore the assumptions, interests, and challenges when producing media in such cross-sector production contexts. This includes how media makers navigate the ideas and demands within a non-media domain in relation to their own expertise and preferences. The section explores what kind of values, expectations and cultures underlie cross-sector media production. It also looks at the epistemologies, competencies and best practices for the different occupations involved. 

Submission details

Please send proposals for chapters before the deadline of Wednesday, November 30, 2022. Proposals should be between 500-800 words, excluding notes and referenced sources. In addition, short bios for each author (150 words) should be included. Please indicate for which section you are proposing your chapter.

Proposals and any inquiries should be sent to the editors: w.sanders@uu.nl and  a.zoellner@leeds.ac.uk

Decisions will be communicated in January 2023. Chapter manuscripts are expected to be submitted in June 2023.

Media Production in Non-Media Domains – Researching cross-sector media production will be published in the Springer Media Industries series, edited by Bjørn von Rimscha and Ulrike Rohn.