ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

University of St Andrews - School of Philosophical, Anthropological & Film Studies

Deadline: December 9, 2019

Location: St Andrews

Salary: £33,797 to £40,322

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract

Placed On: 16th October 2019

Closes: 9th December 2019

Job Ref: 249196

Fixed Term: 52 months

Start: 1 June 2020 or as soon as possible thereafter

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BWA903/research-fellow-history-of-rat-catching-ar2279mr?fbclid=IwAR1PPAr3oKj-uXzsSfUMGJqq5uwWAAxuyxbEucaPkyiys7Fdkc3X3D_Kzwc

The Department of Social Anthropology, with funding provided by the Wellcome Trust is sponsoring a project entitled The Global War Against the Rat and the Epistemic Emergence of Zoonosis.

The project, led by Dr Christos Lynteris (PI), will run at the University of St Andrews from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2024. The project team will consist of two postdoctoral research fellows who will work independently and in collaboration with each other and the director of the project.

The post will be held for 52 months, starting 1 June 2020 to 30 September 2024.

The Research Fellow will examine rat-catching practices and campaigns as these unfolded in colonial and metropolitan contexts (including but not limited to British India, the USA, and Brazil) so as to understand how they led to the emergence of new forms of human-rat interaction, and how they contributed to the development of scientific understandings of zoonosis.

Applicants must hold a good first degree and have been awarded or be close to be awarded a PhD in a relevant field of research (history, anthropology, regional studies, animal studies). Applications are encouraged with regard to any relevant field of studies, including medical history, medical anthropology, regional studies and animal studies. Applicants who can demonstrate experience in a) medical historical/anthropological research on animal-borne diseases; and/or b) historical/anthropological research on medical epistemology, are also encouraged to apply regardless of regional research experience.

Applicants must submit a letter of support and a writing sample in support of their application. This can be any published work up to 10,000 words or a thesis chapter.

Applications are particularly welcome from women and ethnic minorities, who are under-represented in Arts posts at the University. You can find out more about Equality & Diversity at https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/

The University is committed to equality for all, demonstrated through our working on diversity awards (ECU Athena SWAN/Race Charters; Carer Positive; LGBT Charter; and Stonewall). More details can be found at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/

Interviews will held in the week commencing 25 January 2020

Please quote ref: AR2279MR

May 26, 2020

Gold Coast, Australia

Deadline: December 20, 2019

The last five years have seen a sea change in debates around regulation of digital platforms. There is a growing view that nation-state regulation is warranted to address public concerns about the market power, lack of accountability and lack of transparency of the leading tech giants. This symposium will bring together communications and media policy and industry researchers to consider critical issues around digital platform regulation.

Location: Function Room – G42_4.23, Griffith University Gold Coast Campus, 1 Parklands Drive, Southport, Gold Coast (venue accessible from Broadbeach via G-Link light rail).

Institutional sponsors: Queensland University of Technology Digital Media Research Centre, University of Sydney Department of Media and Communication, Griffith University Centre for Social and Cultural Research, and the Australian Research Council.

ICA division affiliations: Communications Law and Policy Division, and the Media Industries Interest Group of the ICA

Post-Conference Organizers: Professor Terry Flew (Queensland University of Technology), Dr. Fiona Martin (University of Sydney) and Dr. Rosalie Gillett (Queensland University of Technology).

Link to website: https://research.qut.edu.au/digitalplatformreg/2019/10/14/international-communication-association-2020-post-conference-call-for-papers/

Conference description:

As online activities and experiences are increasingly mediated through digital platforms, a series of scandals and ‘public shocks’ (Ananny & Gillespie, 2017) have raised concerns about privacy and security, the misuse of user data, algorithmic biases, and the public distribution of objectionable and sometimes abhorrent content through the internet (Flew, Martin, & Suzor, 2019). Legislators and regulators in many countries are now engaged in public inquiries and the development of new laws to apply public interest standards to digital platforms, as First Amendment arguments about freedom of online expression and claims that the platforms are simply intermediaries are increasingly under challenge (Napoli, 2019). Leading scholars have identified digital platforms as being central to 21st century communication and media policy (Just & Puppis, 2018; Picard & Pickard, 2017), and debates about the relationship between individual rights and social responsibilities for digital platforms have been noticeably shifting from the quasi-libertarian logics of only a decade ago (Gillespie, 2018).

At the same time, there is a lack of consensus about what digital platform regulation could, or should involve. It is unclear, for instance, whether it should involve a refining of existing forms of communications and media policy to incorporate the role now played by digital platforms as quasi-publishers of increasingly popular digital media content, or whether the principal issues such as monopoly power and consumer protection are best addressed by variants of economic policy e.g. proposals to treat digital platforms as ‘information fiduciaries’ in their handling of user data (Balkin, 2018; Dobkin, 2018). The balance between nation-state regulation and supranational governance is also a subject of considerable debate, as is the extent to which ‘soft law’, and platform-brokered arrangements such as the Twitter Trust & Safety Council and the proposed Facebook Oversight Board may substitute for nation-state regulation. At a time of growing tensions among leading world powers, the divergence between forms of internet governance, and the possibility of a global ‘splinternet’ also needs to be considered (Mueller, 2017).

This post-conference forms a part of ongoing work being undertaken by Professor Terry Flew (Queensland University of Technology), Professor Nicolas Suzor (Queensland University of Technology ), Dr. Fiona Martin (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Tim Dwyer (University of Sydney), Professor Philip Napoli (Duke University), Professor Josef Trappel (University of Salzburg), Dr. Rosalie Gillett (Queensland University of Technology), and Lucy Sunman (University of Sydney) as part of a three-year Australian Research Council Discovery Project, Platform Governance: Rethinking Internet Regulation as Media Policy (Australian Research Council Discovery-Project DP190100222 – 2019-2021).

Confirmed speakers:

• Sandra Braman, Texas A&M University
• Stuart Cunningham, Queensland University of Technology
• Tim Dwyer, University of Sydney
• David Hesmondhalgh, University of Leeds
• Ramon Lobato, RMIT University
• Sora Park, University of Canberra
• Victor Pickard, University of Pennsylvania
• Nicolas Suzor, Queensland University of Technology
• Josef Trappel, University of Salzburg
• Krisztina Rozgonyi, University of Vienna
• Dwayne Winseck, Carleton University

We invite submissions relating to current platform governance debates. Possible topics include:

• The relationship between digital platforms and traditional media industries
• Platformization of the Internet and its implications for online speech and digital content regulation
• Public interest rationales for regulation in an age of digital platforms
• The economics of digital platforms and questions of market power in multisided markets
• Applicability of media and communications laws, policies and regulations to digital platforms
• Comparative international studies of digital platform regulations
• Divergence in digital media policies and the prospects of a global ‘splinternet’
• Models of regulation, including self-regulation, co-regulation and ‘soft law’, and their applicability to digital platforms
• Questions of trust relating to digital platform regulation
• Implications of populist politics for digital platform regulation.

Submission and participation details:

We invite authors to submit abstracts of 300-500 words addressing conference objectives. We are particularly interested in diverse international and comparative perspectives on these topics. Please make sure you include a title for your abstract. Abstracts will be automatically excluded that are poorly written, or do not address the themes of the post-conference. Abstract submissions will be reviewed and final decisions communicated by January 15th, 2020.

For any enquiries and to submit your extended abstract, please email Dr. Rosalie Gillett at digitalplatformregulation@qut.edu.au.

• Closing date for abstracts: Friday, December 20, 2019.
• Author notifications: Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
• Registration opens: Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
• Registration deadline: Thursday, April 30, 2020.
• ICA 2020 conference: 21-25 May, 2020
• Digital Platform Regulation Post-Conference: Tuesday 26 May 2020

Publication outcomes:

Publication outcomes are under consideration include a special issue of the journal Global Perspectives on “Trust in the Digital Economy”, to be edited by Terry Flew and Sora Park, and a possible edited book.

Registration fees:

The registration fees for the post-conference will be $US50 for those in full-time academic positions from Tier A countries, and $US30 those from Tier B and C countries, graduate students, and those in employment exception positions (adjunct, sessional and part-time positions). The registration fees will cover refreshments for two breaks and lunch. Information on ICA Country Tiers can be found at https://www.icahdq.org/page/tiers.

All attendees will need to create an ICA profile in order to register. We also expect that all presenters will attend the post-conference event for the full day. Speakers are expected to register for the event unless otherwise advised.

April 29-30, 2020

McGill University, Montreal

Deadline: December 31, 2019

Organized by:

Jhessica Reia, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University

Will Straw, James McGill Professor of Urban Media Studies, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University

Over the last decade, the study of the night has emerged as an international, interdisciplinary field of scholarly research. Historians, archaeologists, geographers, urbanists, economists and scholars of culture and literature have analyzed the night time of communities large and small, across a wide range of historical periods. The study of the night has expanded in tandem with new attention to the night on the part of city administrations, organizers of cultural events (like nuits blanches and museum nights) and activists fighting gentrification, systems of control and practices of harassment and exclusion which limit the “right to the night” of various populations.

In this context of this new attention to the night, we invite proposals for an international conference, in English and French, on relationships between media and the night. We are open to papers focussing on old and new media, from any disciplinary perspective, and dealing with any historical period or geographical area. Possible topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The place of media consumption and circulation within the 24-hour cycle;
• Formal and stylistic features of media treatments of the night;
• Media constructions of the transgressive, marginal or identitarian night;
• Specialized media directed at (or produced by) communities of the night;
• The role of media forms (or platforms) in tracing itineraries of night-time activity;
• Media tools to enhance the safety and accessibility of the night;
• “Intermedial” dimensions of media’s relationship to the night (e.g., electric lighting and photography; late-night television and classic cinema, etc.);
• The challenge of imagining “night” genres for 24-hour streaming services;
• Archiving the night;
• Pre-digital or digital practices of mapping the night;
• Night, social media and data visualization;
• Night media and energy infrastructures.

Proposals (with title) should be approximately 350 words, in French or English, and submitted by email to jhessica.reia@mcgill.ca by December 30, 2019. Please note that, while the organizers are unable to cover the travel and accommodation costs of participants, we will and will not charge a registration fee.

https://theurbannight.com/

Social Studies

Deadline: November 1, 2019

The journal Social Studies is announcing a call for papers for a monothematic issue with a working title Media representations and narratives of masculinities across Europe. The editors of the issue are Inês Amaral and Sofia José Santos (University of Coimbra).

This special issue aims to bring together critical analysis focusing on media representations, discourses, narratives and counter-narratives of what it means to be and behave “like a man” in today’s Europe. It wishes to contribute to a comprehensive reflection on the stereotypes that underlie discourses in the mass media and in the online media, and on how cultural productions co-opt, confront, criticize, renegotiate and seek to promote gender alternatives that challenge gender inequality.

This special issue welcomes theoretical and empirical articles that use qualitative, quantitative or mixed methodologies and focus on media representations and narratives of men and masculinities, their relation to policy and legislation, counter-narratives to the stereotyped representations of gender roles, the relation between feminism and masculinities and the fallout of the MeToo movement, social media activism, digital literacy, critical media literacy and other related topics. Papers focusing on research methods with which to address these issues are also welcome.

Abstracts should be sent to the journal address (socstud@fss.muni.cz) and to the editors (ines.amaral@uc.pt and sjs@ces.uc.pt). More detailed information is available on request. The deadline for abstract submission is 1st November 2019, full papers are expected by 1st March 2020.

About the journal

Social studies/Sociální studia (print ISSN 1214-813X, online ISSN 1803-6104) is a fully open-access journal, indexed in SCOPUS and ERIH PLUS. The journal is published since 2004 at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, both electronically and in print. Starting in 2015, the journal accepts English-language thematic issues and contributions.

Website: https://journals.muni.cz/socialni_studia

University of Colorado Boulder (USA)

Deadline: December 1, 2019

Requisition Number: 21763

Location: Boulder, Colorado

Employment Type: Faculty

Schedule: Full-Time

Posting Close Date: 01-Dec-2019

Apply here: https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/Professor-Open-Rank/21763

The Department of Media Studies in the College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI) at the University of Colorado Boulder is seeking applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor in Media Studies specializing in critical media theory, with a focus on one or more of the following areas: media industries, media infrastructures, big data, social media, and platform and software studies. Preference would be given to applicants whose research emphasizes the politics of data exclusion and discrimination, or that focuses on other forms of online mistreatment (harassment, bullying, doxing, etc.), based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality both within and across borders. In addition to excellence in research and teaching, the successful candidate will demonstrate a dedication to extend the mission of our interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate programs. The position is anticipated to begin in August 2020.

Who We Are

The Department of Media Studies offers a dynamic program of study that emphasizes the creative and analytical skills needed to operate in a complex media environment and to gain a deep understanding of the history and development of various means and forms of communication. We teach courses in media history; media activism; globalization and culture; Postcolonialism and decoloniality; media and religion; disruptive media entrepreneurship; media and human rights; popular culture, gender, race, class, and sexuality; media and food politics; audience studies, among many others. We offer an exciting Master’s degree in Media and Public Engagement and a well-ranked PhD program in media studies which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2019.

Established in 2015, the College of Media, Communication and Information is at the forefront of the revolution in communication and digital technology. CMCI prides itself on offering students an interdisciplinary education with a focus on innovation and creativity. Our students and faculty from six departments and an independent PhD program think across boundaries, innovate around emerging problems and build culture that transcends convention.

CMCI strives to be a community whose excellence is premised on diversity, equity and inclusion. We seek candidates who share this dedication and demonstrate an understanding of the experiences of those historically underrepresented in higher education. We welcome applications from minoritized racial and ethnic identities, ciswomen, non-normative genders and sexualities, persons with disabilities, and others who have encountered legacies of marginalization.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

This position will teach two courses each semester in a variety of media-related topics with an expectation to develop courses in the candidate’s own area of research expertise. Our department strongly values pedagogical and curricular innovation and we welcome strong leadership and vision in service.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.

Be Statements

Be Engaged. Be Inspired. Be Boulder.

What We Require

A PhD in Media Studies or a related discipline is required.

What You Will Need

A strong commitment to interdisciplinary collaborations and public advocacy and outreach.

Strong potential for academic scholarship (at the Assistant level) or evidence of an established and advanced research record (at the Associate level).

What We Would Like You To Have

Distinguished teaching experience

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

1. Cover letter outlining interest in the position and research and teaching interests.

2. Curriculum Vitae.

3. Statement of Teaching Philosophy.

4. Statement of Research Interests.

5. An example of scholarly and/or creative work.

6. You will need to submit (3) references for this position. These individuals will be contacted and asked to submit a letter of recommendation as part of your application materials. This information will be kept confidential and viewable only by the search committee.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. To ensure full consideration, applicants should submit all materials by December 1, 2019.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.

Posting Contact Information

Posting Contact Name: Boulder Campus Human Resources

Posting Contact Email: Recruiting@colorado.edu

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

April 30-May 2, 2020

University of Oregon Portland

Deadline: December 20, 2019

http://whatis.uoregon.edu

What is Information? (2020) will investigate conceptualizations and implementations of information via material, representational, and hybrid frames. The conference-experience will consider information and its transformational æffects—from documents to data; from facts and fictions to pattern recognition; from physical information to differential equations; and from volatility, uncertainty, and ambiguity to collective intelligence and wisdom.The tenth annual What is…? examines tapestries, temperaments, and topologies of information lenses and practices—including—social and technical, mathematical and semantic, physical and biological, economic and political, cultural and environmental information. Thus, information can be understood as physical (e.g. fingerprints and tree rings), for instruction (e.g. algorithms and recipes), and about epistemic systems (e.g. maps and encyclopedias). 

Next year’s gathering expands on What is Technology? (2019), which explored technology as tools, processes, and moral knowledge, as well as problem-solving and intelligent inquiry.Scholars, government and community officials, industry professionals, scientists, artists, students, filmmakers, grassroots community organizations, and the public are invited to collaborate. We welcome submissions for papers, panels, roundtables and installations.

Presentations / panels / installations may include the following topics (as well as others):

• What is information? Are data and information synonymous? Is information material/concrete, symbolic/abstract, or both? What distinguishes information from knowledge and wisdom?

• Is information freedom? What is meta-data?  What are information systems, flows, and gaps?

• What approaches or lenses are used to study information? How do they relate to emerging disciplines? 

• What are information science and information art? What are relationships between STE(A)M and ICT?

• How are the natural sciences and information sciences continuing to converge (e.g. bioinformatics)? 

• Is information at the core of music, architecture, design, craft, and/or science and technology studies? 

• Is biology itself information or only a representation? What are data science, machine learning and visualization? How are informatics enhancing medicine and the environment via regenerative systems?

• What is the philosophy of information? What are information literacy, ethics, education, & aesthetics?

• What are networks? What are relationships between information, technology/media, and message?

• What are information ecologies, information environments, and how do/can they facilitate public good? 

• What is political economy of information? How do information & socio-cultural factors æffect each other?

• What are current approaches to the study of information professions, audiences, and psychology? 

• How does information highlight gender, race, indigenous, and/or global environmental concerns?

• How can contemplation, empathy, kindness, and/or responsibility be studied via information?  

• What are patterns of digital divides? What comes after post-truth (e.g. cyber-physical)?

• What are data-mining and threat detection or privacy in the cyber-defense/cyber-security age? 

• Can apps, games, and immersive media help us to adapt to the ever-changing information landscape?

• What laws/regulations/policies are appropriate for information? How are information & value(s) related? 

Conference Organizers: Janet Wasko and Jeremy Swartz (University of Oregon)

Send 150-word abstracts for papers, panels, installations, and exhibits by DECEMBER 20, 2019, to: Janet Wasko,  jwasko@uoregon.edu  (University of Oregon , Eugene, Oregon)

Deadline: October 25, 2019

Editors: Sara Bannerman (McMaster University) and James Meese (University of Technology Sydney)

In January 2018, Facebook declared that it would no longer prioritise news content in its NewsFeed. Instead, it would surface posts from 'friends and family', with the goal of bringing 'people closer together' (Mosseri, 2018). Facebook had stopped promoting particular forms of news before (like clickbait headlines) but they had always retained a broad commitment to distributing news content. However, the change in 2018 represented a major pivot for a platform that had increasingly become a central intermediary for online news distribution. In response, digital-first publications, who had staked their business model on Facebook's ability to surface news to audiences, started to lay off staff in significant numbers. These new disruptive news enterprises (like Buzzfeed and Mic) were supposed to usher in a new future for news. However, it appeared that their business models were as unstable as those of their print predecessors.

These recent developments have not gone unnoticed by governments. Policymakers and politicians across the world are starting to examine the role that platforms and algorithms play in the distribution of news. Inquiries in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and elsewhere have explored the consequences of the algorithmic distribution of news. Alongside these national inquiries, a broader international discussion has focused on the apparent rise in disinformation and the increasingly partisan nature of political discourse. This discussion has intensified recently, leading to the formation of an International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy composed of elected officials from governments around the world.

This edited collection will respond to this international policy moment and examine the challenges posed by the algorithmic distribution of news. It will critically assess recent media policy developments in this space and explore the broader economic, political and industrial transformations associated with algorithmic distribution. In doing so, we aim to offer a comprehensive account of this moment of institutional change, which has significantly altered the distribution and consumption of news (see Nielsen 2018).

The book will be split into two sections. The first section will consist of thematic chapters (5 - 6,000 words) and the second section will feature shorter case studies (3 - 4,000 words) describing and analysing recent policy developments related to algorithmic distribution in particular countries. We are currently in discussions with interested publishers and seeking contributions for both sections.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• International governance of the algorithmic distribution of news, including the formation and operation of the International Grand Committee;
• Measures to support media diversity in light of algorithmic distribution, including measures to support local, Indigenous, alternative, independent, ethnic, women's and minority news media;
• Case studies of countries (for section two): how have particular countries approached regulatory problems in light of the algorithmic distribution of news?
• Subsidies and tax exemptions that respond to the algorithmic distribution of news;
• Discussions of regulations intended to ensure the objectivity and/or transparency of search and recommendation algorithms;
• Regulatory measures that respond to layoffs and closures of news outlets;
• Intersections between copyright law and news aggregation (such as the EU's Article 11, the 'Google News tax;'
• The relationship between news, platforms, and competition law;
• Regulation of targeted advertising in relation to news;
• Histories of early forays into online (or social) news distribution;
• Analyses of innovative forms of news distribution;
• Civic risks associated with algorithmic distribution (or online engagement);and
• Detailed analyses of relevant inquiries or reform proposals.

If you are interested in contributing to either section, please send a short chapter or case study proposal (of about 400 words) and a biography (150 words) by the 25th of October 2019 to james.meese@uts.edu.au and banners@mcmaster.ca.

September 11-13, 2020

Vienna, Austria

Deadline: February 29, 2020

The year 2000 is often considered a watershed moment in the development of the field of journalism studies, as it marks the year that two key academic journals – Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism and Journalism Studies – were first published. To celebrate their twentieth anniversaries, the journals are organizing a three-day conference in 2020 to look back on the evolution of the field, and to critically consider key questions for the field going forward. The conference will include a number of keynote presentations, round-tables, as well as regular paper presentations.

There is no doubt that journalism is impacted by a whole range of threats, many of which go to the core of what journalism is about, whether it is occupational issues that are failing to provide the cues to make journalism viable, politicians who are pulling into question and attempting to curtail journalism’s role, societal actors who are competing with traditional journalists and questioning journalism’s authority, economic developments that are making it harder and harder to find sustainable business models, or technological advances that threaten traditional news selection processes. The conference will engage with all these developments in the journalistic environment, and we call on submissions that deal with the (ir)relevance of journalism and fields including, but not limited to politics, technology, economics, audience, culture, and academia.

We therefore invite papers that address how journalism studies can help to answer crucial questions about journalism’s relevance, but also the relevance of the field of journalism studies itself. We call particularly for thought-provoking papers that develop new theories or methods and push the boundaries of the field. We welcome submissions from all theoretical, epistemological and methodological perspectives.

The conference will feature six keynote presentations on the topics noted above, some round-table discussions, traditional paper presentations, and coherent panels.

Traditional paper presentations: Traditional paper presentations will take place in panels consisting of four to five papers.

Coherent panels: A limited number of slots will be available for coherent panels where one topic is addressed in four to five presentations, followed by a respondent. Preference will be given to panels with presenters from diverse backgrounds and affiliations.

Following the conference, we envisage to publish special issues in both journals, as well as a book featuring the best submissions.

How to submit

Submissions can be sent to journalism2020.pub@univie.ac.at by no later than February 29, 2020. Please include in the email (1) the title of your paper, (2) an abstract of no more than 400 words, (3) max. 5 keywords, (4) names and affiliations of the authors.

To submit a panel proposal, a 300-word rationale should be sent alongside a 150-word abstract per presentation, as well as the names and affiliations of presenters and respondent.

All submissions will undergo scholarly peer-review.

Notifications of acceptance will be issued in early April.

Please contact the conference organizing committee with questions at journalism2020.pub@univie.ac.at.

Website: https://journalism2020.univie.ac.at/call-for-papers/

Journalism Studies

Deadline: January 31, 2020

This themed issue aims to revisit the conceptual and methodological framework of ‘news values’ in order to assess its merits and limitations as a distinct approach to analyzing current developments in the field of news production, dissemination and reception. Questions about what constitutes ‘news’ (to whom) and how ‘news’ comes about and takes shape, are key to journalism studies. While the exchange of new information has historically fulfilled vital human and communal purposes, a paradigmatic understanding of ‘news’, defined in terms of so-called ‘news value factors’ informing the (perceived) newsworthiness of events, grew entangled with (the development of) professional journalism. Ever since Galtung and Ruge’s 1965 ‘foundation study’ on ‘the structures’ of foreign news coverage, which set off the scholarly tradition of ‘news values’ research, numerous communications and media scholars have built on and complemented their groundbreaking work. However, it could be argued that, in the process, the concept of ‘news values’ has been stretched (too) far beyond the core idea of ‘values that establish the worth of an event to be reported as news’, coming to encompass any and all factors shaping news selection and treatment, as well as general ‘news writing objectives’ (Bednarek & Caple 2016). In order to preserve its usefulness as an analytical approach in its own right, then, retaining and contemplating a narrow, clearly delineated conception of ‘news values’ has become ever more relevant for contemporary work in the field (ibid.).

In addition, it has been pointed out that largely implicit in extant literature on the topic is in fact a multidimensional understanding of newsworthiness, which has translated, correspondingly, into different research foci and methodological approaches (Bednarek & Caple 2012, 2016, 2017). As such, previous studies have mainly defined ‘news values’ either or both in terms of (identifying) the material aspects of an event or issue that render it potentially newsworthy, the cognitive belief systems of journalists or audiences, or the shared routines and codes learned and practiced through socialization in (particular) newsrooms and journalistic communities (ibid.). What characterizes the state of the field, then, is a primary focus on clarifying and explaining why particular events are or may be considered newsworthy. This tends to overlook or background how ‘news values’ are communicated and mutually constituted through the various semiotic resources of language and image that make up (news) discourse (ibid.).

Importantly, considerations of ‘newsworthiness’ along each of these dimensions have shifted in the contemporary digital and networked media environment, where the vectors of change affecting the way ‘news’ develops, is exchanged and communicated and, indeed, essentially understood, have been manifold. For the affordances of a participatory media culture have meaningfully extended the range of sources, voices, information and stories surrounding and potentially feeding into the daily news stream. In tandem with the diffusion of digital media technologies, various kinds of (hybrid) ‘newcomers’ have emerged, who both emulate and transform journalistic conventions, adding new inflections to established news selection criteria (like ‘eliteness’, ‘proximity’, or ‘consonance’) but equally challenging legacy media’s longtime status as ‘primary definers’ of news. Likewise, news sites, social media, apps, search engines and (automated) news aggregation, the algorithms and web analytics that drive them, and the monitoring, content optimization and commodification strategies, or audience (inter)activity (clicks, likes, shares, comments, etc.) they generate, have become key to (understanding) journalistic gatekeeping, news circulation, and perceptions and uses of ‘news(worthiness)’.

From a meta perspective, then, these shifting routines and belief systems ultimately open new conversations on the constituent elements of ‘news’. Against the background of a highly competitive, fragmented news market, and a cultural atmosphere of reflexivity, a renewed (public and scholarly) interest in ‘other’, non-traditional and often marginalized journalistic genres and news discourses has emerged. What is implied, thus, is a re-examination of the normative assumptions and epistemologies of paradigmatic ‘hard news’ (values). This occurs, notably, through the proliferation of ‘soft’ and hybrid news (e.g., infotainment, satirical ‘fake news’ shows), and the (re)invigoration of narrative and interpretive news discourses, including digital, multimodal genres (e.g., long-form, editorials, analyses, blogs, infographics). Additionally, alternative forms of journalism such as ‘constructive’ and ‘solutions-oriented’ journalism, or ‘slow journalism’, have taken shape around specific critiques of traditional norms and practices guiding news production, including its basis in formulaic ‘news values’.

This special issue aims to bring together contemporary conceptual, methodological and/or empirical scholarly work that applies, elaborates, interrogates and, in doing so, reflects on the actual and potential merits and limitations of the ‘news values’ framework in a digital, networked age where paradigmatic notions of ‘news(worthiness)’ are shifting. We particularly welcome proposals that contribute, either individually or collectively, to our objective of revisiting ‘news values’ as an analytical approach in its own right:

(1) across disciplinary boundaries within the heterogenous domain of journalism studies, expanding or rethinking conceptual frameworks and methodologies by integrating theoretical perspectives and exploring multimethod or otherwise innovative methodological approaches;

(2) across conceptual dimensions, contemplating the ontological status of news values and articulating (interactions between) material, cognitive, social, and discursive perspectives;

(3) across the diversity of topical areas, journalistic (sub)cultures, news outlets, or (hybrid) genres and actors that make up the fragmented field of contemporary journalism, examining how ‘news values’ are variously conceived and questioning normative assumptions;

(4) across the range of digital media(technologies), their affordances and limitations, adapting ‘news value’ analysis to a multimodal/media, interactive and hyperlinked news environment where established forms of news production, presentation and reception are transformed, and news commodification is co-determined by search engines, social media and web metrics.

Editorial Information

Guest Editors: Jelle Mast & Martina Temmerman (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

Submission Instructions

Full papers (6000-9000 words, all inclusive) should be submitted online by 31 January 2020, on manuscript central. Please tick the relevant box on the submission site indicating the manuscript relates to the special issue and follow the general submission guidelines carefully in preparing your manuscript. We strive towards notifying authors within two months upon receipt of submission. Publication of the special issue is planned for mid-2020. For any questions, please contact Jelle Mast.

Website: https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/journalism-studies-digital-network-methodology/?utm_source=TFO&utm_medium=cms&utm_campaign=JOI11455

Journalism Practice

Deadline for abstracts: January 6, 2020

Guest Editors: Oscar Westlund (Oslo Metropolitan University), Roy Krøvel (Oslo Metropolitan University), Kristin Skare-Orgeret (Oslo Metropolitan University)

Editor-in-Chief: Bonnie Brennan, Marquette University

Journalism is one of, if not the most important, knowledge producing institutions in society. It is also an institution and practice facing substantial challenges. This includes, but is not limited to, how news media companies should maintain a sustainable business model and also how journalists can ensure they have the expertise, resources and support necessary to produce and publish verified news perceived to have high quality in a media environment seemingly marked by misinformation. To date, however, relatively few researchers have focused their research efforts to the critical challenges arising in the intersection of journalism practice and the safety of journalists in a digital mediascape, an increasing threat to journalism and those who produce it. This special issue addresses that void.

Safety is vital for those who practice journalism, for their families, and for their sources. Safety is  essential  for  the  wellbeing  of  media  institutions,  civil  society,  academia  and  the  private sector more broadly. Unfortunately, journalists and their sources are repeatedly subject to attacks that threaten the safety of their practice, their technological infrastructures, and the psychological and physical safety of individual persons. Criminal organizations, authorities, activists, and citizens carry out deliberative and substantial attacks against journalists and media outlets or contribute to online harassments via social media that result in severe consequences. In the worst case, journalists and sources are killed and important news stories are silenced. Ultimately, both small and large attacks threaten safety – and the future role and function of journalism practice.

This special issue introduces the three-dimensional concept Newsafety. The concept blends news and what is new with safety with the intention to stress how safety and news should be approached in tandem. Importantly, this concept does not focus only on the safety of journalists, but on all interrelated actors involved in sustaining safety for journalism and the production of news. Moreover, the concept focuses on actions taken that enable safety in infrastructures, and thus facilitates safety in journalism practice, countering negative consequences. The three sub-dimensions of this concept are 1) Safety and infrastructures, 2) Safety in practice, and 3) Safety and its consequences. Through our outline of these sub-dimensions, we welcome theoretical, conceptual and empirical submissions that contribute to their further development.

Firstly, safety and infrastructures focuses on technological and legal developments surrounding safety. This includes challenges to safety such as those linked to surveillance, interception of information, hacking, etc., as well as legal and technological responses to such challenges. Such challenges include enhanced cryptography, development of secure communication channels, digital protection of sources including whistle-blowers, more secure data storage, and so forth. We are interested in how news media and its actors develop and use proprietary infrastructures (i.e. platforms, systems and tools) as well as how they approach non-proprietary platforms beyond their own control, to improve safety issues when it comes to protection of self, story, and the journalist’s role, as well as their existing and potential sources. We welcome submissions addressing safety structures in journalism as well as in journalism training and education.   

Secondly, safety in practice encompasses research into how matters of safety influence epistemological news production processes. More specifically, it explores what knowledge journalists, technologists, sources and other actors who may be involved in news production have when it comes to different matters of safety. Moreover, how do they use this knowledge when using information- and communication technologies in journalism practice? Do they turn to specific information and communication technologies (ICT’s) in certain ways, and which practices are they avoiding? How do perceptions about surveillance and digital threats and harassments possibly influence the stories journalists choose to work with, how they communicate with sources, and how they produce news materials with certain truth claims? What steps do individual journalists and news companies take to achieve and maintain safety, and what forms of cross-cultural collaborations are there? Are there specific topics more associated with risks and safety that may affect the news and knowledge produced?

Thirdly, safety and its consequences focuses on both psychological, social and political consequences that arise when safety of journalists is being challenged. What are the costs of intimidation, harassment and hate speech for democratic processes? Are some groups of journalists more exposed to intimidation, harassment and hate speech than others – and what are the implications in terms of voices lost and stories not told? What are the effects of confiscation of journalistic work, forced exposure of online networks, defamation and libel – and how do these processes impact on which perspectives of reality we are given? This section is particularly interested in how such challenging pressures affect the news and knowledge produced in general, and how this may impact freedom of expression and processes of democracy in general, in a given society or across regions.

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Submission Instructions

This is a call for extended abstracts (500-750 words), accompanied by a 100-150 word bio introducing your relevant expertise. Upon selection, we invite scholars to submit full papers. Article submissions should target 8,000 words in length, including references, and are subject to full blind peer-review, in accordance with the peer-review procedure of Journalism Practice.

Please send your abstracts to oscarw@oslomet.no, with "Journalism Practice Newsafety-- Abstract proposal" in the header of the email. Manuscripts are submitted through the journal’s website.

Timeline

• Deadline submission of extended abstracts: 6 January 2020
• Decision on abstracts: 17 January 2020
• Deadline for final submission: 20 June 2020.
• Publication: OnlineFirst when accepted, and in issue upon agreement with journal editor.