[ecrea] ECREA 2016 Pre-Conference: Media Accountability at the Crossroads - European Challenges and Perspectives

Media Accountability at the Crossroads: European Challenges and Perspectives

ECREA 2016 Pre-Conference at the Charles University in Prague (Czech 
Republic), 8th November 2016

Organized by the Institute for Comparative Media and Communication 
Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, and the 
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt (Tobias Eberwein, Matthias 
Karmasin), and the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism, 
Dortmund (Susanne Fengler)

Website: http://mediaaccountabilityblog.wordpress.com

Call for Papers

As the integrity of the international media landscape is challenged by 
far-reaching transformations, the need for a functional system of media 
regulation is bigger than ever. In democratic societies, various 
instruments of media accountability (such as press and media councils, 
ombudspersons, media journalism, etc.) assume a key role in the process 
of safeguarding a free and responsible media performance. However, in 
the light of an advancing economization of media communication and 
recent technological changes, the established system of media 
accountability seems to be at the crossroads: On the one hand, the 
necessity of non-state means for holding the media responsible towards 
the public is largely undisputed; on the other hand, the effectiveness 
of such instruments as a guardian of press freedom and media plurality 
is often questioned – both by media practitioners and media researchers.

The one-day conference “Media Accountability at the Crossroads” aims 
at mapping the state of media accountability in Europe – and at 
highlighting perspectives for future developments in this field: Which 
instruments of media accountability are currently prevailing in the 
various journalism cultures across Europe and how can their mode of 
operation be assessed? What are the particular problems and challenges 
they are facing? And which possible strategies can help to overcome 
these challenges? These and similar questions will be discussed from an 
international and interdisciplinary perspective. By bringing together 
scholars with different national and professional backgrounds, the 
conference organizers hope to broaden the view on media accountability, 
which only becomes graspable if it is approached as a cross-sectional 
research topic.

Submissions from all fields of communication studies as well as from 
related disciplines like sociology, cultural studies, ethics, economics, 
political science, law, etc. are welcome. Topics may include, but are 
not limited to:

- the normative foundations of media accountability (e.g. in the context 
of professional ethics and media ethics),
- the relationship between media regulation and media self-regulation,
- the effects of media accountability (particularly the question how to 
assess and monitor these effects),
- the history of media accountability,
- media accountability and technological change,
- the advancement of traditional instruments of media accountability,
- the role of the audience in media accountability processes,
- interdisciplinary approaches to media accountability,
- international case studies on media accountability processes,
- the specific European challenges of media accountability (e.g. in the 
case of cross-border communication),
- future perspectives of media accountability.

Submission and selection of papers

Submissions for the pre-conference should be made in English only. 
Please send your proposal to the organizers ((cmc /at/ oeaw.ac.at)) no later 
than June 15, 2016 (using a pdf or a doc file). The abstract must not be 
longer than 8000 characters (including blank spaces). Please add a title 
page to the abstract containing the name(s) and address(es) of the 
presenter(s) and the title of the presentation. All submissions will be 
subjected to anonymous review based on the criteria of originality, 
relevance, theoretical foundation, appropriateness of the methods used, 
clarity of language, and reference to the theme of the pre-conference. 
Submitters will be informed by July 15, 2016, about the outcome of the 
selection process.

Additional information

In case of acceptance, full papers should be completed at least two 
weeks before the conference. Depending on the number and quality of the 
submissions, the publication of a proceedings volume will be considered.

The pre-conference participation fee will be:

- Non-ECREA members: EUR 80
- ECREA members: EUR 60
- Students: EUR 40

Contact

Dr. Tobias Eberwein & Prof. Dr. Dr. Matthias Karmasin
Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies
Austrian Academy of Sciences | Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
Postgasse 7/4/1 | A-1010 Vienna
(cmc /at/ oeaw.ac.at) | Tel. +43-1-51581-3110 | Fax +43-1-51581-3120



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