[Commlist] CFP: Digital Platforms and Democracy: Journalism and Political Communication in a World of Polycrisis

Corrected Call for Papers/Extended deadline for abstract submission



Digital Platforms and Democracy:

Journalism and Political Communication in a World of Polycrisis



We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for presentations at the 
forthcoming

international conference entitled “Digital Platforms and Democracy: 
Journalism and

Political Communication in a World of Polycrisis”, which will be held in 
November 2-5,

2023, in Athens, Greece. The conference is organized by:

• Advanced Media Institute

• “Communication and New Journalism” MA program, Open University of Cyprus

• School of Law, University of Nicosia

• Media Studies Program, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

• Department of Digital Media and Communication, Ionian University

• Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Cyprus University of 
Technology



Conference Theme & Topics

In principle, having as many opportunities as possible for everyone to 
be "heard" in the public space would enhance meaningful discussion and 
deliberation in digital interactive environments, contributing to the 
deepening of democratic norms and values, by fostering the development 
of robust global digital publics, in which everyone has a voice.

However, humanity and democracy are currently in a major crisis and 
digitalization mediates this crisis. It is hard to question the upsurge 
of extremist public discourse, political flaming and hate speech, 
aggression in the expression of online opinions, the constant battle 
against the intractable problem of misinformation and disinformation, 
the propagation of conspiracy theories and the incitement to violence 
and facilitation of all types and forms of radicalization in digital 
spaces - phenomena that contaminate the current media ecosystem and 
society at large. The proliferation and, to a large extent, the 
normalization of toxic, harmful or abusive content is mediated and 
largely assisted by modern digital platforms, which are being leveraged 
or often weaponized by actors with diverse political agendas.

Against this background, the immediacy of digital communication has 
altered journalists’ roles and the position they often assume over any 
current issue. The challenge to go for “now” has proved overwhelming; 
double-checking or even checking has fallen prey to this. If combined 
with the long-standing appeal of image as opposed to text, with all the 
slippage that angle or focus under pressure can bring along, little room 
is left for reliable news reporting.

Additionally, the retreat of the traditional media business model, along 
with the constraints digital media have been working under, has pushed 
journalists to venture at the wilderness of social media and 
owner-operated sites and/or blogs. Initially experienced as 
freedom-of-expression havens, they have often brought about a hard 
landing to receding journalistic standards. The effort to get on-board 
some sort of sponsored content and/or much-needed advertisement has had 
a detrimental impact on editorial decisions and the overall quality of 
new content.

What is the role of Journalism in the current environment, which is 
being shaped by the internet, social media and personalized practices of 
information generation, reproduction and dissemination?

How can media be empowered to fulfil its normatively ascribed roles in 
society and strengthen democracy in digital spaces? What are the 
challenges to media’s roles in defining and management of issues?

In which way can digital media be organized so that they behave in the 
wider public interest or for the good of society as a whole? How can 
journalists provide a platform for truthful and comprehensible public 
political discourse, facilitating the formation of conductive ‘public 
opinion’?

How can citizens be properly informed in an environment that is flooded 
with diverse and unverified media content?



The conference themes speak to the past, present and future, as a 
reflection of the role of media and journalism in the 21st century. We 
invite theoretical, methodological, and empirical

submissions that address the following themes, in an effort to spark 
meaningful conversations and probe multiple perspectives about the 
challenges facing democracy today. We hope that

our discussions will help set a stepping stone for both academics and 
professional journalists to reflect on the ideal types of journalism 
practice in the current digital media environment as we continue to 
encounter challenges to and transformations of our digital media landscapes.


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