[Commlist] Call for Papers: 'Methods, Measures and Theory in Health Journalism'

Call for Papers: Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies

Special Issue: 'Methods, Measures and Theory in Health Journalism'

The Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studiesinvites original 
research articles for a Special Issue on health journalism. We seek 
contributions that improve methodological rigor, measurement clarity and 
theoretical innovation, while maintaining the journal’s mission to 
connect media research with real-world journalistic practice.

View the full call here>>

https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-applied-journalism-media-studies#call-for-papers 
<https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-applied-journalism-media-studies#call-for-papers>

Background

In recent years, health journalism has risen to the centre of global 
public discourse. From the pandemic to the persistent challenges of 
chronic illnesses, misinformation and climate-related health crises, the 
role of journalists in mediating science and public understanding has 
never been more critical. Researchers have examined health news coverage 
across multiple contexts (such as politics, law, technology, society, 
media) demonstrating that journalistic practice not only informs but 
also shapes risk perceptions, trust in institutions and ultimately, 
health behaviors. Yet, despite the growth in this area, significant 
methodologicaland theoreticalchallenges remain.

To address this gap, this Special Issue adopts a three-pronged approach.

 1.

    First, methodological fragmentation continues to block the
    cumulative development of knowledge. While some studies rely on
    traditional content analysis to capture media frames, others employ
    qualitative ethnographies of health journalists or quantitative
    audience experiments. More recently, computational approaches such
    as topic modeling, sentiment analysis and natural language
    processing have expanded the field’s capacity to analyse large
    corpora of health news texts. However, the integration of these
    approaches is uneven, and cross-national comparative research, which
    is critical for understanding global disparities in health
    communication, remains limited.

 2.

    Second, the measurement of journalistic quality, accuracy and impact
    remains underdeveloped. Existing coding schemes often privilege
    Western notions of objectivity, failing to capture contextual
    variations in how health is reported in the Global South. The
    development of robust and validated measures, whether for coding
    misinformation, assessing narrative structures or assessing audience
    trust in health journalism, is urgently needed. Without stronger
    measurement, it is difficult to evaluate the role of journalism in
    improving health literacy or countering disinformation.

 3.

    Third, there are unresolved theoretical questions about how health
    journalism exerts influence in diverse societies. Traditional
    theories such as agenda-setting and framing remain widely applied,
    yet their explanatory power is limited in communities where media
    ecosystems are fragmented and algorithmically mediated. Emerging
    frameworks such as narrative persuasion, exemplification, moral
    foundations theory and media systems dependency offer new
    opportunities, but these have rarely been systematically tested in
    health journalism contexts. A stronger theoreticalfoundation is
    essential for bridging the gap between journalistic practice and
    public health outcomes.

This Special Issue responds to these gaps by focusing on methods, 
measures and theoryin health journalism. By bringing together 
interdisciplinary contributions, from computational communication 
science and psychology to sociology, media studies and public health, it 
seeks to establish a more overarching research agenda. We welcome 
submissions that not only apply novel methodological tools but also 
critically reflect on their implications for journalistic practice and 
audience responses.

In doing so, the Special Issue positions Journal of Applied Journalism & 
Media Studiesat the forefront of global debates on health journalism. At 
a time when the legitimacy of journalism is under strain and public 
health communication faces unprecedented challenges, the journal is 
uniquely placed to advance debate that bridges academic research and the 
lived realities of journalists and audiences worldwide.

To sum, this Special Issue welcomes submissions from both academics and 
media practitioners on topics related (but not limited) to:

  *

    Research Methods: Articles using mixed-methods, computational text
    analysis (e.g. topic modeling, sentiment analysis), ethnographic
    newsroom studies, audience surveys or experiments, usability testing
    of health reporting tools and cross-national comparative designs.

  *

    Measurement & Validation: Development or critique of coding
    frameworks for journalistic accuracy, trust-in-media scales, health
    literacy assessment instruments, narrative/emotional framing indices
    or misinformation quantification metrics.

  *

    Theoretical Contributions: Application or refinement of
    agenda-setting, framing, health belief model, risk communication
    theory, moral foundations, media systems dependency or narrative
    persuasion theories in the context of health journalism.

  *

    Methodological Innovations: Use of machine learning/NLP for
    analysing large health news corpora, psychophysiological approaches
    (e.g. eye-tracking) to audience engagement, social network analyses
    of information dissemination or action research involving journalists.

Timeline

  *

    Abstract submission deadline (300–500 words): 15December 2025

  *

    Notification of acceptance: 15 January 2026

  *

    Full manuscript submission: 15 June 2026

  *

    First revision due: 15 September 2026

  *

    Second revision due: 15 December 2026

  *

    Final decision: 15 February 2027

  *

    Approximate release: Spring/Summer 2027

Guidelines

Please submit the abstract along with the link to authors’ ORCID to the 
editors of the Special Issue at (s.hussain /at/ sharjah.ac.ae) 
<mailto:(s.hussain /at/ sharjah.ac.ae)>and (flatif /at/ gwu.edu) 
<mailto:(flatif /at/ gwu.edu)>. Please write in the subject line: ‘Health 
Journalism Special Issue: Your Study title’. Acceptance of the abstracts 
does not guarantee publication of the articles. Full articles will be 
subject to double-blind peer review. Please consult the journal’s 
website for submission format, word counts, referencing style and 
layout: 
https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-applied-journalism-media-studies 
<https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-applied-journalism-media-studies>

Special Issue Editors

Dr Syed Ali Hussain is a health and intercultural communication 
researcher currently serving as assistant professor at the College of 
Communication in University of Sharjah, UAE. Email: 
(s.hussain /at/ sharjah.ac.ae) <mailto:(s.hussain /at/ sharjah.ac.ae)>.

Dr Farah Latif is a communication and reputation management consultant 
and serves as a professional lecturer in the Department of 
Organizational Sciences and Communication at the George Washington 
University, USA. Email: (flatif /at/ gwu.edu) <mailto:(flatif /at/ gwu.edu)>.

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