Archive for September 2017

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[ecrea] Activist and Alternative Edited Volume Seeking Contributors

Thu Sep 21 17:13:43 GMT 2017




Past research concerning alternative media and activist media have thoroughly explored the role of both in social movements and activist organizations. However, there has been little attention paid to the role of such media in mainstream political communication. However, the rise of the modern Internet and social media platforms have allowed for the proliferation of these forms of media across society in ways that were not possible twenty years ago. Today, alternative media have become more intertwined with mainstream media, and have even become increasingly relevant in mainstream political communication. The most significant example of the emergence of alternative and activist media in mainstream political communication rests in the election of Donald Trump in the 2016 US Presidential election. As a candidate for the presidency, Trump was a frequent reader and user of content from a variety of right-wing alternative media sources, a guest on Alex Jones’ web based program /InfoWars/, and eventually hired the editor of /Breitbart News /to serve as the chief executive of his campaign. That editor, Steve Bannon, went on to become President Trump’s White House Chief Strategist. This is not the only example of such convergence, as mainstream news media often rely on alternative media and activist sources of information for their content about political issues.

In order to address the growing role of alternative and activist media in mainstream political communication, we seek to build an edited volume based on the contribution of scholarship that addresses one of four topics related to these issues. Overall, we are asking for research contributions that provide insights concerning the following topics:

Topic I: The Role of Alternative & Activist Media in Political Campaigns

  * This topic explores how alternative media and activist media
    influence political campaigns, and how political campaigns utilize
    those media. This could include issues such as:
      o Alternative media content integrated directly into campaign
        materials.
      o Linkages between alternative media and campaign materials.
      o The use of alternative/activist media content by political
        operatives to connect campaigns to political issues.
Topic II: Candidates, Government Officials, and Alternative Media

  * This topic examines how candidates or government officials take part
    in alternative media, through production and other forms of
    participation. This can cover issues like:
      o Political candidates or government officials participating in
        interviews conducted by alternative media titles.
      o Alternative media production by candidates or government officials.
      o Quotations of alternative media content by candidates on the
        campaign trail, or government officials locked in policy debates.

Topic III: Relationships Between Alternative/Activist Media, and Mainstream Political News

  * This topic investigates the role of alternative/activist media in
    mainstream reporting on political stories, and how those media might
    shape mainstream political news content. This can involve issues like:
      o Differences between political reporting in alternative media and
        mainstream news media.
      o The ways in which alternative/activist media are utilized in
        mainstream news about politics.
      o Fake news as alternative or activist media, and how such news
        impacts mainstream political news.

Topic IV: Alternative Media, Activist Media, & Political Participation

  * This topic focuses on the ways in which alternative/activist media
    have changed notions of political participation, and how they
    currently shape the ways people become politically involved at
    different levels. This could encompass issues like:
      o Descriptions of political participation or democracy in
        alternative media content.
      o The ways in which alternative/activist media might spur
        political participation.
      o The role of alternative/activist media in local politics.
      o The role of alternative/activist media in generating
        national-level political interest for citizens.

Submission Requirements & Dates:

To be considered for this edited volume, potential authors should submit a proposal of 700-1000 words to Dr. Joshua Atkinson by December 15, 2017. All submissions should provide indication about which of the four topics the author(s) would like their submission to be considered. The editors of the volume will engage in a masked review of the proposals; authors will be notified of acceptance by mid-January. After acceptance, the authors will have eight months to complete initial drafts of the paper and submit to Dr. Atkinson. Final revisions will be due by December of 2018. For more information regarding the topics of interest or key concepts, contact Dr. Atkinson.

Joshua D. Atkinson, PhD

Associate Professor

School of Media & Communication

Bowling Green State University

Linda Jean Kenix, PhD <(lindajean.kenix /at/ canterbury.ac.nz)>

Associate Professor

Media and Communication Department

Head of School of Language, Social and Political Sciences

University of Canterbury

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