May 12, 2025

Lisbon, Portugal

Deadline: January 11, 2025

The practice of journalism, the roles of journalists, and the information-consumption habits of audiences continue to change dramatically and rapidly. Journalists have already adapted to new media environments and communication tools, and face further change brought on by artificial intelligence and other technologies. This is also reflected in the theoretical field of journalism studies, and evolving theories of epistemology, transparency, objectivity, and audiences. The present and future of journalism is evolving and demands a rethinking or perhaps a reimagining.

Researchers in journalism studies at the Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC) at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon therefore invite submissions of extended abstracts for a symposium on “Journalism Studies: (Re)Imagining Journalism” to be held on May 12, 2025 at the Faculty of Human Sciences, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, with a keynote address by Mark Deuze of the University of Amsterdam. 

This symposium aims to bring together researchers, academics, professional journalists, and media organizations who are thinking about what the work of journalists looks like and should look like in 2025 and beyond. The symposium is open to researchers who wish to present on topics relating to the present and future of journalism, such as journalism and artificial intelligence, relational journalism, and journalism and contemporary audiences. 

Please submit an anonymized abstract of no more than 750 words (not including references) to journsymposium@gmail.com by January 11, 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by mid-February 2025. Note that the symposium will be held in person. Submissions from early-career researchers, and Ph.D. and M.A. students are especially welcome.

Abstracts may address a number of topics within journalism studies, including, but not limited to:

- Journalism and resistance

- Civic and participatory media

- Journalism and artificial intelligence

- Misinformation, disinformation, junk news

- Contemporary news audiences

- Journalism, peace and conflict

- News sources and journalism

- Journalism and media systems

- Funding models for journalism

- Crises of the institutional press

- What journalism studies can do for journalism

- Journalists and journalism scholars as agents of change

- Journalism and propaganda

- Journalism and emotion