Radio and new participatory journalisms around the World:
Understanding Convergence in News Cultures
Special issue of
Telematics and Informatics
http://ees.elsevier.com/tele/
Edited by Dr. Last Moyo
Senior lecturer, Media Studies, University of
Witwatersrand, P Bag 3, 2050, Johannesburg,
South Africa. E-mail: (last.moyo /at/ wits.ac.za)<mailto:(last.moyo /at/ wits.ac.za)>
INTRODUCTION
The Internet and mobile phones are changing the
face of radio. Their appropriation by private,
public and community radio is transforming radio
as a medium thus making it at least in principle
more accessible through multiple platforms such
as webcasting, mobile streaming, and podcasts.
In most cases, these technologies have had a
profound impact on radio?s institutional
cultures and practices especially with regards
to the way it produces and disseminates news and
current affairs programming. They have a direct
impact on journalistic practices in terms of the
gathering, manufacturing, and subsequent
dissemination of news to audiences. The use of
digital media is also influencing the audiences
which are seen as becoming much more actively
involved in the production and consumption of
news as radio changes from a mass medium to a
more interactive, individualised, and
participatory medium. Hence, this Special Issue
aims to conduct a critical study of new media
uses by the public, private and community radio
stations and their audiences and the potential
impact such uses have in democratizing citizen
participation in radio news. Specific areas of
investigation will include, among others, how
radio stations and audiences use mobile phones
in terms of voice calls, SMS (texting), MMS,
mobile radio, podcasts, audio streaming, blogs,
electronic mail, and discussion forums to
construct and mediate reality in the medium of
news. By new participatory journalisms, we seek
to refer to what has been controversially dubbed
as citizen journalism. This is a kind of
journalism that is not only embedded on people?s
everyday experiences, but is also driven by
people themselves. While these new forms of
participatory journalisms have been appropriated
by radio, they also find independent expression
through digital media channels. While giving
special attention to the confluences that exist
between citizen journalism and radio journalism,
this Special Issue also takes a keen interest in
the general use of mobile phones and the Internet by radio and their audience
OVERALL OBJECTIVE
Contributors to this Special Issue are
encouraged to provide theoretically sound and
methodologically rigorous case study-based
analysis of the uses of the Internet and mobile
phones by radio journalists and their audiences
in the production and dissemination of news.
Therefore, contributions that reflect
historically-grounded theorization of the
Internet and mobile phone uses by radio journalists would be most welcome.
RECOMMENDED THEMES
Contributions must focus on, among other related issues, the following themes:
· Confluences of radio journalism and citizen journalism
· Internet, mobile phones and the
changing news room cultures on radio
· Community radio and citizen participation in the digital age
· Radio news and public service broadcasting in the digital age
· Digital media political economy, radio
audiences, and the digital divide.
· ICTs, gender and newsroom policies
· Radio, convergence, and the fragmentation of mass audiences
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Please send your abstract on or before 31 April
2011. Authors of accepted proposals will be
notified by 20 May 2011 and sent the
bibliographic style for the journal. Completed
articles are expected to be submitted by 1 November 2011.
Send abstracts to:
Dr. Last Moyo
Senior Lecturer
Department of Media Studies
University of Witwatersrand
Tel: + 27 11 717 4241
Email: (last.moyo /at/ wits.ac.za)<mailto:(last.moyo /at/ wits.ac.za)>
Submit full articles online at
http://ees.elsevier.com/tele
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Last D. Moyo
Senior lecturer
Media Studies Department
The University of Witwatersrand
P. Bag 3, 2050
Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel: +2711-7174241
Fax: +2711-7174149
