ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Special issue of Digital Journalism

Deadline: April 30, 2019

Digital platforms and mobile technologies are diversifying the ways in which audiences are exposed to and engage with news, ranging from news avoidance to active news sharing (Newman et al., 2018; Park et al., 2018). Among different types of news engagement, the act of ‘sharing’ encourages the culture of social endorsement where audiences signal to others and are influenced by their social networks in encountering news. This creates a social news environment where audiences are inadvertently exposed to news that may not match their political beliefs or interests (Anspach, 2017). On social media, audiences are oftentimes incidentally exposed to different perspectives and views (Fletcher & Nielsen, 2017; Lu & Lee, 2018; Weeks et al., 2017). Yet, whether they will engage with the news they encounter incidentally is a different matter; news audiences may or may not choose to consume or engage with the news that they have discovered. Exposure to diverse information from counter-attitudinal sources does not automatically lead to the consumption of such information (Anspach, 2017).

In the context of news sharing, there exist two closely linked dimensions. First is the technological affordances offered by digital platforms (Feraj & Azad, 2012; Evans, Pearce, Vitak, & Treem, 2017). Technological affordances can influence news consumers’ levels of news exposure, consumption and engagement. As yet, relatively little is known about the extent to which and how different technological affordances lead to different types and levels of news engagement. This is further complicated by the fact that audience behavior is an outcome of a contextual and multi-faceted relationship between the technology and the user (Evans et al., 2017). The second dimension is the human factors that come into play in the uptake, reception, and sharing of news. Consistent with the theory of selective exposure, how news consumers consume and interact with news are also dependent on their political beliefs (Shin & Thorson, 2017; Stroud et al., 2017). The phenomenon of selective exposure can lead to a decrease in opportunities for news consumers to consume and engage with diverse news and information (Messing & Westwood, 2012; Stroud, 2008, 2010).

On digital platforms, there is a third, moderating factor—social endorsements—that bridges technological affordances and human factors. Social endorsements serve as a heuristic cue that signals news audiences as to which news deserves their attention (Anspach, 2017; Messing & Westwood, 2012). This is a key trend in the digital platform environment among news audiences who interact with others through news sharing.

To date, the link between affordances of digital platforms and news audiences’ selective exposure remains largely unknown as the interplay between technological affordances associated with news engagement and human factors remains understudied. To further develop this area, this special issue of Digital Journalism invites scholars to investigate the interplay between the structural and human factors that influence news consumers’ exposure to and engagement with news. Among different types of digital news engagement, this special issue focuses on news sharing behaviors that epitomize how news consumers interact with technological affordances offered by digital platforms. We welcome quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• Different types and levels of news engagement;
• News avoidance
• Passive versus active sharers of news
• Public versus private news sharing on social media and messaging apps
• How different tones of news stories influence news sharing
• Personalized news and its impact on news engagement
• Technological affordances of digital platforms and their linkage to sharing of news
• Proprietary and non-proprietary news platforms and sharing of news
• Socio-demographic and cultural factors that influence news sharing
• Social endorsements and news sharing
• The interplay between selective exposure and social endorsements

Information about Submissions

Proposals should include the following: an abstract of 500-750 words (not including references) as well as background information on the author(s), including an abbreviated bio that describes previous and current research that relates to the special issue theme. Please submit your proposal as one file (PDF) with your names clearly stated in the file name and the first page. Send your proposal to the e-mail address engagingnewsaudiences@gmail.com and sora.park@canberra.edu.au by the date stated in timeline below. Authors of accepted proposals are expected to develop and submit their original article, for full blind review, in accordance with the journal's peer-review procedure, by the deadline stated. Article submissions should target 7,000 words in length. Guidelines for manuscripts can be found here.

Timeline:

• Abstract submission deadline: 30 April 2019
• Notification on submitted abstracts: 30 May 2019
• Article submission deadline: 30 November 2019

More here.

University of Bergen

Deadline: May 31, 2019

A post doctoral researcher position is available at the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Bergen from 1 January 2020. The position is part of the ERC project Machine Vision in Everyday Life: Playful Interactions with Visual Technologies in Digital Art, Games, Narratives and Social Media. The position is for a fixed-term period of three years.

About the project:

MACHINE VISION is a five-year project led by Professor Jill Walker Rettberg. The objective of the three-year post.doc. project is to develop an understanding of the experiences of users and developers of machine vision technologies in smartphones and social media, e.g. selfie filters, image enhancement algorithms and object recognition algorithms. Anthropological/ethnographic methods including fieldwork and interviews will be used.

The successful candidate will have submitted a preliminary project outline with the application, and will develop a more specific research design after being hired, in collaboration with MACHINE VISION’s project leader, Professor Jill Walker Rettberg. The post.doc. project must address the project’s main research questions, which relate to agency, objectivity and values/bias in machine vision, but will also be tailored to the candidate’s particular strengths and interests. Research outputs should include a monograph and/or peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, public outreach, and co-organizing one or more workshops. The post.doc. will join a team consisting of the project leader, three PhD students researching representations of machine vision in art, narratives and games, a research assistant and a database developer, hosted by the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies at the University of Bergen. The successful candidate will be expected to relocate to Bergen, Norway. Funding will be provided for fieldwork, research visits and conference visits. The starting date would be in or around January 2020.

A project summary is available from the MACHINE VISION website: https://www.uib.no/en/machinevision

Qualifications and personal qualities

• The applicants must have a Norwegian PhD or equivalent in anthropology, digital culture, media studies or a related discipline, or have submitted their PhD dissertation before the application deadline. The PhD must be approved before the starting date.
• Candidates must have experience with anthropological/ethnographic methods such as interviews and participant observation.
• Experience with research on digital or technological phenomena is preferred.
• Research experience in non-Western settings, or of marginalized groups, is also preferred.
• The most important factor in the ranking of candidates will be the relevance of the candiate’s experience and proposed project to the overall objectives of the MACHINE VISION project, as formulated in the publicly available project summary (see https://www.uib.no/en/machinevision).
• The applicant must be able to work independently and in a structured manner, and have the ability to cooperate with others.

We can offer:

• A part in a high prestige, cutting-edge research project.
• A good and professionally challenging working environment.

• Salary at pay grade 59 (code 1352/pay range 24) on the state salary scale. This currently amounts to an annual salary of NOK 514 800 before taxes.
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
• A position in an inclusive workplace (IA enterprise).
• Good welfare benefits.

How to apply

Please apply electronically in the online system Jobbnorge via the link “APPLY FOR THIS JOB”.

Your application must include:

• A cover letter describing your general research interests and expertise, and how these make you a good fit for the MACHINE VISION project.
• A 1-2 page project outline describing your preliminary ideas for developing an understanding of the experiences of users and developers of machine vision technologies in smartphones and social media
• CV - please use the online form at Jobbnorge.
• Transcripts and diplomas
• The names and contact information for two reference persons.
• Publications (max 3)
• A list of research publications.

The enclosures can be submitted as Word- or pdf-files.

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge.

For further information about the recruitment process, click here

Any queries concerning the electronic application procedure should be directed to the Faculty of Humanities. Email: fakadm@hf.uib.no

Reference number: 19/3885

Application deadline: 31.05.2019

More here: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/168678/three-year-postdoc-in-digital-culture-anthropological-study-of-machine-vision-users-and-developers?fbclid=IwAR3oOFrMNdon7Gf111m3SxY13ewF5vbwG8ZsVWhzGFqMme7e3TGsSUG-rK0

Academy in Exile

Deadline: April 30, 2019

Academy in Exile invites scholars at risk to apply for 12-month fellowships in Berlin and Essen. Eligible are scholars from any country, with a PhD in the humanities, social sciences, or law, who are at risk because of their academic work and/or civic engagement in human rights, democracy, and the pursuit of academic freedom. Academy in Exile fellowships provide scholars with the opportunity to reestablish their scholarship in Germany and to work on a research project of their own choosing in a multidisciplinary environment. Fellows will contribute to the research agenda and intellectual profile of the academy generally.

With funding support from the Volkswagen Foundation, Academy in Exile started in 2017 as a joint initiative of the Institute of Turkish Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut (Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities / KWI) in Essen, and the Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provides additional funding for a residency program on critical thinking at the Freie Universität Berlin. To date, Academy in Exile has supported 27 scholars at risk with long-term fellowships, emergency stipends, and a guest professorship.

The new five fellows of the academy will have the opportunity to either be affiliated with the Forum Transregionale Studien, Freie Universität or the KWI. The selection of fellows will be based on academic merit, risk assessment, and suitability for the respective programs in Essen and Berlin (see below).

Fellowships may start as early as July 1, 2019 and may be extended for an additional 12 months. The monthly stipend amounts to 2,500 EUR.

Please submit your application by April 30, 2019 in the following order:

• a letter that explains your motivation for applying to AiE, including the current circumstances of your risk and/or exile status. No proof or letter from a third party is required. However, if you are registered with IIE-Scholars at Risk Network, Scholar Rescue Fund or CARA, please indicate so in your letter. Please indicate if you have a preference for being affiliated with Academy in Exile in Essen or Berlin;
• a three-page research proposal;
• an updated curriculum vitae with a list of publications;
• a published journal article or chapter.

Please submit your application to Vera Kempa academy-in-exile@trafo-berlin.de as one PDF and name the file as follows: surname_first name. All applications will be dealt with in strict confidentiality.

The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien is a research organization that promotes the internationalization of research in the humanities and social sciences. The Forum provides scope for collaboration among researchers with different regional and disciplinary perspectives and appoints researchers from all over the world as Fellows. In cooperation with universities and research institutions in Berlin and outside, it carries out research projects that examine other regions of the world and their relationship to Germany and Europe systematically and with new questions. It supports four research programs and initiatives: Art Histories and Aesthetic Practices, Zukunftsphilologie: Revisiting the Canons of Textual Scholarship, Prisma Ukraïna—Research Network Eastern Europe, and Europe in the Middle East—the Middle East in Europe (EUME).

The KWI (Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut / Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities) in Essen promotes excellent interdisciplinary research in the humanities, social and cultural sciences and maintains close cooperations with regional, national and international partners. It conducts basic research on the principles of modern culture with regard to relevant questions of contemporary societies. Due to the rise of authoritarian governments targeting gender and sexuality-related research, Academy in Exile at the KWI particularly encourages applications from scholars specializing in gender studies.

The Freie Universität in Berlin hosts a program on critical thinking for Academy in Exilefellows. While continuing their independent research, residency fellows at the Freie Universität devise a program of public lectures and closed workshops to evaluate the history of critical thinking, its relationship to policies of higher education, and its renewed relevance for today. As a distinctive feature of this new program, fellows are piloting a teaching-acrossborders initiative.

Deadline (extended): June 1, 2019

On both popular and academic levels, interest in drag culture has exploded since the reality-competition television series /RuPaul’s Drag Race/ first aired in 2009 on Logo TV in the US. With the migration of the series to VH1 and global availability through streaming services such as Netflix, drag has become even more ensconced in mainstream popular culture, thus moving even further from earlier understandings of drag as a subculture of queer protest and/or limited to the gay club environment. For the most part, however, recent academic work on drag has focused on /RuPaul’s Drag Race/ itself for its textual and production qualities, contestant representation of LGBTQ identities, and physical viewers or fan communities, leaving unaddressed the implications of how /RuPaul’s Drag Race/ has generated interest and participation in a particular drag perspective within the global digital public sphere. Concern for drag in a global digital public sphere should also consider the ways in which online discourse is shaping prospects of visibility and political change for LGBTQ individuals and communities around the world, particularly in increasingly isolated and politically regressive areas of the world.

Following the publication and success of /RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Shifting Visibility of Drag Culture: The Boundaries of Reality TV/ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), its editors invite chapter proposals for a new, edited volume concerned with the general themes of queer visibility, online discourse, emerging digital technologies, and political change as they relate to drag culture. Proposed chapter topics may consider, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

• Theorizing a global digital public sphere in relation to drag culture
• Drag and public discourse as they apply to online/digital spheres
• Political discourse and change within drag culture’s online/digital spheres
• The digital public sphere and self-promotional culture
• Authorized or unauthorized online extensions of RuPaul’s Drag Race
• YouTube drag stars, (micro) performers and online platforms
• The role of technology in creating a drag global digital public sphere
• Generational participation patterns in global digital drag culture
• Issues of labor surrounding online drag personalities
• Establishing a drag brand in the global digital public sphere
• What drag culture can teach us about emerging digital environments
• Relations and tensions between online and offline drag cultures
• Audience and fan roles in creating and shaping online drag personalities and cultures
• Emerging media’s roles in altering traditional drag labor, expectations and rewards
• Case studies situated at the intersection of drag culture and the global digital sphere

In particular, we seek proposals from outside North America and Western Europe to contribute to a truly multi-perspectival understanding of drag in a global digital public sphere. We also encourage proposals from newly-established scholars.

Please email chapter proposals of up to 500 words in length, as well as brief author biographical information, to the volume editors at nbrennan@fairfield.edu and dgudelunas@ut.edu by June 1, 2019.

Decisions on proposals will be made and communicated to authors around 1 April 2019. Note that multiple academic publishers have already expressed interest in the volume.

Bournemouth University

Closing Date: (Midnight) Tuesday 14 May 2019

https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/head-department-communication-journalism

The Department of Communication & Journalism is an alignment of disciplines that coalesce around industry-leading approaches to communication, audiences and factual storytelling. The department provides a conduit for innovation in digital communication and pushing beyond industry standards by experimenting with new forms, practices and content. There are also synergies between the disciplinary approaches anchored in staff research that favours critical perspectives and clear social agendas. Our journalism courses are accredited by the three main industry bodies, the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC), the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ), and the Professional Publishers Association (PPA). Some of our marketing communication courses are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Beira Interior

Deadline: April 22, 2019

It is now open a vacancy to a master’s Research grant in in Computer Engineering or Computer Science within the scope of the Project: Remedia.Lab - Regional Media Laboratory and Incubator (No. 031277).

The work is to be held at the Research Unit - Communication, Philosophy and Humanities (LabCom.IFP) of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal under the following conditions:

Scientific Area:

Master Degree in computer engineering or Computer Science.

Objective of the activity:

Development search activities in the area of Informatics, namely at the level of analysis, implementation and development of information systems based on Web platforms and design and monitoring of information systems associated with editorial activity.

Admission Requirements:

To hold the degree of Master of Informatics or Computer Engineering; Have at least 1-year experience as web and mobile developer.

Skills:

Have solid knowledge and documented experience in: Creation of web platforms, mobile, content management and streaming; Programming languages (HTML5, CSS / CSS3, PHP, MYSQL, Javascript, JQuery, AJAX) as well as other web development languages; Development of Android applications (Java or Kotlin and XML); Webdesign and Web publishing, text, image and sound editing; Development of FrontEnd and BackEnd; Responsive Webdesign for Mobile and Tablet; Framework .NET 4.0; Management of domains and lodgings (using CPanel); Development of websites in WordPress (knowledge in Joomla and Bootstrap), is a preferred condition.

Work Plan:

Generally:

• Analysis, implementation, and development of information systems based on Web platforms;
• Design and monitoring of information systems associated with the editorial activity.

More specifically:

•  Analysis of the information available in the regional press portal, about the Central Region. Design of front-office systems that allow the identification of sufficient variables to characterize the local and regional press with infographic and multimedia resources.
• Development of practices, devices, and strategies that use information and communication technologies. Strategies and arrangements shall include: The development of digital platforms for computers, laptops, and mobile devices; B). Exploration of new languages for multimedia reporting; W). Develop specific digital content for new audiences.
• Support the development of online business models and self-promotion strategies to attract new audiences. 
• Support in training actions aimed at incubating and launching projects of new local and regional averages, based on innovative technological platforms.
• Support the preparation of reports and development of scientific production in the area.

Legislation and applicable regulation:

Law Nº. Amended by Decree-Law no. 202/2012, of August 27, and amended by Decree-Law no. 233/2012, of October 29 and by Law no. 12/2013, of January 29 and Decree-Law No. 89/2013, of July 9 (Statute of the Scientific Research Grant), as well as the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the Foundation for Science and Technology IP (FCT) in force (www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT2015.pdf) and Annex I of Regulation 339/2015 and article 201 of Law No. 71/2018 (State Budget Law for 2019) .

Place of work:

The work will be developed in Labcom.IFP, Research Unit of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Beira Interior, under the scientific guidance of Professor João Carlos Ferreira Correia.

Duration and activity regime:

The scholarship will last for 12 months, scheduled to begin in May / June 2019. The activity will be carried out on an exclusive basis, according to the Research Grants Regulation of the Foundation for Science and Technology .

Financial conditions of the scholarship:

Remuneration according to the table of values of advanced training grants awarded by FCT, I.P. in the Country, in the monthly amount of 989,70 € (http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores). The payment of the scholarship will be made monthly with a bank transfer. Voluntary social insurance is added to this value if the applicant chooses to join it, as well as personal accident insurance.

Selection criteria:

The selection methods to be used are based on the following parameters: the scientific merit, the adequacy between the profile of the candidates and the plan of activities foreseen in the project, the motivation and relevant experience for the project.

The evaluation of these items will be done by documents and by interview. The final grade will result in: curricular weighting = 70%; interview = 30%.

Composition of the Selection Jury:

Applications will be evaluated by a jury consisting of: Chairman of the Jury: Professor João Carlos Ferreira Correia. Effective members: Professor Bruno Miguel Correia da Silva; Professor Ricardo José Pinheiro Morais. Substitute member: Professor Anabela Maria Gradim Alves; Doctor Pedro Jerónimo Pedrosa.

Form of publication/notification of results:

The final results of the evaluation will be publicized through an ordered list, by final note obtained, posted in a visible and public place of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Beira Interior and by e-.mail.

Applications:

Candidates must send a letter of motivation, detailed Curriculum Vitae, copy (s) of the Certificate (s) of Qualifications, letter (s) of recommendation and other supporting documents considered relevant.

Deadline and receipt of applications:

The competition is open from April 8 to 22, 2019. Applications must be formalized by sending an e-mail indicating the contest reference in the following documents in pdf format : Letter of Motivation, Curriculum Vitae, copy of Certificate (s) of Qualification, copy of Citizen's Card or Passport, portfolio, documents proving relevant experience and scientific training for the project and other supporting documents considered relevant. Applications must be sent to the e-mail addresses jcorreia@ubi.pt, jcfcorreia@gmail.com and mercia@ubi.pt, until 24: 00hours on 04/22/2019.

The contest is open from April 8 to 22, 2019.

Faculty of Arts and Letters, University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Deadline: April 22, 2019

It is now open a vacancy to a Research grant in Multimedia Design Master within the scope of the Project: Remedia.Lab - Regional Media Laboratory and Incubator (No. 031277).

The work is to be held at the Research Unit - Communication, Philosophy and Humanities (LabCom.IFP) of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal under the following conditions:

Scientific Area: Master in Multimedia Design or similar.

Objective of the activity:

Development of research activities in the area of Design, namely at the level of development of websites in WordPress and also in the design of platforms and digital content.

Requirements of admission:

To hold the Degree of Master in Multimedia Design or similar.

Skills: Minimum experience of 1 year and proven with portfolio; Versatility in illustration; Experience and proven knowledge in: Audio and video editing; Conception of interactive infographics; 2D / 3D modeling and animation; Experience of developing websites in WordPress (knowledge in Joomla and Bootstrap are valued); Domain of Adobe Creative Cloud tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Dreamweaver, Premiere, After Effects, Adobe XD; Knowledge of UX / UI for web and mobile; Knowledge of HTML5 and CSS (knowledge of jQuery, Javascript, Bootstrap and PHP will be valued); Google Analytics expertise to develop analytics and reporting; Knowledge in SEO; Work in team and projects, namely at the level of the design of platforms and digital contents (interactive narratives, digital storytelling, etc); Organization and management of projects.

Other skills: Proven ability and experience of scientific research, based on their academic training and within the scope of the project.

Work Plan:

Generally:

Design and design of platforms and digital projects associated with the editorial activity.

More specifically:

• Design of interactive multimedia resources for the design of a Regional Press portal.
• Development of interactive multimedia resources, namely a). Contents for digital platforms for computers, laptops, and mobile devices; B). New multimedia reporting languages; W). Experimentation of specific digital content for new audiences.
• Development of strategies to promote new audiences.
• Support in training actions aimed at incubating and launching projects of new local and regional averages, based on platforms and innovative technological languages.
• Reporting and development of scientific production in the area.
• Support for the promotion of the Remedia.Lab project, in all the components of its activity.

Legislation and applicable regulation:

Law Nº. Amended by Decree-Law no. 202/2012, of August 27, and amended by Decree-Law no. 233/2012, of October 29 and by Law no. 12/2013, of January 29 and Decree-Law No. 89/2013, of July 9 (Statute of the Scientific Research Grant), as well as the Regulation of Research Fellowships of the Foundation for Science and Technology IP (FCT) in force (www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT2015.pdf) and Annex I of Regulation 339/2015 and article 201 of Law No. 71/2018 (State Budget Law for 2019) .

Place of work:

The work will be developed in Labcom.IFP, Research Unit of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Beira Interior, under the scientific guidance of Professor João Carlos Ferreira Correia.

Duration and activity regime:

The scholarship will last for 12 months, scheduled to begin in May / June 2019. The activity will be carried out on an exclusive basis, according to the Research Grants Regulation of the Foundation for Science and Technology.

Financial conditions of the scholarship:

Remuneration according to the table of values of advanced training grants awarded by FCT, I.P. in the Country, in the monthly amount of 989,70 € (http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores). The payment of the scholarship will be made monthly with a bank transfer. Voluntary social insurance is added to this value if the applicant chooses to join it, as well as personal accident insurance.

Selection criteria:

The selection methods to be used are based on the following parameters: the merit and scientific production, the adequacy between the profile of the candidates and the plan of activities foreseen in the project, the motivation, and the experience.

Applications must be sent to the e-mail addresses jcorreia@ubi.pt, jcfcorreia@gmail.com and mercia@ubi.pt, until 24: 00hours on 04/22/2019. Research Unit - LabCom.IFP (Communication, Philosophy and Humanities) Faculty of Arts and Letters University of Beira Interior 6201-001, Covilhã, Portugal.

October 16-17, 2019

Edinburgh University, UK

Deadline: April 30, 2019

In the early 1980s, the establishment of Catalan, Basque and Welsh TV channels motivated several European scholars to investigate key concepts concerning minority language media and undertake important case studies. In 1992, the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages emphasised that public authorities have important responsibilities in this field. In the last two decades, the introduction of digitalisation and the Internet have developed a global world where the impacts, challenges and opportunities for minority language media have become increasingly complex. Despite these transformations, there has been little focused discussion and debate on the relationship between the digital and minority-language media.

This international conference is co-organised by the Basque Institute Etxepare and the University of Edinburgh and aims to exchange knowledge as well as promote collaboration between academics and professionals working on minority-language media.

We invite individual papers, pre-constituted panels or posters that engage with research and case studies on any of the following topics:

1. Communication and cultural policies

2. Media economics and the digital age

3. TV channels and online video platforms

4. Audience, genres and content analysis

5. Programming strategies and content commissioning

6. Production conditions and distribution opportunities

7. Commercialisation of programmes

8. Media education and language use

9. Nation, language and identity

10. Media and gender perspectives

Confirmed plenary speakers:

• Rob Dunbar, University of Edinburgh
• Josu Amezaga, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
• Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, Mercator Media
• Alan Esslemont, TG4 Irish TV General Director
• Itziar Azpeitia Iruretagoiena, Head of special projects - Basque Public TV (ETB)

Scientific committee:

1. Miren Manias-Muñoz, University of Edinburgh / University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

2. Aitor Zuberogoitia, University of Mondragon

3. Estibaliz Amorrortu, University of Deusto

4. Helen Kelly-Holmes, University of Limerick

5. Tom Moring, University of Helsinki

6. Tarlach McGonagle, University of Amsterdam

Organising committee:

- Miren Manias-Muñoz, University of Edinburgh / University of the Basque Country (UPVEHU), miren.manias@ehu.eus

- Garbiñe Iztueta Goizueta, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) / Etxepare Basque Institute, g-iztuetagoizueta@etxepare.eus

Conference Language: English

https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/events/crowded-out-or-limitless-horizons

Abstracts should not be longer than 250 words and should be submitted before April 30th to the conference organisers at: miren.manias@ehu.eus

Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes for questions. Panels will be 90 minutes long, with three papers of 20 minutes and 10 minutes for questions. Registration information will be provided by the end of April.

See conference website for details: https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/events/crowded-out-or-limitless-horizons

Democratic Communiqué, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to investigating mass media, information, and telecommunication phenomena and issues from critical political economy and policy studies perspectives, invites original, scholarly articles for publication in its Winter 2020 issue (Vol. 29, No.1).

The Communiqué publishes articles exploring any of a wide range of topics, including alternative/community/public media, the internationalization of capital and information flows, media and imperialism, telecommunication industry ownership and consolidation, information society, information technology and surveillance, feminist political economy, environmental political economy, media’s relatedness to social class, labor or social movements, and analyses of cultural artifacts or practices which encompass ideational and material concerns. While these topics encompass a vast swath of academic inquiry and scholarship, they are united in their critical examination of media and communication as they relate to political economy, individual and societal involvement in these economic systems, and the policies that shape them.

The journal is indexed by Scopus, EBSCO, Google Scholar and the Directory of Open Access Journals, and publishes in both the Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date citation systems presented by TheChicago Manual of Style (15th ed.).

Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout with a detachable title page containing the full contact information of the author(s). Submissions undergo double-blind peer review, and should not exceed 8,000 words.

Please email article submissions to the Communiqué’s editor, Dr. Jeffrey Layne Blevins (Head, Department of Journalism at the University of Cincinnati) at Jeffrey.Blevins@UC.edu.

The Commentary and Criticism, Feminist Media Studies

Deadline: April 26, 2019

The broad expansion of the post-feminist media landscape of the past couple of decades brought about an increased visibility of spectacularised and idealised ideas of pregnancy – a romanticised “new momism” (Douglas and Michaels, 2004). Alongside these romanticised discourses, though, exist numerous examples of mediated pregnancies that sit outside of such glamorised and perfect representations of pregnancy. This context has also opened up new networked spaces for people to seek and offer support online in relation to pregnancy, as well as spaces to search for or share (self-)representations of pregnancy. The editors of Commentary and Criticism invite short essays that critically consider pregnancy and contemporary media. Possible topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Media representations of pregnancy
• Pregnancy in the media industries
• Online users and communities’ uses of digital media related to pregnancy
• Celebrity pregnancies
• Mediated pregnancy in relation to diverse intersectionalities including: LGBTQ+, age, race, class, ability
• Audiences’ consumption of mediated pregnancy
• Pregnancy in the context of health communication or health policy in the media
• Onscreen pregnancy and genre
• Neoliberalism, pregnancy and media

The Commentary and Criticism section of Feminist Media Studies aims to publish brief (~1000 words), timely responses to current issues in feminist media culture, for an international readership. Submissions may pose a provocation, describe work in progress, or propose areas for future study. We will also consider book and event reviews, as well as contributions that depart from traditional academic formats. We encourage all submissions to strategically mobilise critique to also offer a productive contribution to both feminist politics and media studies. Submissions must go beyond mere description in order to be considered for publication in Commentary and Criticism.

Please submit contributions by 26 April 2019, via email to both Melanie Kennedy (mjk29@le.ac.uk) and Safiya Noble (safiya.noble@usc.edu).We also welcome questions and expressions of interest in advance of the deadline.

Submissions for Commentary and Criticism will not be correctly processed if submitted through via the Feminist Media Studies site, and should be emailed directly to Drs Kennedy and Noble using the email addresses above.

Please be sure to follow the Feminist Media Studies style and referencing guides, which can be found here.