[Commlist] cfp: Emotional labour in media work

*Emotional labour in media work: trends, challenges, and opportunities *

28-29 April 2022, Middlesex University London


Abstract submission deadline: 1 March 2022

Abstracts are invited for a research symposium which is part of the 
project ‘Journalists’ emotional labour in the era of social media’, 
funded by theUK Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Emotional labour can be conceptualised as an effort to manage emotions 
which professional practitioners perceive as an integral part of their 
working life experience. In journalism it has primarily been 
investigated with reference to conflict and trauma reporting. More 
recently academic researchers have begun investigating the importance of 
emotions in journalism generally, but emotional labour more 
specifically. Current evidence suggests that journalism is an occupation 
characterised with high levels of emotional labour. Journalists use and 
manage emotions to motivate themselves for work. Emotions evoked at work 
can be intertwined with those from personal life. Indeed, work-related 
emotions can also be evoked outside of the story production process, for 
example in dealing with audiences and harassment, as well as being 
induced by working conditions (e.g., precarious pay, working hours, job 
insecurity), work relationships (e.g., within newsroom, with editors), 
the competitive nature of work, and so on. Importantly, there is 
evidence to suggest that if work-related emotions are not effectively 
managed, they can have negative consequences on journalists’ mental and 
physical health, job satisfaction, and the quality of the journalism 
being produced.

While papers investigating any aspect of journalists’ emotional labour 
are welcome, this symposium will provide an opportunity to widen the 
discussion of emotional labour beyond the scope of ‘Journalists’ 
emotional labour in the era of social media’ project, by broadening the 
discussion to consider this area of research more generally in the 
context of media work. There is some evidence that other types of media 
work might also be high emotional labour occupations, such as work with 
media photography, management of media outlets’ social media, stringer 
work etc.

Both theoretical and empirically informed papers are invited, focusing 
on topics such as (but not limited to):

- the causes and consequences of emotional labour in journalism and 
other media work
- the relationship between journalists’ freedom and safety and emotional 
labour
- emotional labour in the context of precarious employment in media
- the impact of covid-19 pandemic on media workers’ emotional labour
- the impact of social media on media workers’ emotional labour
- the impact of digital transformations on media workers’ emotional labour
- the relationship between media workers’ emotional labour and digital 
technologies
- emotional labour in areas such as photojournalism, camera work, 
directing, editing/post-production, stringer work, social media 
journalism, public relations etc.
- strategies for managing emotional labour in media work
- institutional/industry perspectives on media workers’ emotional labour
- support systems for media workers’ emotional labour


Abstracts of around 300 words should be sent to (m.simunjak /at/ mdx.ac.uk) by 
*1 March 2022*. Abstract notifications will be sent out by 10 March 2022.

Attendance is free. The panels for the research symposium will be held 
online on 28 April and a public roundtable on 29 April will be organised 
in a hybrid format, allowing for on-site and online participation. 
Tickets (free) for the*roundtable 'Dealing with online abuse in 
journalism'*can be booked here - https://bit.ly/3I9y2M4 
<https://bit.ly/3I9y2M4>

Opportunities for publishing selected papers in a journal special issue 
will be explored after the symposium.

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------