[Commlist] Call for literature reviews for a special issue of Nordicom Review

Reminder: deadline for extended abstracts is coming up.

*Call for literature reviews for a special issue of Nordicom Review*

*Preliminary title: */What do We Know about Media, Communication, 
Journalism, and Democracy?/

*Editors:*

Magnus Fredriksson, Nordicom, (magnus.fredriksson /at/ nordicom.gu.se) 
<mailto:(magnus.fredriksson /at/ nordicom.gu.se)>

Johannes Bjerling, Nordicom, (johannes.bjerling /at/ nordicom.gu.se) 
<mailto:(johannes.bjerling /at/ nordicom.gu.se)>

*Important dates:*

  * *Deadline for extended abstracts:****9 February 2024***
  * Invitation to submit full paper: 26 February 2024
  * Deadline for full submissions: 27 September 2024
  * Peer review: October 2024 and onwards 
  * Expected publication: Early autumn 2025 

Nordicom invites authors to submit extended abstracts for a special 
issue of /Nordicom Review/. The Call is for literature reviews of 
research on media communication and journalism and their dependence and 
influence on democracy. Proposals should include relevance for the 
Nordic region.

*Background and aim*

Media, communication, and journalism are important elements of a 
well-functioning democracy, and at the same time a well-functioning 
democracy is in many ways a condition for dynamic media systems, 
independent journalism, and the rights to communicate freely and access 
information freely.

In response to this, research on media, communication, and journalism 
has always been focused on matters related to democracy – though all 
scholars don’t neccessarily put democracy at the forefront. However, 
irrespective of knowledge interest, theoretical position, or 
methodological approach, scholars interested in media use or effects, 
public discourses, media technologies, journalism, public opinion, or 
organised communication activities have frequently motivated their 
research with its implications and importance for politics and 
democracy. Accordingly, researchers of media, communication, and 
journalism have a long history of bringing important knowledge to society.

Recent developments in research with higher levels of specialisation and 
a strong tendency towards compartmentalisation have made it difficult to 
gain thorough overviews of the knowledge developments in research. This 
is a shortcoming that not only affects scholars’ abilities to gain valid 
overviews of their research domains, but it also influences the research 
community’s abilities to provide substantiated knowledge to society and 
to be policy relevant.

In tandem with recent developments in media systems, the circumstances 
for media production, the developments of communication technologies, 
and value transformations in the citizenry have increased the need for 
qualified and reliable knowledge. Particulary in a time when democracy 
is contested and contentious issues demand purposeful systems for 
knowledge distribution as well as arenas for open and inclusive public 
debates.

Bringing all this together, there is a call for scholars who will take 
responsibility for the collection, consolidation, and distribution of 
knowledge regarding media, communication, journalism – and democracy. 
This can be done in different ways, but to systematically produce and 
publish comprehensive and reliable research reviews is one that 
evidently can contribute to the research community, public debate, and 
policy formation.

For Nordicom, it is of relevance to provide a platform for this kind of 
work and to actively distribute it. To promote democratic values is part 
of our mission, and another is to actively contribute to the supply of 
science-based knowledge in media policy processes in the Nordic region. 
Thereby, our  activities and publications aim to strengthen and 
highlight Nordic perspectives in international media research. Here, 
Nordicom has a unique position at the interface between academia, 
industry, and politics and between Nordic and international levels.

*Topics*

The theme for the special issue is media, communication, and/or 
journalism, with emphasis on matters relevant for democracy. We aim for 
a collection of articles with a clear relevance for contemporary 
democracy in the Nordic region, and we will give priority to papers with 
a broader approach rather than a review with focus on a single theory or 
similar. The articles are expected to answer the question “What do we 
know about X?” The topics may include, but are not limited to, the 
following areas:

  * The effects of journalism, campaigns, and other forms of
    communication on voting behaviour, political participation, or other
    forms of political activities among the citizenry.
  * Openness and secrecy among actors with democratic relevance,
    including public administrations, corporations, and nongovernmental
    organisations.
  * Populism, racism, misogyny, polarisation, and disintegrative aspects
    of media, communication, and journalism.
  * Practices and discourses of disinformation, manipulation, and
    propaganda in public debates, journalism, and other contexts.
  * Communication activities, activism, advocacy, and strategies to gain
    political influence.
  * Journalism and communication in times of crises.
  * Institutional, professional, and organisational conditions for the
    production of media, communication, and journalism.
  * The role of and conditions for public service as well as local,
    national, and international media systems.
  * The technological, political, and economic, conditions for the
    production, distribution, and consumption of media, communication,
    and journalism.
  * Media literacy and the knowledge and abilities among the citizenry
    to gain, validate, and make use of information they gain in digital
    and analogue contexts.
  * The role of media, communication, and journalism in creating,
    maintaining, and disrupting trust for the institutions of democracy,
    including media, political actors, public administrations, and
    actors in civil society.
  * Censorship, regulation, and the autonomy of journalism.
  * The role of media, communication, and journalism in creating and
    maintaining (dis)integration in multicultural contexts
*The Nordic perspective *

The Nordic perspective implies that the articles should focus on an 
issue or a theme that is relevant given the conditions and circumstances 
that characterise democracy in the Nordic region as a whole or 
individual countries in the region. That is to say, the Nordic 
perspective doesn’t mean that the overviews should be limited to 
research conducted by scholars in the Nordic region or limited to 
research focusing on the Nordic region. The Nordic relevance is to be 
made explicit and discussed in the article.

*Types of reviews*

There are a number of different types of literature reviews – from 
highly formalised methods that seek to systematically search for, 
appraise, and synthesise research evidence to less-formalised approaches 
which provide assessments of current literature regarding a theme or domain.

For this issue, we welcome all types of reviews, but we expect all to 
focus on empirical research. In addition, all contributions must include 
a discussion regarding the following:

  * Search strategies and an argument for why certain keywords and
    sources have been included or excluded throughout the search process.
  * Selection criteria and a discussion of what material the authors
    have decided to include and exclude in the review
  * An overall assessment of the overview’s quality, strengths, and
    shortcomings.
*Procedure*

Those with an interest in contributing should write an extended abstract 
(max. 750 words excluding references) where the subject is described. In 
addition to this, the abstract should include a discussion about how the 
article fits with the overall theme, how the Nordic perspective is made 
relevant, and what type of review the authors will apply.

Send your extended abstract by 9 February 2024 to (editors /at/ nordicom.gu.se) 
<mailto:(editors /at/ nordicom.gu.se)>and include in the subject line: 
“Submission to special issue”.

Scholars invited to submit a full manuscript (6,000–8,000 words 
excluding references) will be notified by e-mail after the abstracts 
have been assessed. All submissionsshould be original works and must not 
be under consideration by other publishers.

*Contact*

Questions about the special issue and the related workshop can be 
addressed to Magnus Fredriksson: (magnus.fredriksson /at/ nordicom.gu.se) 
<mailto:(magnus.fredriksson /at/ nordicom.gu.se)>

*About /Nordicom Review/*

/Nordicom Review/ adheres to a rigorous double-blind reviewing policy, 
and articles are published Open Access with no processing charges for 
authors. /Nordicom Review /includes research with relevance for the 
Nordic context and welcomes interdisciplinary submissions from a 
worldwide authorship.

Read more about Nordicom Review here:
https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/nordicom-review 
<https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/nordicom-review>

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