[ecrea] deadline cfp "New media, audience and emotional connectivity" extended to January 11th 2013

-Second Call For Papers-
New media, audience and emotional connectivity

Special Issue of "Sociedad de la Información"
(ISSN: 1578-326X - D.L. AB 293-2001)
http://www.sociedadelainformacion.com/

Deadline for abstracts extended until January 11th 2013.


Guest Editor:
Hada M. Sánchez Gonzales (Universidad de Sevilla, España; COST Action 
ISO906 - WG2)


I. Introduction

The technological development of the Internet has revolutionized our 
understanding of the world of communication and information. This 
special issue aims to reflect on one specific aspect, namely the 
emotional / affective dimensions of the reconfigured relationship 
between audiences and journalists.

One of the consequences of the new media configuration is that audience 
members have become "media watchdogs" and are intensifying their impact 
on traditional media. Also journalism has not remained immune for the 
innovations brought about by Web 2.0, and more specifically social 
media. The explosion of a real time web has allowed media enterprises to 
be known differently in the Network and has led to a more direct 
relationship with the user.

This call for papers focuses on the affective dimension of this altered 
relationship, investigating how audience members and journalists 
experience, produce and maintain emotional connections, and how this 
affective dimension structures their relationships. Also the (affective 
dimension of the) entrepreneurial experiences by journalists and 
audience members will be analyzed, as will be the ways these emotional 
connections are anchored in specific values and practices, such as 
empathy, orientation towards service, establishment of links with 
others, organizational awareness, collaboration, etc.

II. Sub topics:

1. Connection between the audience and the journalist

The audience has developed from an "ignorant mass" to a "smart crowd" 
and has developed into the "fifth power". It started to play a more 
proactive role in the construction of information (this is for instance 
the case of "Periodismohumano", "Etiqueta Negra", "Demotix" etc.), the 
public agenda and even in the search for political solutions (for 
instance at the local level). Audience members are now looking for 
information, deciding what kind of information they need to be provided 
with and what it wants to see reported. This implies that journalists 
must be aware that the audience has become a media watchdog (that is the 
case of "Propublica"), for instance, affecting the quality of the 
information.

Audience participation has become hard to avoid for journalism, which 
has generated the need to study the emotional connection between 
audiences and journalists (and more broader: communication 
professionals). Dealing with audience members requires specific skills, 
which are also (at least partially) located within the emotional domain. 
For instance, adaptation, readiness to dialogue, patience and 
credibility are qualities that communication professionals might need, 
facing an audience which has become more involved and is still sensitive 
to facts. But also audience members experience specific emotions in 
dealing with, not only other audience members, but also communication 
professionals. More research is needed on the affects that enable them 
to work together, to be committed to a joint project, to enjoy mutual 
identifications and to be anchored in an orientation towards service and 
dialogue, keeping in mind that the Social Web has just begun to develop 
and that traditional media are adjusting quickly. Also more negative 
affects, such as feelings of powerless, disrespect and manipulation 
could/should also be included in the analyses.


2. New media, entrepreneurial experiences and audience

Habits and, consequently, audience reactions keeps on evolving when we 
are looking at consumption and production within the domain of 2.0 
platforms. This does not only apply to participatory processes and the 
direct use (or exploitation) of the content but also to the emotional 
connection that is established in, for instance, social media, because 
social media content and practices respond to audience members' 
interests and facilitate interaction with others. Again, affect matters, 
because our actions are structurally linked with our emotions.

The contemporary media landscape is encouraging journalists to assume 
new roles, provoked by the incursion of new formats and the labor 
crisis. To do this, journalists have to deal with experiences on two 
levels: technological/thematic experiences and entrepreneurial 
experiences. This subtopic focuses on the affective dimension of the 
latter, namely the journalists' experiences with and within the 
(changing) media enterprise itself (in dealing more intensively with 
audience members). Secondly, this subtopic also deals with the affective 
dimension of the entrepreneurial experiences of audience members 
themselves, and how they relate to media enterprises.

III. Deadlines

First     January 11 th- 2013
    (maximum) 600 word abstract.

Second    January 31th- 2013
    Notifications of acceptance.

Third    March 26th- 2013
    Full manuscript submission.

Fourth    June 25th - 27th- 2013
    Notifications of acceptance/suggestions.

Fifth    Octuber- 2013
    Publication in "Sociedad de la Información".


IV. Submissions

Submission (abstracts and full manuscript), in English, should be sent 
electronically as Word documents to Hada Sánchez (email: (misago /at/ us.es))

If you have any queries regarding the suitability of your potential 
contribution or any other inquiries, please contact the guest editor:
Hada Sánchez (email: (misago /at/ us.es))


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