[Commlist] CFP: Reappraising UK local and community news media practice and policy

*CFP: Reappraising UK local and community news media practice and policy.*

Edited by: Rachel Matthews and David Harte

Abstract submission, 300 words: September 25th 2020

Full chapter submission, 5000 words: February 15th 2021

The landscape for local and community news media in the UK has been 
undergoing a period of rapid change in recent years in the wake of the 
disruption of traditional business models and the advent of diverse, 
entrepreneurial reactions to the spaces created. The impact of Covid-19 
on the local news landscape sees the prospect of an acceleration of 
changes already underway, with both commentators and governments 
concerned about the consequences of news ‘deserts’ opening up as large 
commercial news providers look to protect their business models by 
closing local titles and making journalists redundant. Do such changes 
offer routes for alternative models of sustaining local news? How might 
community media operations make the most of this moment or have 
audiences already migrated to networked spaces where rumour and 
conspiracy fill information gaps?

This volume, intended to be published as part of the Routledge 
*/Disruptions: Studies in Digital Journalism /*book series, seeks 
contributions that offer insights into the emergent local and community 
news media landscape and considers how policy responses that have begun 
to situate local news as an essential, subsidised public service might 
play out in different contexts. The editors wish to invite contributions 
that consider the role of local and regional television along with local 
and community radio, as well as print and local online news outlets.

An overview of areas which might be addressed include, but are not 
limited to, the implications of local and community media practices and 
policies for:

·Local democratic processes

·Social justice

·Information provision

·Local media ecosystems

·Community development

·Government policy – present and future

·Local minority ethnic media

·The regulatory environment

·Public subsidy

·Media entrepreneurs and emerging business models

·The local media workforce and platforms

·Alternative local and community media

·State policy interventions

·Interventions by technology platforms or companies

We are particularly interested in contributions that deal 
with government and industry policy and some of the contradictions and 
potential tensions therein (eg: the use of BBC and Facebook funding for 
local news reporters for local papers).

This volume is designed as a rapid response to changes in this area. We 
therefore invite abstracts of no more than 300 words by 25^th September 
2020. We will inform successful authors by 8^th October who will be 
invited to submit full chapters of 5,000 words by 15^th February 2021, 
pending contract.

Responses to (dave.harte /at/ bcu.ac.uk) <mailto:(dave.harte /at/ bcu.ac.uk)>

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