[Commlist] Call for Chapters - International Handbook of Journalistic Source Protection

*Call for Chapters*

*International Handbook of Journalistic Source Protection*


Dr Gergely Gosztonyi (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary) and Paul A. Obi 
(Baze University, Nigeria) invite abstracts for the proposal of a 
comprehensive book on the International Handbook of Journalistic Source 
Protection to be published by one of the top-ranked academic publishers 
in the field. The crisis and challenge of journalistic source protection 
remains one nebulous, hazy and unresolved puzzle in journalism, media 
law, communication and legal jurisprudence worldwide, including North 
America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. Considering 
the growing threats to journalism, democratic press and media practices 
around the globe (Olesen 2023) amid an avalanche of disruption of the 
information and media ecosystem, the International Handbook of 
Journalistic Source Protection seeks to extrapolate, explore and 
underpin the critical intersections and scope around the world revolving 
around the onerous task of news source protection in journalism and 
media. The International Handbook of Journalistic Source Protection 
intends to broaden the scholarly and intellectual discourse centred on 
the contentious and asymmetric issues bordering on the rights of 
journalists and media organisations to source protection (Arroyo, 2024).

The handbook aims to streamline and blend contemporary topics and fields 
relative to journalistic source protection, expounding the crisscrossing 
multidisciplinary fields of journalism, media and communication studies, 
media law, law and legal studies, democracy, the press, surveillance and 
the digital world. This has become imperative given the lack of a 
sufficient corpus of work that aggregates all the contours of 
journalistic source protection nationally, subnationally, 
transnationally, and globally. Despite research on the subject matter, 
Danbury & Townend (2019) argued that notwithstanding claims of 
legislation for journalistic safeguard and protection of news sources, 
impediments to such rights abound and remain pervasive, even within 
European jurisprudence.

Critically, the handbook is meant to fill that research gap, 
contextualising and interrogating the salient issues of journalistic 
source protection within the prisms of journalism, media, law and other 
legal jurisprudence (Baljija & Min 2023). The handbook promises to be a 
single-fold and a one-stop shop collection of all the nitty-gritty about 
the topical issue of source protection in journalism and beyond. To the 
very degree of its wide coverage and global reach, it is anticipated to 
be an assemblage and a pool of expertise in the field.

This handbook will be a critical work of art that will serve as an 
amalgam of scholarly and practical engagements of divergent research 
audiences ranging from academics, jurists, researchers, journalists, 
media organisations, undergraduate and postgraduate students, lawyers 
and legal practitioners, law courts, civil society organisations and 
NGOs working on the protection of journalistic rights/sources, 
policymakers, lawmakers, United Nations, UNESCO, state officials, 
experts/researchers on surveillance and digital censorship.

**

**

*Conceptual Themes/Sub-Themes*

Some of the themes, concepts and issues that we invite scholars 
to propose chapters for the book on the following topics (the list is 
not exhaustive):

*Part I. Theory and Concepts I: Source Protection as a Shield for a 
Democratic Press*

·Journalists and Source Protection

·The Challenges of Protecting/Shielding Journalistic Sources

·Public Interest to Know and News Source Protection

·Source Protection in the Age of Terror

*Part II. Theory and Concepts II: Source Protection Jurisprudence: Legal 
Rights and Particulars of Law*

·Proportionality Test

·Permissible Boundaries for Abrogation

·Confidentiality, Privacy and Anonymity Rights

·Exploration of Particulars of Law

*Part III. Litigations and Case Studies Around the World*

·Western/Liberal Democracies Case Studies

·Global South and Emerging Democracies Case Studies

·Authoritarian and Hybrid Regimes Case Studies

*Part IV. Whistleblowing, Censorship and Surveillance *

·Whistleblowing: Approaches, Risks and Contexts

·Censorship of Journalism Sources

·How Digital Technology, Surveillance Undercut Source Protection

*Part V. International Conventions on Source Protections*

·United Nations

·UN Human Rights Council

·UNESCO

·European Court of Human Rights

·African Commission on Human and People’s Rights

·Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

·Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)


*Length & Features*

We warmly invite all interested scholars of all levels (R1-R4) to send 
us proposals. Only original and well-researched materials/chapters will 
be considered; manuscripts must be between 5000–7000 words count maximum 
(including references). Detailed and broader information on submitting 
images and full manuscripts will be made available alongside the 
notification of abstracts’ results.


*Further Details & Review Process*

October 31, 2024

	

Call for Chapters Sent Out

*December 19, 2024*

	

*Deadline for 250–400 Words Abstracts (excluding References & Keywords)*

January 31, 2025

	

Notification on Abstracts’ Results

May 30, 2025

	

Submission of Full Chapters. Once all Chapters are Received, a Double 
Anonymised Review Will Follow Suit

Aug 29, 2025

	

Completion of review Process; Authors will be Notified of the Revisions

October 17, 2025

	

Revised Manuscripts to be Returned to the Editor(s)

January 30, 2026

	

Planned Publication Date


*Abstract Submission Guidelines*

Abstracts should include a brief bio for every author (max. 250 words 
with titles, affiliations and contacts) in one (1) single document. The 
proposals should be sent by e-mail to Dr Gergely Gosztonyi 
((gosztonyi /at/ ajk.elte.hu) <mailto:(gosztonyi /at/ ajk.elte.hu)>) by December 19, 
2024 with the title “International Handbook of Journalistic Source 
Protection”.

The e-mail should also contain the following information as well:

·Title of Abstract

·Name of Author(s), Affiliation(s) & Contact(s)

·250–400 Words Abstract (excluding References & Keywords)

·4–6 Keywords


---------------
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/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------