Posts tagged journalism

Report: Journalism at the Speed of Bytes - digital challenges to quality news

Diminishing editorial resources and a lack of training in new media tools are the key challenges facing editorial managers, according to the most detailed survey of editors and senior journalists ever carried out in Australia.

The report Journalism at the Speed of Bytes - Australian newspapers in the 21st century - is about the digital challenge to quality news and newspapers. The research involved interviews with 100 journalists and editors plus independent research on issues such as:

• the changing business of news;
• why talk about quality?;
• the transition to from print to multimedia journalism;
• the difficulty of making digital dollars;
• journalists changing relationships with readers;
• excellence in digital journalism.

Read it for free here: http://www.walkleys.com/news/7141/

CFP: Rethinking journalism teaching and learning in an interactive world

This special issue of Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies will offer a platform to share research and experiences with regards to the future of journalism education in a digital and interactive world. This issue welcomes long and short papers from scholars and practitioners that address these issues. We welcome scholarly articles, essays and book reviews. The special issue will be published in the second half of 2013.

Abstracts due Nov 30, 2012.

Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies

Guest Editor: Jairo Lugo-Ocando, University of Sheffield, UK

Reflexivity in the Digital World: Rethinking journalism teaching and learning in an interactive world

Digital and interactive technologies have revolutionised the way people use and consume media content in the past two decades. As a result, ways of practising journalism and delivering news have been challenged. Traditional mainstream news media have struggled to keep up with these changes and survive in a rapidly changing society. As a consequence, the journalism labour market too is changing dramatically, which raises serious issues regarding the future of journalism education and training. This special issue of Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies will offer a platform to share research and experiences with regards to the future of journalism education in a digital and interactive world. This issue welcomes long and short papers from scholars and practitioners that address these issues. We welcome scholarly articles, essays and book reviews. The special issue will be published in the second half of 2013. Some of the questions for journalism educators include among others:

• Is there a future for journalism education in the digital age?
• What should be the scope and nature of curricular developments in journalism education in light of these changes?
• To what degree have journalism educational provisions been able to deliver the knowledge and skills needed to face the challenges posed by the new media landscape?
• From which experiences in journalism education can we learn the most about teaching and learning in a changing media landscape?
• How do tensions from old and new demands affect the delivery and teaching of journalism education in the context of technological change?
• What new approaches, paradigms and philosophies have emerged in education in recent times that could help us understand/assess better the impact of technological changes in journalism education?
• How are digital technologies affecting the traditional debates/tensions between journalism training and journalism education?
• How have digital technologies affected the construction of journalism identities of prospective journalists, journalism students and journalism educators?
• Are there areas in journalism education more affected than others by technological digitalisation, media convergence and audience fragmentation?
• Should journalism educators follow industry trends to set and develop the parameters of journalism teaching and learning or explore alternative ways?
• What is the role of journalism academic research in journalism education in light of technological changes?

These and other similar questions open new discussions, while re-opening old debates, regarding the nature, objectives and reach of journalism education in an age of profound changes. Therefore, we want to invite also pieces describing, assessing and analysing innovative experiences in learning and teaching journalism. We also want to invite papers and essays from practitioners of both, journalism and journalism education who think they might make a contribution towards this debate.

Papers can be sent to j.lugo-ocando(at)sheffield.ac.uk

Long papers: 6.000 to 7.000 words
Short papers: 2.500 to 3000 words
Book Reviews: 500 to 800 words
Deadline for abstracts: November 30, 2012
Deadline for final papers: March 15, 2013

Aca-article: Can Big Media do “Big Society”? On hyper-local journalism.

This paper examines a UK-based commercial local news network and evaluates the level of audience engagement by looking at the numbers of active users, their contributions and their connections with other users. Although the study reveals a demand for community content, particularly of a practical nature, the results question the extent to which this type of ‘big media’ local news website can succeed as a local social network, reinvigorate political engagement, or encourage citizen reporting.

Thurman, N., Pascal, J. C. & Bradshaw, P. (2012). Can Big Media do “Big Society”?: A Critical Case Study of Commercial, Convergent Hyperlocal News. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics.

http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/1125/6/Thurman_Pascal_Bradshaw.pdf

ABSTRACT - The UK Government is committed to helping ‘nurture a new generation of local media companies’. Changes to local media ownership rules allowing companies to follow their customers from platform to platform are supposed to assist in this by encouraging economies of scale. This paper provides a timely case study examining a UK-based commercial local news network owned by Daily Mail & General Trust that leverages economies of scale: Northcliffe Media’s network of 154 Local People websites. The study evaluates the level of audience engagement with the Local People sites through a user survey, and by looking at the numbers of active users, their contributions and their connections with other users. Interviews with ten of the ‘community publishers’ who oversee each site on the ground were conducted, along with a content survey. Although the study reveals a demand for community content, particularly of a practical nature, the results question the extent to which this type of ‘big media’ local news website can succeed as a local social network, reinvigorate political engagement, or encourage citizen reporting. The Government hopes that communities, especially rural ones, will increasingly use the Internet to access local news and information, thereby supporting new, profitable local media companies, who will nurture a sense of local identity and hold locally-elected politicians to account. This case study highlights the difficulties inherent in achieving such outcomes, even using the Government’s preferred convergent, commercial model.

Free first issue of the Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies

This is a peer-reviewed journal that aims to bridge the gap between media and communication research and actors with a say in media production, devoted to research with an applied angle. It has a particular focus on contemporary issues and practices of media firms as they are experienced by their actors journalists, executives, publishers and proprietors.

First issue available for free http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/ajms/2012/00000001/00000001

CFP: Journalism and Mobile Devices (Nov 15-16, Portugal)

How do mobile devices affect the traditional forms of delivering news? Can the app economy be an alternative to selling content? Is there a new journalistic language and new journalistic genres for these devices? These are the three themes of this conference.

Abstracts due June 30, 2012. International Congress on Journalism and Mobile Devices, Universidade da Beira Interior (Portugal), 15-16 November 2012.

See full call for papers: http://www.jdm.ubi.pt/index-en.php#CallForPapers

CFP: Social Media, Journalism and Communication Practitioners - International Symposium (abstracts due May 15)

Scholars debate on how journalism as a profession is changing and about the impacts of new technologies such as social media. This international symposium explores this issue.

Abstracts due May 15, 2012.

7th September 2012, North Holmes Campus, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.

About the call
Social media, and the Internet in general, are having dramatic impacts on journalism (Deuze, 2007; Sarrica, 2010). Traditional practices of newsgathering, verifying stories and reporting are transforming and with that the profession itself is perceived to be changing fundamentally. Web 2.0 Internet technologies are viewed to have changed “newsroom culture and the professionals involved” and they “challenge perceptions of the roles and functions of journalism as a whole” (Deuze and Paulussen, 2002, p. 216). But scholars continue to debate exactly how journalism as a profession is changing and about the impacts of new technologies such as social media (Lasorsa et al., 2012). Discussion on the impacts of these technologies have centred on three main issues: changes in relationship with the audience, changing journalistic practices and changes in professional values and the profession as a whole. This international symposium explores these and related issues.

The conference is open to academics as well as industry practitioners.

Papers/presentations are invited in the general subject area of social media. Suggestions include, but are not limited to:

• Comparative study of social media use
• Impact of social media on audience relationship
• Changing journalistic practices
• Purposes of social media use
• Attitudes towards social media
• PR professionals and social media
• Patterns of social media usages
• Impacts of social media on journalistic values
• Influence of social media on communication practices

Best papers from the symposium will be published in a special edition of a refereed journal.

Please send 250 word abstracts to agnes.gulyas(at)canterbury.ac.uk

Aca-article: Researching News Discussion on Twitter - New Methodologies

This paper outlines innovative approaches for large-scale quantitative research into how Twitter is used to discuss and cover the news, focussing especially on #hashtags.

Authors: Axel Bruns & Jean Burgess, ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Article published in Journalism Studies.

Open access: http://bit.ly/HzQP3m

Abstract
Twitter has become a major instrument for the rapid dissemination and subsequent debate of news stories, and comprehensive methodologies for systematic research into news discussion on Twitter are beginning to emerge. This paper outlines innovative approaches for large-scale quantitative research into how Twitter is used to discuss and cover the news, focussing especially on #hashtags: brief identifiers which mark a tweet as taking part in an established discussion.

New Book: Cyberfactories - How news agencies produce news

Have you ever wondered how organizations decide which news is important? This insightful book portrays in detail everyday work in three news agencies: Swedish TT, Italian ANSA and the worldwide Reuters. This unique study is about organizing rather than journalism, revealing two accelerating phenomena: cybernization (machines play a more and more central role in news production) and cyborgization (people rely more and more on machines). Barbara Czarniawska reveals that technological developments lead to many unexpected consequences and complications. Cyberfactories will prove essential to researchers interested in contemporary forms of organizing, studies of technology, and media. It will also appeal to a lay reader interested in how news is produced.

By Barbara Czarniawska, Professor of Management Studies, GRI, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cyberfactories-How-News-Agencies-Produce/dp/0857939122

New Books from Sage on Media, Cultural Studies and Journalism

CFP: Communicating the Future / Future of Communication, Fincom2012 (Finland, Aug ‘12)

Fincom2012: Finnish Conference of Communication Research. Theme Communicating the Future / Future of Communication.

Deadline for extended abstracts is February 28, 2012. The Finnish Conference of Communication Research will be organized in Jyväskylä on August 30-31, 2012.

Conference topics (Groups in English)

1. Organizational survival in the new media environment

The dynamics of the new media environment have changed the way organizations are perceived, how they are expected to behave and how publics can expect to participate and voice opinions. In an environment where demands have already been raised for shared problem-solving and dialogue, joint responsibility, as well as ever more transparency and credibility, social media has brought forth new tools for joining forces and making voices heard among various stakeholders. Furthermore, social media emphasizes the need for fast responses, as all issues go potentially viral in an online environment and organizational control on messages concerning themselves is diminishing. This means that functions such as crisis communication needs to be applied to both online and offline environments. What is more, completely new skills and functions for communication might be called for.

It could be argued that social media has changed communication. Is that the case and if so, how can organizations survive in the new media environment? What models are applicable, what are not? The proposals for this session can include both theoretical and empirical analyses of what organizations need to take into account while operating in the new media and communication environment. The workshop accepts both finished research as well as research in progress, and the language for this workshop is English.

2. New Trends in Journalism – Towards Ubiquitous Journalism?

In these challenging financial times, new ideas, concepts, tools, methods, and innovations are needed in societies in many different levels; also in news business and journalism. This group focuses on the latest global, national and local trends in journalism. It discusses, for example, the role of the social networking services like Facebook and Twitter in news ecosystems, the possibilities of data journalism and data visualization, and the new long form journalism like the Atavist’s.  Furthermore, the group offers a forum to present new emerging theories, models and concepts that could help us better study the accelerating changes in news ecosystems. It also discusses about the future of journalism, and asks for example, whether we are already heading to the age of ubiquitous journalism, where real-time news streams or pulses will dominate the news agenda.

3. New directions in intercultural communication research

The research area of Intercultural Communication (IC) has been of interest for various subjects, and thus grown broad enough to incorporate a variety of viewpoints and approaches. Conventionally, IC is nevertheless relying on some basic theoretical assumptions, which are reflected for example in the focus on nationality and ethnicity, the prevalence of cross-cultural comparisons, the pursuit of generalizable measurements (i.e., cultural value orientations), or the idea that when people of different national backgrounds interact their communication is especially prone to misunderstandings, break downs, and the like. Open questions with respect to these points, as well as the growing relevance of newer domains, like CMC, are providing interesting grounds for discussion regarding IC and its future.

Within this work group emphasis lies on:

• critical reviews of IC theories and research,
• future foci of IC studies,
• new approaches within the field of IC research,
• new theories or theoretical frameworks and concepts, and underrepresented contexts of social interaction in the field of IC.

4. Social interaction in distributed groups and teams in working life

This work group focuses on communication between members of distributed groups and teams (sometimes also called virtual teams). In contemporary working life, especially in knowledge-intensive professions, it has become increasingly common to participate in various kinds of distributed teams. The emphasis of the work group is on working life teams with task-related goals. Communication in this context is typically at least partly technologically mediated, but the presentations are not limited to studies in TMC only.

The work group welcomes submissions dealing with the interrelations between interpersonal communication competence, teaming, and team outcomes, the relational dynamics of distributed teams, as well as inquiries into leadership and membership in distributed settings, long-term versus short-term teaming, communicative practices during initiation and end-phase of distributed teams, etc. Applications of new and traditional theories and models are also welcome.

Read more: http://fincom2012.net/