Event organized by the BSA Media Study Group and
Department of Media and Communication, University of Leicester
CALL FOR PAPERS
Wednesday 13th July 2011, 10.30am 4.30pm
Attenborough Building, University of Leicester
Venue details can be found at: http://www2.le.ac.uk/maps.
Theme: New Communications and Demonstrations
The media?s images and narratives of protest and
demonstration, contribute to our understanding
of the relationship between public opinion, the
mass media and democracy. Past studies suggest
television news reports follow the inferential
frameworks (Halloran, Murdock and Elliott 1970)
or dominant frames (Gitlin 1980) adopted by
their news organisations, reproducing accounts
which depoliticise events and even demonise
their participants on occasion. The view that
reporting is always characterised in this way
and, in turn, serves to reflect hegemonic
interests is challenged however, in later work
whose fine-grained analysis reveals various
repertoires of protest and instances of
sympathetic portrayals (eg. McAdam
2000). Studies of protest, demonstration and
new media technologies develop this theme
further, albeit in a new context. These reveal
the new online opportunities for various types
of protest expression and action (Gillan et al
2008) and the use of technologies in the actual
organisation and performance of protest and
demonstration (Van de Donk et al 2004). What is
more, Cottle (2008) makes clear that the media
politics of dissent cannot be fully understood
without grasping the changing context of
international politics and the general profusion
of protest groups, campaigns, movements and
transnational coalitions as well as evolving
forms of protests and the different types of
representations that find expression across
local, national and global media forms and
complex communication flows. This event
welcomes papers from ongoing research, already
published studies or theoretical discussion on
communication, protest and demonstrations.
Suggestions include, but are not limited to:
? Media frames, representations and the
mediation of competing issues and viewpoints on protest and demonstration.
? Journalists, news culture and the production of protest news reports.
? News photographs and visualization of protest and demonstration.
? Established and alternative news outlets and the reporting of protest.
? Youtube videos, bloggs and protest action
? Tweating dissent? The role of twitter
before/ during / after protest events.
? Active audiences, media reception and protest news.
? Websites, mobile phones and the
organisation of protest and demonstration.
Please send 250 word abstracts for 20 minute
papers to Julian Matthews ((jpm29 /at/ leicester.ac.uk)).
Deadline for abstract submission is May 1st, 2011.
For more details about the BSA Media Study Group
please visit : http://www.britsoc.co.uk/specialisms/Media.htm
Organiser: Dr Julian Matthews, Convenor BSA
Media Study Group. Department of Media and
Communication, University of Leicester.
--
Dr Julian Matthews
Lecturer
Course Director, MSc Media and Communication Research
Department of Media and Communication
Room 913
Attenborough Tower
University of Leicester
University Road
Leicester LE1 7RH
T: +44(0)116 2522582
F: +44(0)116 2525276
E: (jpm29 /at/ leicester.ac.uk)
W: http://www.le.ac.uk/mc/staff/JulianMatthews.html
Editor, Communication and Media Section Sociology Compass
http://sociology-compass.com/
