[Commlist] CfP: inter/transnational media policy and regulation in digital environments

Joint conference of the section International and Intercultural 
Communication (DGPuK) and the network Media Structures:

*INTER/TRANSNATIONAL MEDIA POLICY AND REGULATION IN DIGITAL 
ENVIRONMENTS. DEBATES; STRATEGIES INNOVATIONS*


October 24-25, 2019
Venue: Erich-Brost Institute, Dortmund/Germany
Affiliation: Institute for Media Studies (IfM), Ruhr-University 
Bochum/Germany
Deadline for proposal submission: 1. July 2019
Submissions in English via email to: (iic-conference2019 /at/ rub.de)

There will be two lines of submission:
Proposals for individual papers: abstracts of no more than 500 words 
addressing one of the issues outlined below.
Proposals for panels with 4-5 papers in a panel: abstracts of no more 
than 1000 words.

The disruptive transformations of the media ecology are in the focus of 
media scholars and politicians world-wide. Technological and cultural 
changes as well as major shifts in audience behaviour are core drivers 
of these transformations, which can be observed in various sectors, 
refer to different aspects of media systems, and are based on 
intertwined, but often contradictory and dialectical dynamics 
(D'Haenens, Sousa & Trappel 2018). Transformations of the media ecology 
have to be considered in a wider scope of challenges of democracies in 
the digital age. The planned conference aims to bring together research 
that addresses current developments and challenges with regard to four 
dimensions:

1. Media policy, strategies and regulation are crucially challenged by 
meta-narratives such as globalization and digitization, since they have 
historically evolved through national regulatory routines (Holtz-Bacha 
1994). Scholars and politicians alike critically assess questions 
whether the information available to citizens is sufficient to build an 
informed citizenry and what kind of regulation of digital media 
contributes to plurality and diversity. Moreover, civil society demands 
for more involvement and participation in content creation and 
regulation. Contributions to the planned conference will debate the 
(re-)formulation of public service media (PSM and the extent to what a 
„Civic Commons Online“ is necessary. A possible point of discussion is 
whether public service media (PSM) are in the position to establish such 
a deliberative space complementing both public sphere and parliamentary 
debate (e.g. Ramsey 2013; Schweizer 2016).

2. At the economic and innovations level, commercial media in Europe 
have always been challenged to balance between fulfilling the 
professional norms of journalism by acting as a watchdog to the 
government while at the same time making profit. However, with the loss 
in revenues, this tension became more intense. Many media institutions 
cut costs and reduced the number of staff, which in consequence limited 
the ability of the media to act as a watchdog (McChesney & Nichols, 
2010; Pickard, 2011; Siles & Boczkowski, 2012; Starkman, 2014). 
Alternative economic models for mass media funding in a digital age, 
such as the public financing of the private press, are discussed 
controversially (Kiefer 2011, Schweizer & Puppis 2018). Conference 
contributions are asked to address commonalities and differences of 
economic challenges in the private and PSM sector and discuss 
alternative funding schemes. The question to what extent the nexus 
between economy and media quality is addressed in media strategies will 
be addressed. Technological innovations such as recommender systems 
allow for personalized user experience, audience interaction and may 
also foster participation as a core requirement of democracies.

3. At the content level, despite the described crisis in journalism, it 
has never been easier for the audience to receive and publish 
information, while at the same time it has never been more difficult to 
evaluate the quality of information gained. The number of digital media 
outlets, blogs and social media posts seems to be expanding 
continuously. However, the establishment of social networks has been 
accompanied by undesired developments such as the rise of hate speech, 
an increased influence of populist spin on the formation of public 
opinion (Sponholz 2018) and disinformation (Report of the High-Level 
Group on Fake News and online disinformation 2018). Paradoxically, while 
governments and regulators discuss how to hold social networks 
accountable, established and publicly funded media have become customers 
of these companies in the meantime, because they enable, for example, 
PSM to reach younger audiences in order to fulfil their public remit 
(Sehl, Cornia & Kleis Nielsen 2018). Conference contributions are asked 
to assess the online content, public value and the ethics of journalism 
in the digital media world. Contributions may inquire in how far the 
automatization of journalistic content is in the public interest and 
address advantages and disadvantages of personalized information. What 
kind of debates and measures are necessary to tackle the future of the 
public remit of media in general and PSM in particular?

4. On an international comparative level, it is important to analyze how 
different media systems adapt to the current changes in the media 
landscape. In the non-Western world, digitization causes different 
problems and advantages; e.g. in post-conflict and developing countries 
well-established regulation structures and strategies do not exist. 
Comparative research can shed light on the question, in how far the 
digital era challenges the establishment of regulation patterns in 
various countries and regions (Sousa et al. 2013). We welcome conference 
contributions that discuss the most pressing challenges and/or 
innovations for deliberation, political representation and participation 
in the media in international comparison. We further invite 
contributions that aim at identifying patterns of similarities and 
differences across countries concerning press freedom, media subsidies, 
and the framework in which media act.

This international conference, hence, aims to bring together scholars 
and practitioners working on a variety of theoretical, methodological 
and practical issues arising from the investigation of media policy and 
regulation in digital environments. Questions to be discussed during the 
conference should be rooted in theoretical approaches and at the same 
time inform these approaches to broaden not only the scope of research, 
but also deliver key factors and messages to media practitioners, policy 
makers and regulators. The conference especially welcomes international 
comparative research, but is not limited to it, as case studies may be 
crucial to understand trends. Also, proposals with a transnational 
perspective dealing with trends and topics crossing borders are welcome. 
The call is open to theoretical contributions as well as various 
empirical designs.

Conference organizers: Dr. Christine Horz (Ruhr University Bochum, 
(christine.horz /at/ rub.de)) and Dr. Julia Lönnendonker (Vrije Universiteit 
Brussels, (julia.loennendonker /at/ vub.be)).
Submissions and further inquiries via: (iic-conference2019 /at/ rub.de)


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