MeCCSA Local and Community Media Network

November 1, 2019

Coventry University

Deadline: July 31, 2019

The landscape for local and community media is undergoing a period of rapid change in the wake of the disruption of traditional business models and the advent of diverse, entrepreneurial reactions to the spaces created. At the same time this disruption has prompted reflection by those within and without the industry as to the impact of these changes, and so to the consideration of the purposes of local media. This conference aims to capture the range of meanings associated with local and community media both in the UK and beyond by considering those purposes. It invites both academics and practitioners to consider the range of responses to this disruption and how those relate to the perceived role and purpose of local and community media.

Areas which might be addressed include, but are not limited to, the implications of these changes for:

• Local democratic processes
• Social justice
• Information provision
• Local media ecosystems
• Conceptions of Communities
• Community development
• Policy makers
• Media entrepreneurs and emerging business models
• Alternative local and community media
• Interventions, for instance the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Facebook-funded Community News Project.

Papers on both academic research and practice-based projects are welcome.

The event is organised by the newly-formed Local and Community Media Network of MeCCSA. Papers will be peer-reviewed Please send an abstract of no more than 300 words and a cover sheet with a brief biographical note, your institutional affiliation (where relevant) and your contact details (including your email address). Abstracts should be sent to network chair r.matthews@coventry.ac.uk. Please address any queries to the same address in the first instance.

Closing date for proposals: July 31 2019. You will be notified of the acceptance of your paper by early September.

The event will be held at Coventry University in the Midlands of the UK on Friday, November 1, 2019. A nominal fee of £10 will be charged for attendance. A limited number of travel grants will also be available to enable attendance by PG/ECR researchers. Please state on your abstract if you would like to be considered for a grant and the amount requested.