[ecrea] Special issue call for papers: How do you feel? Ethical challenges in media treatment and representation of vulnerable people.

ETHICAL SPACE SPECIAL ISSUE
Call for Papers:
HOW DO YOU FEEL? Ethical challenges in media treatment and 
representation of vulnerable people.

Media reporting of vulnerable people is not a recent phenomenon but it 
is one that is increasingly dominating the 24/7 news cycle. The tensions 
involved in covering mass human migration, the Syrian refugee crisis, 
disasters and trauma, terrorist executions and acts of carnage all pose 
challenges to the journalist trying to report accurately, sensitively 
and ethically  in extreme circumstances. In addition the use and misuse 
of social media, the evolving understanding of mental health and the 
growing acknowledgement of the rights of those involved in stories to 
have their say all suggest a more equitable and participatory journalism 
is necessary when reporting on "victims" and the vulnerable.
 These emotional and ethical challenges come as the media landscape is 
changing irrevocably. Traditional news outlets are under pressure to the 
extent that, although the vulnerable are the subject of stories, their 
involvement in the process can be minimal. Instead, some journalists are 
turning to ready-made content generated by citizens on social media. Is 
this ethical? Is this the way in which journalists should record the 
lives of vulnerable people? Social media also has had a significant 
effect on coverage of suicide. The death of actor Robin Williams 
resulted in some appalling coverage that revealed tensions between 
control of the media through regulatory systems and professional 
guidelines and the unregulated world of social media where the audience 
can access content that the media, when contemplating publication, are 
required to consider with extreme caution for fear of inciting copycat 
behaviour amongst vulnerable people.
 What exactly do we mean by "vulnerable people"? Definitions vary 
according to different disciplines but one that is apt for media 
coverage is the Australian Government's description of vulnerable 
adults: an individual aged 18 years and above who is or may be unable to 
take care of themselves, or is unable to protect themselves against harm 
or exploitation by reason of age, illness, trauma or disability, or any 
other reason.

 Ethics is about taking the right action in difficult circumstances so 
thinking about vulnerability in ethical terms we should concern 
ourselves with the concepts of minimizing harm; fair and honest 
representation; truth and trust; accountability to those in the story, 
to the audience and to news employers, and independence of action.

 We invite journalism scholars and practitioners to present articles 
that have a theoretical, analytical, critical, methodological and 
empirical approach which provide significant insights and understandings 
about the ethical challenges and potential benefits of media reporting 
of vulnerable people.
Topics authors might want to consider, but should not be limited to, 
include:
*       Hearing the voices of the marginalised
*       Approaches to interviewing/not interviewing vulnerable  people
*       Mental illness, access to the media and the issue of consent.
*       Intrusion into grief/privacy versus fair representation
*       Media representations of grief, bereavement, mental illness, 
suicide, disability, ethnic minorities, faith or sexual orientation.
*       Using innovative practices to tell vulnerable people's stories
*       The influence of social media
*       Engaging the audience in death, trauma and personal 
vulnerability e.g. overcoming compassion fatigue, including user 
generated content or offering audience interactivity
*       Teaching ethics relating to media reporting of vulnerable people

Submission instructions
Send 200-word abstracts to the guest editors (addresses below) by April 
23rd, 2017. Papers of around 6,000 words will be needed by June 23rd. 
They will then be sent out for peer review. This process should be 
completed quickly - so final copy should go to the publishers by early 
August. The issue should appear in mid-September 2017.

Editorial information:
*       Guest editor: Sallyanne Duncan, University of Strathclyde, 
(sallyanne.duncan /at/ strath.ac.uk)
*       Guest editor: Jackie Newton, Liverpool John Moores University, 
(J.Newton1 /at/ ljmu.ac.uk)


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