ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Deadline: May 1, 2022

Edited by Piotr Siuda, Jakub Majewski & Krzysztof Chmielewski

The editors of this CfP are already in discussion with the MIT PressGAME HISTORIES SERIES editors who enthusiastically voiced support for the collection.

The website of the series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/series/game-histories

The Covid-19 pandemic is a historical moment with social, cultural, and economic repercussions and unprecedented government responses. The pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of our lives regardless of where we live. This volume seeks to examine the impact of this epochal and significant period and resulting government policies, especially the lockdowns, on one particular cultural sphere: games.

In the initial months, many industry reports noted the unexpected positive impact on online digital game sales. Games weren’t just lockdown-proof, but boosted by lockdowns: stay-athome orders triggered a rush toward games as an alternative form of entertainment, and the ubiquity of mobile phones allowed wider than ever participation. This was seen in esports as it was a successful “extension” of traditional sports, and it forced immediate brand innovation and far-reaching changes in marketing strategies. On the other hand, the growth in esports online viewership came with a price, as many local arena events had to be canceled.

However, sales growth and marketing aside, the impact on the game industry overall was more complex and often pernicious. Game developers experienced a rapid and often challenging shift to remote work. This shift towards virtual communication also affected universities, where students could no longer be hosted in campus laboratories, requiring new forms of student engagement. Some digital games encountered unexpected challenges: how indeed to adapt a location-based augmented reality game to a locked-down world?

Equally complex was the impact on non-digital games. Typically designed for direct face-toface contact, board games, pen & paper role-playing games, and even live-action role-playing games and their players were forced to move online, or to employ complex safety protocols to minimize transmission risk and conform to legal requirements. With the manufacturing and shipping chain of board game components being drastically distorted, the market for board games has undergone a dramatic change. Also, the virtual market management concept overtook a fair share of the market, with the leading role of crowdfunding specialists. Largescale events were canceled, postponed, downsized, or virtualized. The same, indeed, was the case not only for game-playing events but also for industry and academic conferences.

The pandemic also affected game players, game developers, game journalists, and game scholars alike in many other ways, starting with the most direct – illness, and sometimes death. New cultural rifts also opened up due to political tensions. Some effects are temporary: others are here to stay. All deserve to be studied.

In this volume, we invite authors to reflect on the various impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on gaming, gamers, as well as those who make and study games. The volume encourages, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Digital and non-digital games in the pandemic
• Visions of Covid-19 and other pandemics in games
• Pandemic impact on the game industry and game-related events
• Will the pandemic accelerate the evolution of the game industry (games as a social platform, expansion of the free-to-play model, mobile leading the industry, etc.)

• The pandemic and esports (e.g. growth and virtualization of esports, ongoing relations between traditional sports and esports)

• Pandemic impact on game culture and gamer communities
• Teaching and developing games in the pandemic
• AR and VR Games and VR in the service of education online
• Games and players’ well-being (games as tools for therapy and the improvement of anxiety vs. excessive use, abuse, and possible addiction)

• Ludology in the time of the pandemic
• Serious games developed for and around the pandemic
• Digitalization of board games and LARPs

TIMELINE

Deadline for Initial Proposals (Extended Abstracts): May 1, 2022

Notification of Acceptance: June 1, 2022

First Drafts Due: October 1, 2022

Editor Comments: November 1, 2022

Final Drafts Due: January 1, 2023

Please note that the dates of “Notification of Acceptance”; “First Drafts Due”; “Editor Comments”; “Final Drafts Due” may change due to the publishing process – the authors will be informed in case of any changes happening.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

Prospective authors should submit a short chapter proposal as a Word document to games.covid.book@gmail.com. The proposal should contain:

• The name and contact information of the author(s), along with a brief bio
• The title of the proposed chapter
• Extended abstract of approximately 1000-1200 words excluding references. The abstract should indicate the consistency, rigor, and relevance of the work.

Paper submissions should articulate the issue or research question to be discussed, the methodological or critical framework used, and indicate the findings or conclusions and/or the relevance to general volume. Papers can present any kind of research, analysis, or theoretical framing, but should be written so that the importance of the work can be indicated. Please note that empirical chapters should include the research question and data to be analyzed.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Please use the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. The editors strongly recommend that authors follow the Chicago Manual.

Please note that chapters not adhering to the guidelines will be returned to the author(s) for revision.

EDITORS

Piotr Siuda (Primary Contact)

Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz

piotr.siuda@ukw.edu.pl

Jakub Majewski

Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz

jakubm@ukw.edu.pl

Krzysztof Chmielewski

Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz

k.shaman@ukw.edu.pl

Piotr Siuda (PhD) is a media studies scholar, Associate Professor at the Institute of Social Communication and Media at the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Member of The Association of Internet Researchers and the Polish Society for Social Communication. http://piotrsiuda.com

Jakub Majewski (PhD) is an Assistant Professor at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland. His research interests include role-playing games and cultural heritage, game storytelling techniques, game industry history, among others. He is also a game developer with two decades' worth of experience and a portfolio of about forty diverse games.

Krzysztof Chmielewski (MA) is a Senior Lecturer of Game Design at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland. LARP researcher and game designer and producer of games for different platforms (PC/mobile/AR, board/card, live games, gamebooks). R&D specialist in experiential learning and gaming solutions.

Adrian Hillman

https://www.routledge.com/The-Construction-of-News-in-a-Polarised-State-Maltese-Advocacy-Journalism/Hillman/p/book/9781032219943

Taking a qualitative approach based on original case studies, this book offers a detailed overview of the contemporary media system in Malta.

Three Maltese news organisations are examined to understand the editorial routines, ownership and management structures, and social and cultural factors that affect the day-to-day business of creating news. In-depth interviews with key stakeholders of each organisation are conducted alongside qualitative textual analysis of the content they publish. Contrary to previous research, the work finds that advocacy continues to dominate Maltese journalism, indicating that the country has retained similarities to other media systems within its geographic region. While recognising that the gold standard in journalism is judged to be objectivity and balance, a case is made for a responsible, measured form of advocacy journalism to extend media diversity and contribute to a high level of national political engagement.

Presenting an informed case for the need to pay closer attention to small states, especially at a time when many countries are seen to be becoming increasingly socially and politically divided, The Construction of News in a Polarised State is an insightful text for scholars and academics in the fields of Media and Communication Studies, Political Science, and Sociology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 Introduction

1. Introduction

2. Structure and layout

Chapter 2 Determining what is news

2.1 Introduction

2.2 News and the construction of reality

2.3 Identifying the media system

2.4 The issue of size

2.5 Conclusions

Chapter 3 The roots of a polarised media system

3.1 Introduction

3.2 The political context

3.3 Historical roots of Maltese media

3.4 Contextualising journalism in present-day Malta

3.5 Media in present-day Malta

3.6 Comparative media usage

3.7 Electoral campaigning

3.8 Conclusions

Chapter 4 Being an outsider: Malta Today

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Ownership of Malta Today

4.3 Organisational structure and routines

4.4 The Culture of Malta Today

4.5 External pressures

4.6 Malta Today coverage of the 2017 electoral campaign

4.7 Conclusions

Chapter 5 TVM, the public’s news service

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Ownership and historical positioning

5.3 Organisation structure and routines

5.4 Culture and boundaries

5.5 External pressures (commercial and political)

5.6 TVM coverage of the 2017 electoral campaign

5.7 Conclusions

Chapter 6 Times of Malta

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Ownership and historical positioning

6.3 Organisation structure and routines

6.4 Culture

6.5 Times of Malta Coverage of the 2017 Electoral Campaign

6.6 Conclusions

Chapter 7 Conclusion: The construction of news in a polarised state

7.1 Polarisation and advocacy

7.2 A different perspective of pluralism

7.3 Proximity and scale

7.4 Journalist agency

7.5 Conclusions: and weaknesses of the Maltese media system

Appendices

Appendix 1 Disclosure of the position of the researcher

Author(s) Biography

Adrian Hillman has extensive experience of leading media operations having previously worked as Executive Director of Allied Newspapers and Managing Director of Allied Group of Companies. He worked as a consultant to the Maltese Government leading up to the EU pre-accession referendum and has assisted governments, companies and organisations around the world as an Associate Partner of a geopolitical consultancy firm. He completed his PhD in news construction and political communication at Goldsmiths College University of London, UK in 2021.

With the next call for proposals, ECREA introduces a new procedure for its book series. In a first step, a call goes out to solicit proposals for cutting-edge topics for edited volumes. The ECREA Book Series Committee (Göran Bolin, John Downey, Christina Holtz-Bacha and Simone Tosoni) will review these proposals and make a selection of one or two proposals for the second step.

In the second step, the prospective editors launch a call for contributions (abstracts). The Book Series Committee reviews the complete proposals and selects one for open access publication by Routledge.

The call for theme proposals will be launched in early May.

ECREA is planning to start its monthly podcast series and is launching a call for the position of the host of the podcast series.

The ECREA podcast series would explore current scholarship, emerging new topics and developments in the realm of media studies, journalism and communication science. There will be 1-2 episodes per month.

In each episode the host of the series engages in inspiring discussions with leading scholars on the field. The sub-committee consisting of different ECREA Executive Board members will help the podcast host in planning each episode e.g. choosing the topics for discussion, finding guests for each episode, etc.

ECREA is opening a call to invite interested scholars to apply for a position to become a host for the ECREA podcast series. This is a paid position.

We encourage scholars with previous podcast hosting experience, and relevant technical skills to apply for the position. We also envision the host to have access to a studio as well as all the necessary technical resources needed for running a good-quality podcast.

We ask the interested parties to send a motivation letter consisting of 1) a description of their previous experiences and background and 2) their general vision about the ECREA podcast series; together with a draft financial plan (salary, studio rent, etc.) by 8 April 2022. The proposals must be sent by e-mail (attachment in MS Word or .pdf format) to ECREA's General Secretary Andra Siibak (andra.siibak@ut.ee).

The timeline for the selection process:

8 April 2022: the call is closed. ECREA Bureau in collaboration with the sub-committee members from the Executive Board considers applications and selects candidates to be interviewed. Interviews with the best candidates will be organized to clarify all the details.

6 May 2022: The host for the ECREA podcast series will be announced in Digest. The host will then start working together with the ECREA sub-committee to plan the first episodes for the podcast.

End of May 2022: the first episode of the podcast will be made available. 

Dear John,

Many thanks for your message of support! And my apologies for the late response. It is only for several days that I'm in a relatively safe place and can respond thoughtfully.

Right now I'm with my family in Khmelnytsky, a town in the western part of Ukraine. It is quite calm here, especially compared to where we had been during the first ten days of Russia's invasion. When the first shelling happened on Feb. 24 me and my husband took our son who was suffering from fever that night, grabbed an emergency bag, which we had prepared beforehand in the light of all warnings in the media, and headed to our relatives outside Kyiv. Our plan was to pick up my Mom who lives in Bucha, a small town near Kyiv, and go to Severynivka village. We thought that Severynivka would be the safest option for us to stay while deciding what to do next. It turned out differently. Fighting near Severynivka followed quite soon. The village is close to the highway which connects Kyiv with Zhytomyr. The Russian military has been trying to get control of the highway and attack Kyiv from the west. The house we stayed in is located almost in the forest, which separates Severynivka from the highway. Hence, we didn't see much but we heard a lot. Sounds of explosions were so powerful that our walls and windows were shaking. We realized we couldn't stay in the house when the fighting intensified - it seemed too dangerous. Instead, we decided to hide in the basement. It's not a proper bomb shelter. Nor is it a comfortable basement, which I saw in many houses abroad. Basically it's a place to store food/vegetables/homemade jam and pickles etc. with a cool temperature inside. We had just 7 degrees Celsius in our earth cellar. Some days we spent 15 hours there. There were nine of us (6 adults and 3 kids) plus a dog that was too scared of strikes/explosion sounds to stay outside. We slept on wooden benches or sitting in chairs. There were breaks in the fighting - we used them to get some rest in the house, eat, get warm and take shower. Electricity was cut when the military plane crashed nearby and damaged electricity lines, but we were lucky to have a generator. After spending 5 days or so in such a mode we realized we should try to move out somehow. Staying was dangerous, but escape was risky too. We knew that Russian tanks/machines were somewhere close to us. We knew that Russians had already been seen in the very village. We heard the sounds of gunfire nearby. We were terrified. At one point we realized that "it's now or never". We rushed to our cars and started the spine-chilling journey. When we passed the village road and reached the highway - we saw how disastrous it looked. It was completely empty, there were sounds of distant strikes, remnants of Russian military machines, several corpses on the road and about a dozen of destroyed civilian cars at the roadside. Those 15 km of terrifying wasteland seemed to last forever. Until we reached the first checkpoint. We didn't know whether it was controlled by Ukrainian army or Russians, but the military guy greeted us in Ukrainian "Armed Forces of Ukraine", he said adding "Don't worry, the road is ours up there". He checked our documents, looked into the car and noticed our son. "Oh, you've got a boy here. Wait a minute", he turned from us and then got back with a small gift, a toy, for our son. We all bursted in tears. Those tears were full of gratitude, relief, pride, sorrow and love.

I wish I could say I feel much better now when we are in a safer place. There's much more comfort here, of course. There's less fear. No fighting - no trembling. But... my heart is full of pain for people dying in so many places in Ukraine right now. For Ukrainian soldiers defending us by sacrificing their lives, for civilians trapped in their shelters, for women giving birth to babies under shelling, for children witnessing this incomprehensible horror. For many more.

We grieve. But we also fight. And we also dream. There's one shared dream all Ukrainians cherish in their hearts - victory and peace. We hold on to this dream. We also indulge in fantasy about small things that bring happiness.

My 9 y.o. son has been compiling the list of things we need to do when "the invasion is over" as he puts it. He said we should promise him we'll go to the cinema to watch the new "Batman" movie. And me... I dream of seeing the three hundred tulips I planted last autumn in our garden in the Poltava region. I dream of immersing myself in the beauty of spring blossoms in a free and peaceful Ukraine.

Oh, my story turned out to be quite long. You can cut it if needed.

Thank you for reaching out to me, for your interest in my story and your support.

I hope we'll have occasions for professional conversation too. There's incredible material to study in Ukraine right now and share with other colleagues from across the world and Europe in particular.

Warm regards from Ukraine,

Dariya

Dariya Orlova, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer

Mohyla School of Journalism

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

May 12-13, 2022

Yaşar University, İzmir, Turkey

Deadline: March 31, 2022

Colloquium Roundtable

a joint event of:

• Yaşar University, İzmir, Turkey and
• ECREA Journalism and Communication Education Temporary Working Group

Yaşar University, Faculty of Communication & ECREA Journalism and Communication Education TWG are delighted to host the “Alternatives in Communication Theory & Education” colloquium in İzmir, Turkey on 12 - 13 May 2022. The colloquium will host outstanding keynote speakers, namely, Prof. Mark Deuze, Prof. Stina Bengtsson and Prof. Mahmut Mutman, framing and discussing the future of communication education from a theoretical and practical perspectives. The organizers call for proposals that contribute to alternatives in communication theory and education from multiplicity of perspectives represented by ECREA Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups. Communication scholars are welcome to apply to participate in the colloquium roundtable discussions on 12 May 2022 in İzmir, Turkey.

Format: Morning session. Three keynote speakers will draw a roadmap for the future of communication theory and education. The goal of these presentations is to examine the media field (e.g., journalism, advertising, television, cinema and visual communication design etc.) critically and communication theories to reassess the quality of teaching in higher education. Our aim by revisiting the theory and teaching practices is to motivate scholars to rethink the transformation of the societies and to adjust their teaching practices.

Afternoon session. In line with the framework drawn by the keynote speakers in the morning session, a joint roundtable session will be held with the participation of approx. 10 scholars including a session chair, three or four presenters (approx. 4-5 mins. each) and discussants. The roundtable will follow a standard 90-minute conference format, with at least 30 minutes set aside for audience questions and discussion. The presenter(s) & participants of the session can be young scholars or experts from different fields who can provide a distinct alternative viewpoint. All communication scholars and ECREA members are welcome to apply for being a presenter/participant/discussant at the roundtable.

The entire event during the first day will be in English and keynote presentations will be aired online.

Call & submission guidelines: With the advent of digital media era and rapid transformation in communication practices (technological, practical and cultural), many scholars have begun to question whether digitalization bridges practice and theory in communication education. Hence, the colloquium provides a forum for scholars, students, and special guests to share their work and address current issues in news and digital media, public policy, government and society to rethink and reassess the teaching in higher education within the field of communication.

The colloquium roundtable event invites proposals of max. 300 words for a 5 mins presentation that study the future of communication theory & education. The presentations will include but not limited to the following broad topics:

- Journalism and digital media

- Public policy, government and society

- Environmental communication

- Political communication

- Transformation of the media industry

- Television and cinema

- Public relations and advertising

- Visual communication

- Social media

Deadline for abstract submission: Applicants should submit their abstracts no later than 17:00 CET on Thursday, 31 March 2022. Submissions should be sent via email to tijana.vukic@unipu.hr and/or gizem.melek@yasar.edu.tr.

Additional information: More detailed and updated information about the event can be found at the faculty website’s page dedicated to the colloquium: https://fcom.yasar.edu.tr/en/colloquium/

https://scienceforukraine.eu/

#ScienceForUkraine is a community group of volunteer students and research scientists from academic institutions in Europe and around the world.

Our mission is to collect and disseminate information about support opportunities at the university, national, and international level for graduate students and researchers directly affiliated to a ukraine academic institution.

On this website you will find a wide range of paid academic positions for scientists (PhD student or above), academic transfer opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as temporary housing.

Paid scientific positions

All researchers interested in temporary academic listed on this website are encouraged to directly contact the group/lab they are interested in. If questions or difficulties arise, the National Coordinator of the prospective host country can be approached for further assistance.

Academic transfer

All graduate or undergraduate students interested in academic transfer options listed on the website are encouraged to directly contact the prospective host university (provided for every opportunity). If you have any questions, please contact the National Coordinator who manages the country of transfer.

Temporary accommodation

To arrange temporary accommodation, please contact one of the registered hosts directly on our website. Unfortunately, #ScienceForUkraine has no resources to help with or support this process.

May, 20-22, 2022

Bucharest, Romania (virtual/in-person)

Deadline: April 15, 2022

Networked society faces challenges, limitations and dilemmas related to (post-)global public communication. Digital technologies are producing transformations which seem to be irrevocable in terms of public information, starting with the integration of journalism, public relations and advertising at the content level, and culminating with disinformation and deception. Although media and formats are converging, the audiences are increasingly more fragmented, contributing to postglobal reception practices. The conference aims to host papers that analyze journalism, public relations and advertising from the perspective of information and knowledge in the networked society. The papers will be related, but not limited, to the communication studies field, thus, we welcome interdisciplinary themes and approaches in the following sections:

Section 1. Networked News: Information, Disinformation in a Context of Crisis (global, political, public health)

● The role of journalism and social media in the (re)configuration of news

● Journalism practices in pandemic and post-COVID-19 contexts

● The gamification of digital journalism

● Digital media and fake news

● The vulnerability of audiences in major crisis situations –-the impact of gender, social class, age and other identity categories

● Marketing vs. editorial content in digital journalism

● Databases and journalism information

● Ethical dilemmas in public information and freedom of speech

Section 2. Public Relation in Networked Era

● Organizational communication – challenges in the digital age

● The role of experts and social media influencers in public communication

● Crisis communication in the context of COVID-19

● Public health communication. The impact of communication campaigns for vaccination, and other public health topics

● Environmental communication

Section 3. Advertising: Networked opportunities

● The role of virtual communities in the brand-consumer relationship

● Traditional media vs. social media in advertising in the pandemic context

● Trends in contemporary advertising: from social commerce to artificial intelligence

● Digital content creativity in contemporary advertising

● Hybridization of work in the communication industries

Section 4. Political Communication, Populism, Nationalism in Networked Communities

● Social networks and new forms of political communication

● Political communication and mass media – an unbreakable bond

● Digital communications and the re-actualization of populism and nationalism

● Misinformation and fake news in political communication

● Data-driven propaganda strategies

● Activism and political movements

Section 5. Media Education in Networked Society

● Pedagogical aspects in teaching journalism in the contemporary society

● Learning experiences in networked communities

● Teaching in/for online communities

● The fake news challenge in public communication

● Assessment and innovative technologies in media & communication education

● Knowledge creation and handouts for media and communication disciplines

Practical information

The abstract (300-500 words) will contain author’s/authors’ details, the study’s purpose, research questions, employed methodology or approach, (potential) results, including references (please, use the template attached below).

The submission languages are Romanian and English. The time allocated to each presentation will be 15-20 minutes, and it can be delivered online or face to face (the corresponding author is expected to express this choice when submitting the abstract). The deadline for abstract submission is April, 15, 2022, at the address: conference@fjsc.ro

There are no participation fees.

Selected papers will be published in a proceedings volume and in scientific journals (Facta Universitatis Series: Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology and History; Media Studies and Applied Ethics; Styles of Communication).

If you have further questions, please contact the organizers at the address: conference@fjsc.ro

Scientific Committee

Marian Petcu, PhD, Full Professor, University of Bucharest

Antonio Momoc, Dean, Associate Professor, University of Bucharest

Georgeta Drulă, PhD, Full Professor, University of Bucharest

Camelia Cmeciu, PhD, Full Professor, University of Bucharest

Mădălina Moraru, PhD Associate Professor, University of Bucharest

Georgeta Stepanov, PhD, Full Professor, hab., State University of Moldova

Zoran Jevtović, PhD, Full Professor, University of Niš

Nataša Simeunović Bajić, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Niš

Marija Vujović, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Niš

Vyara Angelova, DSc, Associate Professor, University of Sofia

Orlin Spassov, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Sofia

Zhana Popova, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Sofia

Martin Solik, Associate Professor, University of University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia

Antonija Čuvalo, PhD, Associate professor, Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia

Martina Topić, PhD, Reader, Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University, UK

Organising Committee

Romina Surugiu, PhD, Associate professor, University of Bucharest

Nicoleta Apostol, PhD, Lecturer, University of Bucharest

Adriana Ștefănel, PhD, Lecturer, University of Bucharest

Alexandra Bardan, PhD, Lecturer, University of Bucharest

Mariana Tacu, PhD, Associate professor, State University of Moldova

Victoria Bulicanu, PhD, Associate professor, State University of Moldova

Neda Necić, PhD candidate, Junior Researcher, University of Niš

Andrej Blagojević, PhD, Assistant professor, University of Niš

Ilija Milosavljević, PhD candidate, Senior Researcher, University of Niš

Alexandra Săndulescu Budea, PhD, Departamento de Periodismo y Comunicación Corporativa, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Mara Lixandru, PhD, University of Bucharest

________________________

REPLACE THIS SENTENCE WITH THE TITLE OF YOUR ABSTRACT

First name FAMILY NAME, Scientific title abbreviated

First name FAMILY NAME, Scientific title abbreviated

Purpose: Please, use Times New Roman, 12, Justify, double-spaced, maximum 300-500 words, references included, and send the abstract as a Word document.

Design/methodology/approach:

(Potential) Findings:

Keywords: Word 1, word 2, word 3, word 4, word 5.

References

Please, include only the abstract references, using APA 7th edition.

Comunicação Pública no. 33 (December 2022)

Deadline: July 7, 2022

Editors: Ricardo Morais (IADE - Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação, Universidade

Europeia, Universidade da Beira Interior/LabCom) and Patrícia Silveira (IADE - Faculdade de

Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação, Universidade Europeia, CECS – Universidade do Minho)

Languages: Portuguese; English; Spanish

Abstract

In recent years, we have seen a violent attack on the values of democracy. The growth of populism and authoritarian governments has contributed to a democratic backlash. In this context of threat to liberal democracy, citizenship and civic participation are also at risk. It is therefore urgent to reflect upon the growth of these trends, but above all it is necessary to understand that in a scenario dominated by media and digital communication, as well as by disinformation, it is essential to develop literacy for citizenship, participation and democracy.

Description and Framework

In recent years there have been several phenomena put democratic values to the test, to the point that we now can speak of a regression of liberal democracies around the world (V-Dem 2020; Democracy Index, 2019). The political transformations that have taken place in countries such as Hungary, Turkey or Brazil, with the election of populist leaders and the constitution of antidemocratic governments, are just some of the visible faces of a larger problem, which reaches its maximum expression with the increase in the number of autocracies, which is now higher than that of democracies, something that has not occurred since 2001 (V-Dem, 2020, p. 6).

Researchers have explained most of these transformations based on the idea that citizens no longer trust “the political system and democratic institutions” (Belchior, 2015). This mistrust would be at the origin of citizens' discontent and at the base of their adherence to populist politicians, who defend nationalist or protectionist measures, as well as restrictions to individual freedoms and rights.

The media have been used, in this process, as the main channel to transmit populist ideas. When the media are not available, digital platforms are the privileged vehicles to attack traditional media, convey disinformation and encourage the polarization of discourses. In this context, the question that arises is whether citizens are prepared to understand and critically assess the diversity of messages to which they are exposed in contemporary society.

The fast pace at which information circulates, especially in the digital world, combined with the transformations that have taken place in the production of content (Bruns, 2007; Anderson, Bell & Shirky, 2014), have reinforced the importance of promoting media and digital literacy as a democratic development strategy. Critical understanding and active participation are thus the basis of all democracies, as the absence of these competences prevents certain sectors of society from making informed choices, exposing them to false content and affecting the nature and quality of public debate.

In this context we understand that it is necessary to consolidate scientific knowledge and the perception that citizens have about the democratic process, civic participation and citizenship. It is not simply a matter of analyzing what the public knows about politicians or political institutions.

Thinking about literacy for citizenship and democracy is to enter the broader field of identifying a set of competencies without which citizens would not be able to act critically, in a democratic context. In this sense, this call for papers aims to collect theoretical and empirical contributions that can help to reflect on the importance of this kind of literacy for citizenship and democracy, and more specifically what skills should be developed and what tools can be used to help combat democratic backlash. Among others, it seeks to obtain answers to the following questions: How to prepare citizens to participate critically in the democratic process? What kind of knowledge, attitudes and skills are essential for the exercise of citizenship in the digital age? To whom should media literacy actions be addressed? What strategies can help foster young people's interest in democracy?

Objectives and approaches

Considering that literacy for citizenship and democracy is the central axis of this call for papers, we seek contributions that take into account the following topics, (although not limited to them):

• Media literacy, citizenship and democracy
• Misinformation and information literacy
• Populisms, polarization and digital literacy
• Digital divide, teaching and media literacy
• Political literacy and civic participation
• Public policies and media literacy
• Technology, literacy and digital citizenship

KEY DATES

1st Call for Papers: 1 March 2022

Deadline for Submissions: 7 July 2022

Deadline for Notification of Acceptance: 15 October 2022

Deadline for submitting the final version of accepted paper: 1 November 2022

Publication date: 15 December 2022

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 preformatted template of Comunicação Pública. For more information on submission, please read Information for Authors and Guidelines for Authors.

MEDIÁLNÍ STUDIA / MEDIA STUDIES SPECIAL ISSUE (Autumn 2022) 

Submission deadline: March 15, 2022

Guest Editors: Marisa Torres da Silva (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, ICNOVA, Portugal), Maria José Brites (Universidade Lusófona, CICANT, Portugal) & Miguel Vicente (Universidad de Valladolid, Spain)

Article submission deadline: March 15, 2022

Expected publication date: October/November 2022

This special issue of Mediální Studia / Media Studies aims to address forms on how online incivility and toxic talk are contributing to change public participation and questions attitudes and practices that publics and audiences develop to surpass these contexts. How is online incivility and toxic talk changing public participation? Which attitudes towards incivility are developed by publics and audiences? What kind of (formal or informal) norms are set to counter incivility?

As a transformed media environment has brought more opportunities for public debate and discussion, the rapid spread and amplified impact of incivility has become an important concern of scholars and citizens (Sobieraj & Berry, 2011; Coe, Kenski, & Rains, 2014). Although incivility is very difficult to define, with notable variations among scholars, it can be considered as a set of behaviors that threaten democracy and deny people their personal freedoms (Papacharissi, 2004), frequently including elements such as intimidation, disrespectful speech, hostility and hate speech. Incivilities traditionally associated with risk behaviors in the cities (Park, 1984; Roché, 1996) are now transposed to online environments with a huge impact in peoples’ lives. In contrast to the relatively regulated spaces of mainstream media (Waisbord, 2018) digital and social media offer accessibility to spheres that are often shaped by competition and conflict (Jakubovicz, 2017).

Incivility has effects on those who encounter it, whether as participants or observers often in negative ways (Kenski, Coe, & Rains, 2017), such as the “nasty effect” of encouraging negative perceptions of issues (Anderson et al., 2014, 2018) and political arguments (Mutz, 2007). Incivility also has a polarizing effect pushing people to extreme positions. However, although the phenomenon of incivility and its potential effects is rather extensively present in the scholarly literature, the ways by which publics and audiences interpret and act on incivility and online toxic environment (including non-participation, news avoidance, or digital disconnection) is a less visible topic.

Online incivilities call for social imaginaries of the media related to its engagement of people through conflict and contestation, through its potentially harmful or fatal consequences to individuals, society and democratic politics as well as being a source of moral panic anxieties (Critcher, 2008). Audiences use strategies of self-regulation against invasiveness (Syvertsen, 2017), also because they are seen as responsible for their online choices (Syvertsen, 2020), developing coping strategies to deal with unpleasant online experiences.

We encourage submissions which address topics such as (but not limited to):

● Incivility and the quality of public deliberation

● The desire to conflict and contest in mediated public spaces

● Incivility as a way to express strong views or to contest strongly held views

● Consequences of incivility in public discussions

● Generational audiences and online incivilities

● Nonparticipation or avoidance in the face of incivility and hate speech

● Digital disconnection as a consequence of media incivility and toxic environments

● Critical media literacy and the intent to surpass toxic environments

● Norms and rules developed against online incivility, developed by public institutions or Internet companies (SNS)

● Tracking and evaluation of norms and rules

● Audience attitudes, actions, and initiatives to fight against online incivility

● Political and media polarization as causes of incivility

KEY DATES

Article submission deadline: March 15, 2022 Editors’ decision on articles: May 2022

Expected publication date: October/November 2022

EDITION AND SUBMISSION

Mediální studia / Media Studies (ISSN 2464-4846) is a peer-reviewed, open access electronic journal, published in English, Czech and Slovak twice a year. Based in disciplines of media and communication studies, it focuses on analyses of media texts, media cultures, media professionals practices, and media audiences behaviour. We especially support the emphasis on the dynamics of local-global knowledge on media and its mutual connections. The journal is indexed in Scopus, MLA, Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL), and European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS).

Articles must be submitted by email to the guest editors of this special issue:

marisatorresilva@fcsh.unl.pt , mariajosebrites@ulp.pt , miguel.vicente@uva.es

Additional queries can be submitted to medialnistudia@fsv.cuni.cz

Please carefully read the journal’s submission guidelines before sending your contribution.