ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)

The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) funds innovative projects that deal with the social opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation. We support individual researchers and groups.

You want to spend a sabbatical in a vibrant interdisciplinary research community? Become a fellow at CAIS!

A fellowship at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) releases you from your regular work obligations and opens up new perspectives.  

As a fellow, you can spend either six or three months in Bochum, Germany. During this period, we will finance your sabbatical leave from work through compensation (e.g. for a substitute). Alternatively, we will pay grants of up to 2.000 € per month. You can invite guests for collaboration and will receive financial support for research expenses. Individual offices and meeting rooms with modern facilities offer optimal working conditions. In addition, we will provide comfortable apartments free of charge.

Find out more at https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/fellowships/ 

You want to boost your collaboration? Bring your group together at CAIS!

Working groups bring together experts from different locations to work on joint projects in an inspiring environment.

We provide modern meeting facilities for working groups of up to twelve members. In addition, we will cover travel and accommodation expenses. You can spend up to three weeks in Bochum or get together for several shorter meetings.  

Find out more at https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/working-groups/

Application

The next deadline for applications is 30 April 2023. The earliest possible starting date for new fellowships is April 2024. The earliest possible starting date for new working groups is January 2024. You can also combine both programs. Please use the application forms provided on our website.

The funding program is open to excellent scholars and practitioners, to all career stages, disciplines and areas of investigation, as well as to pure research and to projects that are more applied in orientation.

Further questions? Please contact esther.laufer@cais-research.de.

October 19-20, 2023

Madrid, Spain/online

Deadline: May 31, 2023

Objective: The congress seeks to provide a space for reflection and synergy around the study of hate speech from the digital news media and social networks at the Ibero-American and international levels.

Dates: It will be held on October 19 and 20, 2023, in person (in the Faculty of Information Sciences of the U. Complutense of Madrid and at the International University of La Rioja - UNIR's headquarters in Madrid) and online. Reception of proposals until May 31, 2023. Submissions will be accepted in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Organization: It is organized by the Project Cartography of hate speech in Spain from communication: sports, bullfighting and political spheres (PID2019-105613GB-C31 – CARTODIOCOM), and the Project Taxonomy, presence and intensity of hate speech in environments digital media linked to the Spanish professional news media (PID2020-114584GB-I00 – HATEMEDIA). Both projects are led by the Complutense University of Madrid and the International University of La Rioja, financed by the State Research Agency - Ministry of Science and Innovation (Government of Spain).

Web for more information at: https://ciomd.es/

25 May, 2023

Toronto, Canada

It is our great pleasure to share with you an ICA pre-conference dedicated to the consideration and discussion of Elihu Katz’s ideas.

Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, registration for this pre-conference is free. To register for the pre-conference, please navigate to the registration page. 

Questions about the pre-conference should be directed to any one of the pre-conference organizers listed below.

Organized by: Menahem Blondheim (Hebrew University), David W. Park (Lake Forest College), Jeff Pooley (Muhlenberg College), and Julia Sonnevend (The New School)

Arrival, Coffee

8:30 am - 8:45 am

Opening Remarks from Pre-Conference Sponsors

8:45 am - 8:50 am

Orienting Katz Historically

8:50 am - 9:20 am

Moderator: Jeff Pooley

Peter Simonson, “Communication, Opportunity Structures, and the Making of Elihu Katz, 1926–1956: The Child is Father of the Man”

Coffee Break

9:20 am - 9:35 am

Katz on Journalism, Democracy, and the Media

9:35 am - 10:50 am

Moderator: Barbie Zelizer

Klaus Bruhn Jensen & W. Russell Neuman, “Enriching the Concept of Communication Effects: The Legacy of Elihu Katz”

Leah A. Lievrouw, “Katz, Tarde, and Theorizing Digital Communication”

Michael McDevitt, “Is the U.S. Press Invested in Democratic Crisis?”

Kimberly Meltzer, “Legacies of Elihu Katz: Contributions to Theorizing on Journalism and Television”

Patrícia Dias & Priscila Krolow, “Youth on BeReal: Emergent Uses and Sought Gratifications”

Coffee Break

10:50 am - 11:00 am

The Continuing Relevance of Media Events

11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Moderator: Julia Sonnevend

Esther Hammelburg, “Being There Live: Witnessing & Belonging at Contemporary Media(tized) Events”

Johanna Sumiala & Katja Valaskivi, “Hybrid Media Environment: A Key Challenge to Contemporary Media Event Theory?”

Charlotte Knorr & Christian Pentzold, “The Craft of Data Scandals: Reassessing Contemporary Whistleblowing as Media Events”

Sachie Hamada, “Media Events in the Internet Age: From ‘Watching on Couch’ to ‘Doing Sports Together’”

Rainier Winter & Jörg-Uwe Nieland, “Rethinking ‘Media Events’: Sports Mega-Events, Authoritarian States, and the Battle for Meaning”

Lunch

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Two-Step Flow

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Moderator: Larry Gross

Devon Powers, “From Fads to Trends: Lessons From Katz”

Laura Dilley, “The Memetics of QAnon as Dynamical System: A Historical and Forensic Analysis of Katz-Inspired Diffusion of pro-QAnon Sentiment Among Social media Micro-Influencers”

Svetlana S. Bodrunova, Kamilla Nigmatullina, Nikolay Rodossky, and Dmitry Nepiyushchikh, “The Two-Step Flow Model in a Hybrid Environment: Decentralization of Media in Discussions on User Complaints in the VK.com Social Network”

Hynek Jerabek, “Elihu Katz’s Journey From the ‘Two-Step Flow Report’ to ‘His Master’s Voice’: 65 Years of Opinion Leaders”

Elizabeth Dubois, “Strategic Personal Influence: From Political Opinion Leaders to Social Media Influencers”

Coffee Break

3:00 pm - 3:15 pm

The Multidimensional Katz: A Cross-Cutting Conversation

3:15 pm - 4:30 pm

Moderator: Menahem Blondheim

Sonia Livingstone

Jeffrey C. Alexander

Limor Shifman

Michael Schudson

Closing Words

4:30 pm - 4:45 pm

Pre-recorded video contributions pending

The Pre-Conference is Sponsored by:

The Department of Communication and the Smart Family Institute of Communications at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California; and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

August 31 - September 1, 2023

Berlin, Germany

Deadline: March 31, 2023

The 2023 ECREA Political Communication Section Conference is taking place 31 Aug - 01 Sep in Berlin, Germany. The event is hosted by the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society and the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. The deadline for abstract submissions (400 words) is 31 March 2023.

More information about the conference and submissions can be found at https://ecreapolcomm2023.ecreapoliticalcommunication.com/

LSE

LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university 

Department of Media and Communications, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) 

Salary from £38,313 to £46,168 pa inclusive with potential to progress to £49,614 pa inclusive of London allowance 

This is a fixed-term appointment for 11 months 

Applications are invited from outstanding postdoctoral candidates in media and communications. The successful candidate will join an established and successful Department, ranked first in its field in the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) and third in the QS World University Rankings 2022, and known for its distinctive interdisciplinary approach to the field of media and communications. You will contribute to the "Media Literacy Programme project: An evaluation of the Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum", managing the day to day running of the project, engaging in high-quality research and evaluation as instructed by the PI Professor Shakuntala Banaji, and participating in the School and wider Department activities as directed. 

Candidates will have: 

. A PhD in media and communications, media education, or a closely related area. 

. Ability to conduct research using quantitative methods to evaluate interventions. 

. Ability to conduct original academic research on substantive research topics that relate to Media and Digital Literacy and educational interventions in this field 

. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ability to communicate research findings effectively to scholarly, policy and non-academic audiences 

. Good interpersonal skills and the ability and willingness to work as part of an interdisciplinary team and with non-academic stakeholders 

. Evidence of time management skills, setting priorities and meeting tight deadlines 

. We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave and excellent training and development opportunities. 

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification on the following webpage: https://jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/4650/0/382729/15539/research-officer-post-doc 

To apply for this post, please go to http://www.jobs.lse.ac.uk. If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the "contact us" links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email Media.Research@lse.ac.uk. 

The closing date for receipt of applications is 26 March 2023 (23.55 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications 

March 9, 2023

I am pleased to invite you to the next in the series of IPRA Thought Leadership webinars. The webinar The Weixin story: PR’s contribution to CSR will be presented by Zoe Chou, Dean of the Weixin Strategic Research Institute and the Head of PR at Weixin on Thursday 9 March 2023 at 12.00 GMT/UCT (unadjusted).

What is the webinar content?

The One for all Love meal Program won the 2022 Golden World Awards grand prix. The webinar will discuss the background to the program and discuss other corporate social responsibility projects from China’s Weixin and its parent company Tencent. 

How to join

Register here at Airmeet. (The time shown should adjust to your device’s time zone.) 

A reminder will be sent 1 hour before the event.

Background to IPRA

IPRA, the International Public Relations Association, was established in 1955, and is the leading global network for PR professionals in their personal capacity. IPRA aims to advance trusted communication and the ethical practice of public relations. We do this through networking, our code of conduct and intellectual leadership of the profession. IPRA is the organiser of public relations' annual global competition, the Golden World Awards for Excellence (GWA). IPRA's services enable PR professionals to collaborate and be recognised. Members create content via our Thought Leadership essays, social media and our consultative status with the United Nations. GWA winners demonstrate PR excellence. IPRA welcomes all those who share our aims and who wish to be part of the IPRA worldwide fellowship. For more see www.ipra.org

Background to Zoe Chou

Zoe Chou is Dean of the Weixin Strategic Research Institute and the Head of PR at Weixin. She is one of the pioneers of China’s Internet communications and has been a trailblazer of marketing in the digital age. Zoe has been guest lecturer at the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University and the School of Journalism, Fudan University. She has also served as a judge for a number of international marketing awards.

Contact

International Public Relations Association Secretariat

United Kingdom

secgen@ipra.org

Telephone +44 1634 818308

Nordicom Review Special Issue

Deadline: May 2, 2023

Find the full call on Nordicom’s website: https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/nordicom-review/calls-for-papers

The question of ownership has always been central in studies of news media and power. Today, this question is more important than ever, as witnessed by the focus on media ownership in the 2022 European Commission Media Freedom Act, as well as the rise and growing centrality of digital platforms that greatly influence both news media and journalism. 

With this special issue of Nordicom Review, the editors invite scholars to submit articles with a focus on the ownership and regulation of news media and digital platforms in Europe. 

Editors:

Mark Blach-Ørsten (Roskilde University)

Tobias Lindberg (Nordicom, University of Gothenburg)

Helle Sjøvaag (University of Stavanger)

Josef Trappel (University of Salzburg)

Contact:

Tobias Lindberg, tobias.lindberg@nordicom.gu.se 

Important dates:

Deadline for extended abstracts: 2 May 2023

Invitations to submit full paper sent: 15 May 2023

Deadline for full submissions: 2 October 2023

Peer review (including revisions): November 2023–January 2024

Expected publication: Spring 2024

Procedure:

Those with an interest in contributing should write an extended abstract (max. 750 words) where the main theme (or argument) of the intended article is described. The abstract should contain the preliminary title and five keywords. How the article fits with the overall aim of the issue should be mentioned.

Send your extended abstract by 2 May 2023 to Tobias Lindberg: tobias.lindberg@nordicom.gu.se.

All of Nordicom’s publications are published without publication fees or article processing charges (APC).

June 20- 21, 2023

Virtual conference

Deadline: April 8, 2023

III FLUC Communication Sciences Conference (Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra, Portugal)  

No participation fees.

https://jornadasdecomunicacao.uc.pt/

Once the Portuguese language is an aggregating element for people and populations in different territories, this conference aims to bring together papers from different contexts that have arrived at multiple understandings of how communication and media influence social dynamics and are also marked by them.

We cannot help but remember that language was strategic to colonization and the context imposed on many peoples. However, since the language belongs to those who use it, we can use it on infinite possibilities as a tool for emancipation.

Students, researchers, national and international researchers are welcome. The event is organized in three distinct moments: debates, conferences, and paper presentation sessions. The deadline for submitting papers to be presented begins this Wednesday, March 1st.

Within the overarching theme “Debates in the Portuguese Language”, papers will be accepted on the following sub-themes, but not limited to:

-          Edges and challenges of research in the Portuguese language

-          Importance of codes in the communicative process

-          Language, communication, and discrimination

-          Language, communication, and gender

-          Communication, gender, and sexualities

-          Disinformation and hate speech

-          Communication and post-colonial relations

-          Communication and decolonial critique

-          Contemporary issues in advertising and marketing

-          Media and factual narratives

-          Media and fictional narratives

-          Media representations

-          Media and diaspora

-          Critical Discourse Studies

-          Communication and intersectionality

-          Communication and gaming

-          Communication, media, and artificial intelligence

Conference organizers will work toward publishing presented papers in a book in 2023.  Please send your abstracts of 400 words (max) via the website: https://jornadasdecomunicacao.uc.pt/ 

Participation in the event does not constitute a condition for the authors to submit the full texts.

Important dates:

Deadline for abstract submission: April 8th

Notification of acceptance of abstracts: until May 13th

Deadline for submission of full papers: May 31st

Registration period: from May 15th

Event dates: June 20th - 21st

https://www.facebook.com/JornadasComFluc

https://www.instagram.com/jornadascomfluc/

Comunicação Pública no. 35 (Special issue, December 2023)

Deadline: July 7, 2023

“To my critics, if I deserve them, I only ask not to read this book in the light of the binomial «pessimism versus optimism». It would be better if they saw it only as an attempt to understand some aspects of the crisis of journalism in contemporary society. And the crisis, as Morin acknowledges, has a «double face»: risk and hypothesis, risk of regression, hypothesis of progression” (Mesquita, 2003, p.23).

Editors: Fátima Lopes Cardoso (Escola Superior de Comunicação Social e ICNOVA-Instituto de Comunicação da Nova) and Pedro Marques Gomes (Escola Superior de Comunicação Social e ICNOVA-Instituto de Comunicação da Nova)

Languages: Portuguese; English; Spanish DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: 7 July 2023

Abstract

In the year in which the reference work by Mário Mesquita (1950-2022) completes two decades of existence, the aim of this special issue is to bring together studies that focus on the transversality of themes addressed in O Quarto Equívoco – O poder dos media na sociedade contemporânea (The Fourth Misconception - The power of the media in contemporary society) (MinervaCoimbra, 2003).

Civic journalism, the «power» of journalism or journalism as a counterpower, media representations, the journalistic character, objectivity, deontology and social responsibility of the journalist, as well as ceremonial events are some of the starting points for the call for papers of this issue, which aims to encourage the problematization and public discussion of matters to which Mário Mesquita made a fundamental contribution.

Description and Framework

When Mário Mesquita compiled in a book a set of works that he had created as a journalist, professor and scholar of the theories and practices of contemporary journalism 20 years ago, he unavoidably

 left an imprint on the research made in this area. The work constituted an innovative and highly relevant contribution to understanding the complex nature of journalism and helped other peers - journalists, students of Social Sciences, in particular Communication, and academics - to analyze, as he wrote, “the multiple misconceptions that surround the so called «fourth estate»” (2003, p.19).

Divided into five parts - News, Powers, Perspectives, Deontologies and Ceremonies, O Quarto Equívoco – O poder dos media na sociedade contemporânea (MinervaCoimbra, 2003) is the result of a journey of study and reflection on the media and journalism or, as two of his masters wrote – Elihu Katz and Daniel Dayan –, results from “the rich experience he gained from his three lives as an academic, as a journalist and as a political actor” (Katz and Dayan, 2021). This work continues to inspire academics and communication professionals, proving its timeliness and importance.

More than two decades ago, Portuguese newsrooms were taking their first steps in disseminating news through electronic means investing in speed; recent private television stations were betting on live broadcasts; and journalism, largely due to the small screen, gained a kind of power of heavily ambivalent influence. On the one hand, he presented himself as an ally of truth who wanted to fight against power. On the other hand, he became the echo of republican institutions in crisis and manifested subservience in relation to figures of power and their institutions.

Journalism, which has the obligation to convey the truth of facts and ensure the distancing of any kind of powers, whether legislative, executive, or judicial, also ended up hostage to commercial dictates and profit. “The fourth power” caricatured by Orson Welles surrendered itself to the market criteria. This is just one of the many facets of journalism as “four misconception” as analyzed by Mário Mesquita: “Media power disseminates information and establishes itself as a forum for debate, which should encourage the exercise of citizenship, but, at the same time, it aggravates the crisis, insofar as it facilitates the «disintermediation» of representative institutions, accentuates personalization in the exercise of public office and, through the spectacularization of the news, contributes to the development of an attitude of civic mistrust” (2003: 17) .

20 years have passed since the 1st edition of O Quarto Equívoco. The critical issues identified by this unique figure of the study of journalism, which this issue of Comunicação Pública honors, seem to have become more acute due to years of cuts in the media justified by the economic crisis of 2008 with dramatic consequences for the practice of journalism, the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic, and now the catastrophic financial situation aggravated by the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, only knowledge and study can confirm or refute the negative view that is often announced. Mesquita wrote, in this regard: “Don't ask me to explain, in conclusion, that current journalism is in «better» health than it was ten or twenty years ago. This is likely to be the case if we isolate some newspapers and select some television and radio programs, disregarding the context” (2003, p. 255).

If, in Mário Mesquita writings, the analysis serves to diagnose problems, raise study hypotheses and, in some way, to point out ways to ensure that the media would continue to ensure pluralism in information, this special issue intends to perpetuate this critical need that results from scientific research in the area of journalism, as well as to contribute to the understanding of the paths that this noble “symbolic profession” has taken in recent times.

Objectives and approaches

Considering that the different themes and issues analyzed in the work O Quarto Equívoco continue to manifest themselves in journalism, and in the relationship it establishes with society, as well as with the various powers that should serve it, contributions are welcome on the following topics:

- Journalism as a counterpower, as a fourth power or an ally of powers - Objectivity or construction in news coverage

- Media events and celebration rituals

- The representations of journalism

- Rhetoric of the text and journalistic image

- Selection criteria in the age of instantaneity

- Information versus infotainment: the media euphoria in live television - Civic journalism: the social responsibility of the media

- Between the market, ethics, and deontology: borders of imbalance

- The teaching of journalism

KEY DATES

1st Call for Papers: 1 March 2023

Deadline for Submissions: 7 July 2023

Publication date: 15 December 2023

Submission guidelines:

Articles must be submitted online via https://journals.ipl.pt/cpublica/index . Authors are required to register in the system before submitting an article; if you have already registered, simply log into the system and start the 5-step submission process. Articles must be submitted using the pre-formatted template of Comunicação Pública. For more information on submission, please read Information for Authors and Guidelines for Authors.

April 5, 2023

Groningen, The Netherlands / Online (Hybrid)

Deadline: March 14, 2023

Following the conference ‘Practices of Digital Inclusion and Exclusion in Everyday Life’ organized by the University of Groningen on 3 & 4 April 2023, the University of Groningen, ECREA section Children, Youth, and Media, and Chair RTVE University of Salamanca on Children Youth and Media will host the hybrid seminar 'Playfully Developing Digital Literacies: Children's Digital Play and Media Use in Different Social Contexts'. 

Play is one of the most important activities in childhood. It allows children to experiment with social norms and to make sense of the world around them. The advantages of play for development have long been investigated by researchers in a variety of domains, including developmental psychology, pedagogical sciences, and educational studies. These studies frequently view play as an essential activity and resource for kids’ development. While there is much consensus about the importance of play in general, the implications of emerging digital technologies for play have long been a topic of discussion (Bird & Edwards,2015; Marsh et al., 2016). In recent years, children are spending an increasing amount of time with digital technology for a variety of reasons, including play (Smahel et al., 2020). While digital play has been perceived as inferior to traditional play in the past, a growing number of scholars have been advocating for a more nuanced understanding. They argue that many characteristics of traditional play translate well into digital contexts, and that digital play, therefore, should be perceived as a supplementary form of play that can foster children’s development and learning. But how can social actors support children’s development through digital play? And, as play is inherently intertwined with the environment in which it happens, how do practices of digital play differ between various cultural, socioeconomic and geographical contexts?

In this seminar, we will explore children’s playful digital practices and consider how these practices aid their development of digital literacies. By exploring digital playful practices in different social contexts, we aim to further develop knowledge within both academic settings as well as in more practical settings, such as primary schools, after school care and NGO’s. In this seminar we will not only include differing social contexts, such as primary schools, the home and afterschool care, but we will also explore how children from different socioeconomic backgrounds use digital technologies to playfully shape and develop their digital literacy skills. With our event, we aim to promote dialogues between researchers and practitioners from different backgrounds to build knowledge on playful practices of digital literacy and to join forces to promote positive growth and engagement of children with digital technologies, as well as develop new pedagogies that can by various social actors, such as NGO’s and policymakers, as well as parents, teachers and childcare workers. We invite all students, researchers, practitioners, youth workers, NGO members and others with expertise and/or interest in the topics of this pre-conference to participate and engage in a roundtable discussion, a Q&A session and participant-led discussion.

The envisioned outcome of our event is to create a:

- List of recommendations or key takeaways from the roundtable and participant-led discussions;

- A strengthened community in which participants have gained fresh ideas, in a collaborative and creative way.

Format

This post-conference seminar will consist of three elements, in which we aim to promote a fruitful dialogue between different actors that focus on child-development, digital play and digital literacy.

1. We will start with a roundtable that will gather academics, teachers and trainers, NGO members, decision-makers and professionals of the tertiary sector focused on the major issues related to the theme of the pre-conference. We invite all participants to submit questions they wish to see addressed during this roundtable.

2. The roundtable discussion will be followed by a Q&A, where we will further explore topics brought in by the participants. Participants are asked to send in questions before the seminar. The moderator will ask these questions to the roundtable.

3. Finally, we will close the seminar with a discussion in which all participants can share insights and practices from the field. This participant-led discussion will promote a critical, creative and collaborative environment to foster discussion and share experiences and knowledge among all participants.

Preliminary Program

09.00 Welcome

09.15 Roundtable

10.30 Q&A

11.00 Break

11.15 Participant-led discussion

12.00 Closing

Register now!

If you want to participate in this hybrid seminar, please register via the following link (https://santu.com/dni214). This link allows you to register for the conference ‘Practices of Digital Inclusion and Exclusion in Everyday Life’ in Groningen on 3 & 4 April 2023 as well, but you can also choose to only participate in the seminar on 5 April 2023.

When registering, please formulate a question for the roundtable and indicate whether you want to join us in person or online. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Denise Mensonides (d.mensonides@rug.nl).

Important dates

Registration deadline: 14th of March 2023

Seminar date: 5th of April 2023