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  • 06.06.2019 15:04 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    We are happy to present ECREA special panel at IAMCR 2019 that will take place on 7 - 11 July 2019 in Madrid. 

    Panel title: Rethinking journalism under conditions of post-truth epistemology (OCS number 23797)

    Panel chairs: Ilija Tomanic Trivundza and John Downey

    Recent electoral and plebiscitary gains of politicians and parties claiming to represent the unrepresented, and election-backed consolidation of regimes with autocratic tendencies have (re)ignited the debate on the democratic project’s “backsliding” into illiberal models of governance. Within Europe and beyond, this narrative of democratic backsliding, articulated through a set of keywords, such as populism, post-truth, fake news, illiberal democracy, has been portrayed as a consequence of manipulation of gullible publics and electorate in and through a dramatically altered information ecology. This panel, however, places focus not on gullible publics and illiberal politicians but on gullible journalism. Institutionalised journalism has largely failed to adequately respond to the post-truth strategies and illiberal tactics of political actors, leading to widening of the epistemological gaps between the post truth politics and the dominant liberal conception of journalism. If journalism is to no longer be a gullible party, it needs to reconsider its basic paradigmatic and epistemological principles in response to post truth politics. The panel, drawing on a variety of case studies from Europe, offers tentative suggestions for such renegotiation.

    Risto Kunelius (University of Helsinki): Critical moments of journalism 

    The gullibility of journalism has a history where professional journalism was made based on three interrelated ideas. First, at the level of reporting practice, a structural dependency of “legitimate sources” was camouflaged with a detached and critical style, a performative version of autonomy. Second, at the level of institutional relations, journalism leaned (in the last instance) on the epistemological, cultural and moral authority of a differentiated modern institutional order and its capacity to tackle social problems. Third, at the level technology journalism relied on the practical necessity of mass media (technology) for constructing attention and translating it to political (social) power. Post-truth politics hits journalism on all these three fronts, simultaneously. It effectively plays norms of reporting against journalism, exposing the independence of journalism as a front for elite power. It abandons the logic of differentiation and the idea of expertise and replaces bargaining and compromise with loyalty, revelation and charisma. It rejects the need for legitimation of policy in imagined public sphere, embraces the techniques of attention control, and weaponizes small group communication lessons into mobilization of a political base. This multi-layered attack is powerful because it takes advantage of real weaknesses and contradictions of the inherited political communication. After outlining this diagnoses, this presentation considers briefly two interrelated strategies of supporting more truth-oriented, rational and deliberative political communication: 1) differentiated responses to the three broken moments and 2) a (wicked) problem-centered orientation to developing new practices.

    Susana Salgado (Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa): The populism-journalism puzzle

    All politicians need visibility to achieve their goals. The interplay between media and politics has been central to this, first with legacy media, now with both legacy and social media (Chadwick’s hybrid media system). Much has already been written about this interplay and about the role of journalists in democracy, in framing and shaping democratic principles and behaviors. Schudson (1995), for example, emphasizes how journalists de-construct complex issues and thus help citizens to make sense of reality. Journalism’s part in the spread of populism has been receiving increased attention, but as yet there are still more questions than answers. This presentation aims to discuss whether and how journalism fits in the current populism puzzle and introduces the Portuguese case, where mainstream journalists have been stonewalling some populist actors and ideas, notably those linked to a radical/extreme right wing positioning. Could this be somehow related with the (up to now) lack of electoral success of populist parties in Portugal? Should journalists act as firm gatekeepers or should they simply provide reports without any interpretation of reality? Drawing on extant research about the role of journalism in democracy and introducing the Portuguese case, this presentation discusses the role(s) that journalists play in the spread of current forms of populism.

    John Downey (Loughborough University): What do you do about Tommy? Mainstream media, social media, and the ‘far right’ in the United Kingdom 

    Tommy Robinson, ex-leader of the English Defence League, is currently according to You Gov opinion pollsters the ninth most popular ‘other UK public figure’ and the 11th most famous. Sixty-one percent of people in the UK have heard of Robinson, 13% of people have a positive opinion of him. This is partly the result of Robinson’s extensive use of social media such as Facebook and YouTube. It is also partly the consequence of reporting by mainstream media. Have they contributed wittingly or unwittingly to Robinson’s popularity?

    Cinzia Padovani (University of Southern Illinois, Marie S. Curie Experienced Researcher University of Loughborough): Mainstream media and the ultra-right: Focus on Italy

    In this presentation, part of a larger inquiry into the contemporary developments and comparative history of the relationship between mainstream media and ultra-right political actors in the UK and Italy, I will focus on the latter as a case study. After highlighting some of the conditions that have characterized the relationship between professional journalism and the political party system in Italy (Mancini 2009; Habermas 2006; Padovani 2005), this study will underline some of the differences between the so-called “social right” (a euphemism used to indicate the re-emergence of the neo-fascist right, a movement that surfaced out of the shadows of Berlusconesimo in the early 2000s and that is still active today) and the so-called “populist far-right” of more recent history; and then interrogate the ways in which mainstream media have historically reacted to and interacted with these different political actors.

    Ilija Tomanic Trivundza (University of Ljubljana) and Igor Vobic (University of Ljubljana): Reconsidering gullibility of professional journalism in post-truth: Lesions from Slovenia 

    While the Enlightenment principles of reasoning have lost its dominance as means of social integration and political action, the post-truth epistemological coordinates rely on vagueness enabling construction of alternate political and cultural realities with unclear boundaries between knowledge and justification. In this context, professional journalism remains loyal to the ideal of objectivity as it has re-articulated in the last century or so and therefore appears gullible and devoid of proper answers in post-truth—not only as a critical link in public life based on facts and reasoned arguments, but also as a builder of community and collective sense-making. This case study explores how professional journalism in Slovenia reacts to fake news tactics of political power holders and elaborates how journalistic responses have deepened the paradigmatic gap between vague epistemology of post-truth and the dominant principles of professional journalism – not by dismantling the post-truth, but by effectively feeding into it. On this basis, the paper argues that the post-objectivity paradigm of journalism needs to be invented and practiced if we want to continue to meaningfully engage with matters of social relevance.


  • 15.05.2019 17:00 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The 2019 ordinary General Assembly of ECREA will open on Monday 20 May (6:45 CEST) and will close on Friday 24 May (23:45 CEST) 2019. We invite all the members, who are eligible to vote, to participate and cast their votes online.

    The Assembly deals with a number of important issues, such as Approval of ECREA Executive Board Report for 2018 and the Budget Plan for 2019.

    WHO CAN VOTE

    Please note that only individual members and institutional coordinators are entitled to vote. If you are a member through an institution, you do not have the right to vote but need to communicate to your institutional coordinator. If you do not know who your institutional coordinator is, please ask ECREA’s Administrator at info@ecrea.eu. In line with ECREA Statutes, each individual member has one vote and each coordinator of an institutional member holds five votes.

    All members, who are eligible to vote will receive a separate email with voting credentials and a link to dedicated online area when the General Assembly opens on 20 May 2019.


  • 13.03.2019 19:43 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    ECREA European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School 2019 will take place at the University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, from 8-17 July, 2019.

    ECREA will be giving 10 grants for participation at the summer school, do not forget to attach the grant application.

    Deadline for application is 15 March 2019.

    Read more HERE.


  • 07.03.2019 12:24 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    ECREA declares interest in establishing 2 new Task Forces on critical issues in contemporary academia: one on Practices of Academic Publishing in Communication, and one on Working Conditions in Neoliberal Academia (please, scroll down to see the second call for participants).

    Call for participation in ECREA Task Force on Practices of Academic Publishing in Communication

    ECREA hereby declares its utmost interest in establishing a Task Force on Practices of Academic Publishing in Communication. ECREA Task Forces are expert working bodies which aid ECREA Bureau and Executive Board in pursuit of specific strategic tasks. Mandated by Executive Board, Task Forces are typically established for the duration of two years.

    We look for dedicated members who wish to analyse the situation in in academic publishing, monitor developments, engage in debate on publishing ethics and standards in the field, and develop clear recommendations for its members.

    (Please, find the more detailed rationale for the Task Force here.)

    If you are interested in serving on “Practices of Academic Publishing in Communication Task Force”, please do not hesitate to self-nominate yourself. Please, email:
    1) expression of interest and
    2) short position statement (100 words)
    to ECREA General Secretary Irena Reifová: generalsecretary@ecrea.eu.

    Deadline for applications: 4 April 2019.

    Call for participation in ECREA Task Force on Working Conditions in Neoliberal Academia

    ECREA hereby declares its utmost interest in establishing a Task Force on Working Conditions in Neoliberal Academia. ECREA Task Forces are expert working bodies which aid ECREA Bureau and Executive Board in pursuit of specific strategic tasks. Mandated by Executive Board, Task Forces are typically established for the duration of two years.

    We look for dedicated members who wish to monitor and analyse working conditions of the academics in media and communications, produce documents which could serve as a starting point for policy transformations, and develop clear recommendations for ECREA members. We are especially interested in Task Force members who have personal experience of being exposed to precarious conditions in positions of young scholars, academic parents, female academics, etc.

    (Please, find the more detailed rationale for the Task Force here.)

    If you are interested in serving on “Working Conditions in Neoliberal Academia Task Force”, please do not hesitate to self-nominate yourself. Please, email:
    1) expression of interest and
    2) short position statement (100 words)
    to ECREA General Secretary Irena Reifová: generalsecretary@ecrea.eu.

    Deadline for applications: 4 April 2019.


  • 15.02.2019 14:24 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Registration for ECREA European Media and Communication Summer School is now open. Deadline for application is 15 March 2019.

    ECREA will be giving 10 grants for participation at the summer school, do not forget to attach the grant application.

    ECREA European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School 2019 will take place at the University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, from 8-17 July, 2019.  

    Read more HERE.

  • 07.02.2019 14:52 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    ECREA is happy to launch the call for  participants for 2019 ECREA European Media and Communication Summer School, which will take place at University of Tartu, Estonia from 8 to 17 July 2019.

    ECRAE will be giving 10 grants for participation at the summer school.
    Deadline for applications 15 March 2019.
    Read the full call here
    .

    More information on the summer school is available here.

  • 14.01.2019 16:51 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The ECREA Temporary Working Groups (TWGs) are fora for discussing topics and disseminating knowledge in sub-fields of media and communication research. TWGs have the same remit as ECREA sections, but TWGs will only be established for a term of 4 years. After the end of the term and upon request of the Chair of the TWG, they can be renewed by the Executive Board for a maximum of 4 more years, or they can be granted the status of a Section.

    WHAT NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSAL? 

    A proposal needs to have the following elements: 

    1/ an accompanying letter (2 pages), which explains why a new TWG is desirable. The following issues need to be addressed in this accompanying letter: 

    a/ the significance of the subfield covered by the proposed TWG for the field of communication and media studies; 

    b/ the indicators of the importance of the subfield (the existence of journals, courses, degrees, learned societies etc.); 

    c/ the expertise of the proposed chair and two vice-chairs within the subfield covered by the proposed TWG. 

    2/ the name of the proposed chair; 

    3/ the names and agreement of 2 proposed vice-chairs; 

    4/ an aims and objectives document, describing the formal objectives of the proposed TWG (examples can be found at the ECREA website in Thematic sections, TWGs and networks area); 

    5/ the modus operandi document, stipulating its internal rules (see also https://www.ecrea.eu/Sections for examples).

    Incomplete proposals will be rejected automatically.

    WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT? 

    The full list of requirements is available on the ECREA website, in the Bylaws.

    This is the summary of requirements:

    • a TWG needs to have one chair and two vice-chairs; 
    • the chair and at least one of the two vice chairs need to have a PhD; 
    • all need to be (or willing to become) ECREA members; 
    • regional and gender balance needs to be respected; 
    • they need to agree to organize as TWG, one panel at the ECC (from 2018 onwards) and another event in the years when there is no ECC; 
    • they need to agree to send in a yearly activity report to the ECREA section, TWG and network coordinator; 
    • they must agree to collaborate with other S/TWG/N and the Executive Board; 
    • they need to accept that TWGs are always an inseparable part of ECREA.

    WHAT TWGs AND SECTIONS ALREADY EXIST? 

    The overview of the Sections and TWGs can be found on the ECREA website: see Sections and TWGs.

    A significant overlap with existing Sections and TWGs needs to be avoided.

    WHAT ARE THE RULES TWGs MUST ABIDE BY? 

    An overview of ECREA’s rules on TWGs can be found in the ECREA Bylaws (especially Title IV), accessible online here.

    WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS? 

    Proposals for new TWGs need to be sent to the ECREA Section, TWG and Network coordinator (sections@ecrea.eu) and ECREA Administrator (info@ecrea.eu) before 15 April 2019.

    WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL? 

    The proposals will be evaluated by the ECREA Bureau and Executive Board, after consultation with the existing ECREA Sections, TWGs and Networks. The approval procedure is expected to last 6 months.

    TO WHOM SHOULD THE PROPOSAL BE SENT? 

    Proposals for new TWGs can be sent by e-mail (attachment in .rtf, .doc or .pdf format) to the ECREA Section, TWG and Network coordinator, John Downey, at sections@ecrea.eu and to ECREA Administrator, Marketa Stechova, at info@ecrea.eu in cc .

    Questions related to the call can be sent to John Downey at sections@ecrea.eu and j.w.downey@lboro.ac.uk and to Marketa Stechova at info@ecrea.eu.

  • 14.01.2019 15:54 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The Series Editors Ilija Tomanic Trivundza, Christina Holtz-Bacha and Galina Miazhevich invite the submission of book proposals for the Routledge Studies in European Communication Research and Education Series. The new deadline for submitting your proposals is Tuesday 5 February 2019.

    See the call for Edited book proposals for Wave 16 of the Routledge studies in European Communication Research and Education Series here

  • 11.01.2019 20:22 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    ECREA is happy to announce the launch of a new membership service - ECREA Weekly Digest.

    ECREA Weekly Digest has two objectives - to inform members about upcoming academic events that might be of interest to media and communication scholars and to support publication efforts of ECREA members either through promotion of their newly published books and journal special issues or through calls for articles and collaboration.

    Unlike the constant flow of information typical of mailing lists, ECREA Weekly Digest will offer a structured weekly summary of conference calls, calls for publications, job openings and member publications. It is designed as a curated service that goes against the cacophony and the constant bombardment with information, typical of contemporary information ecology and always-on lifestyle.

    Like ECREA Newsletter, the Weekly Digest is a membership-related service. As part of association’s official communication with members, it will be sent weekly on Fridays to all members with active membership.

    If you wish to promote academic events, job postings or your major new publications simply email ECREA Weekly Digest editor at mailinglist@ecrea.eu. Please read the content and format requirements here.

  • 21.12.2018 13:07 | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    We are happy to announce that ECREA Women's Network members elected their new Management Team. The members of the newly elected team are:

    Chair: Ayşegül Kesirli (Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey)
    Vice-Chair: Arianna Mainardi (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy)
    Vice-Chair: Jolien Van Keulen (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium)

    More details about the election can be found here.

    ECREA thanks all candidates for their enthusiasm and congratulates the elected new Management Team. 

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