[ecrea] CFP Special issue in New Media & Society: Truth, facts, and fake: The shifting epistemologies of news in a digital age

CALL FOR PAPERS

Special issue of New Media & Society and related online workshop

Truth, facts, and fake: The shifting epistemologies of news in a digital age


Co-editors:

Mats Ekström, University of Gothenburg

Seth C. Lewis, University of Oregon

Oscar Westlund, University of Gothenburg


Tentative timeline:�

* Abstract submission deadline: Monday, October 2, 2017�

* Notification on submitted abstracts: Friday, October 20, 2017

* Online workshop focusing on the special issue theme: in early February 
2018

* Article submission deadline: Thursday, March 1, 2018


Verified, fact-based information is presumed to be an important feature 
in society, for citizens individually and for democratic governance as a 
whole. During much the 20th century, legacy news media enjoyed a 
prominent position in attempting to fulfill that role, reporting on 
happenings near and far. Journalists professionalized over time, 
developing standards, norms, methods, and networks of sources that 
enabled them to make knowledge claims. Such epistemological 
practices—presumed to provide factual and reliable public 
information—have made journalism one of the most influential 
knowledge-producing institutions in society.

However, both slow and sudden changes are challenging the role of 
journalism in society. There is an ongoing but gradual shift from legacy 
media to digital media. On the one hand, this shift has opened new 
pathways for news access and distribution across an array of 
platforms—social, mobile, apps, and the like. On the other hand, this 
shift has generally undercut the business models of legacy news media 
organizations, resulting in the weakening and downsizing of newsrooms 
and the fragmenting of collective audiences for news—altogether raising 
questions about the continued viability of journalism to produce 
reliable information. Meanwhile, the more sudden change in the 
information landscape is the rapid expansion of actors that, in some 
cases, are intent on providing “alternative facts” or otherwise 
questioning the accounts of news media. This comes at a moment when many 
people, particularly in developed countries, appear to have little 
confidence in the press. While some of these sources seek to verify 
facts in a journalistic fashion, others pursue a deliberate strategy of 
disinformation for political or financial purposes. The success of such 
“fake news” has led to widespread debate about what some are calling a 
“post-truth” era.

Altogether, these developments point to many opportunities for research 
and theory. A general question concerns how the epistemologies of 
journalism—knowledge claims, norms, and practices—are shaped by the 
changes and challenges in digital news production. How do journalists 
know what they know, and how are their knowledge claims articulated and 
justified? To understand the destabilization of the epistemic status of 
journalism articulated in current debates, what is needed are empirical 
studies, historical explanations, and theoretical developments. 
Moreover, it is essential to better understand how news consumers 
perceive news, “fake” or otherwise; e.g., how do they evaluate and act 
upon such claims? Citizens also need media literacy skills to assess the 
quality of information; what constitutes such literacy, and how does it 
respond to the knowledge conditions of the contemporary digital 
environment? As a response to the rise of fake news, several groups have 
mobilized to investigate information. The functioning and implications 
of such mobilizations (such as fact-checking movements), as well as 
digital media tools that aid citizens and professionals in verifying 
information, are important to analyze to develop our understanding of 
the production and consumption of more or less verified and non-verified 
information in a changing news media landscape.

For this special issue, the guest editors welcome two kinds of article 
submissions: theoretically informed and empirically rigorous articles 
(using quantitative, qualitative, computational, and/or mixed methods), 
as well as conceptualizations involving systematic and relevant 
literature reviews. Contributors may address issues including, but not 
limited to, the following:

* The epistemology of different forms of journalism—such as data 
journalism, which conveys news through the analysis and visualization of 
numerical data, and participatory journalism, which involves audiences 
and communities in news construction;

* Knowledge-oriented norms, values, and practices applied when 
publishing and distributing news, accordingly to varying socio-cultural, 
political, organizational, and technological contexts;

* The shifting networks of sources on which journalists and other 
information professionals rely;

* The discursive construction of “truth” and “facts” in the context of 
news production, distribution, and consumption;

* Notions of “fake news,” “post-truth,” and related controversies 
brought to light by the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and which are 
applicable also in many other countries and contexts;

* The knowledge-oriented practices of news consumers as they encounter 
purportedly "fake news" and propaganda online (and, by extension, 
questions of and conceptualizations for media literacy);

* Verification on/for social media as well as related forms of 
technologically driven means of information assessment;

* Perceptions and practices of professional footage vis-à-vis amateur 
footage, including issues of authenticity and authority;

* The formation, vision, and practices of initiatives, groups or 
organizations working toward identifying “fake news,” on behalf of 
professionals, the public or both;

* Comparative perspectives on news consumers and their relative trust in 
different forms of media processes and products;

* The development, appropriation, and use of technological systems and 
tools for verification.

�Information about submission:

�Proposals should include the following: an abstract of 500-750 words 
(not including references) as well as background information on the 
author(s), including an abbreviated bio that describes previous and 
current research that relates to the special issue theme. Please submit 
your proposal as a PDF to the e-mail address 
(ekstrom.lewis.westlund /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(ekstrom.lewis.westlund /at/ gmail.com)> no later than Monday, October 
2, 2017. Later that month, by October 20, authors will be notified 
whether their abstract has been selected, and consequently if they will 
be encouraged to develop and submit an article for peer review.

Please note: Authors whose abstracts are shortlisted for full-paper 
submission to the special issue also will be committing to take part in 
an online workshop, hosted by the University of Gothenburg, to be held 
in early February 2018. This experimental approach will allow for the 
sharing and commenting on drafts as well as the discussion of more 
general theoretical issues, future research opportunities, and 
networking among scholars. Live sessions will be held for portions of 
two days, in addition to a week period for open commenting and 
discussion. Further details will be conveyed to shortlisted authors.

Finally, full articles will be due Thursday, March 1, 2018, for full 
blind review, in accordance with the journal's peer-review procedure.


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