[csaa-forum] [CfP] MIA 144: The 'New' News

[Stephen Harrington]

Call for Papers:

Media International Australia no. 144 (August 2012)

The 'New' News

Theme Editors: Stephen Harrington and Brian McNair
 
In recent times we have witnessed massive changes to the ways in which news is produced, presented and consumed. There has been an explosion of news sources, technologies and styles, alongside a dissolution of the boundaries between news and entertainment, journalist and celebrity, producer and consumer, amateur and professional, expert and layperson, truth and 'spin'. The highly trusted newsmakers of times past have suffered what Geoffrey Baym calls an 'authoritative collapse', and must now compete for attention in an increasingly unpredictable, diverse and networked news sphere, which operates at greater speed than ever before, driven by new technologies that were unimaginable just 20 years ago.

The editors of this issue of MIA are therefore calling for contributions that explore this changing informational culture, and the various implications for politics, culture and society. What are these changing modes of news production, distribution and reception? And, more importantly, what are the political, technological, economic, cultural and legal implications of these changes?

The theme editors are particularly interested in papers addressing the following topics:

* What is news and/or journalism in the twenty-first century?
* How 'new' is this phenomenon?
* 'New' news in different global contexts
* Changing journalistic skills
* New opinion leaders and their communication practices
* Legal and ethical issues with emerging news formats
* Challenges for journalism education

Abstracts should be sent directly to the editors for consideration no later than 31 July
2011. If accepted, full papers between 4000 and 5000 words in length (prepared in
strict accordance with the MIA style guide) will then be required for peer review by
15 November 2011.

To express an interest in contributing to this themed issue, please contact:

Stephen Harrington s.harrington at qut.edu.au

Brian McNair b.mcnair at qut.edu.au