[ecrea] ECREA 2018 Preconference - Call for Papers: Dissolving Boundaries of Hybrid Journalism

ECREA 2018 Preconference - Call for Papers: Dissolving Boundaries of
Hybrid Journalism (Extended deadline)



https://ecrea2018hybridjournalism.wordpress.com/

In 2013, Arianna Huffington wrote about the future of journalism: “The
future will definitely be a hybrid one, combining the best practices of
traditional journalism –  fairness, accuracy, storytelling, deep
investigations – with the best tools available to the digital world –
speed, transparency, and, above all, engagement.” As journalism becomes
increasingly networked and participatory – produced by different actors,
professionals and amateurs alike, with different backgrounds,
intentions, forms, discourses and genres, and often grounded on
diverging norms – new types of /hybrid journalism/ arise. On the one
hand, this trend towards hybrid forms of journalism transcends
traditional and monolithic conceptions of journalism, making the already
difficult task to define journalism even less straightforward. On the
other hand, it enables new forms of journalistic truth-telling (Baym,
2017) at the intersection of journalism, storytelling and activism.
Therefore, this pre-conference wants to explore, discuss and shed light
on the different types and forms of hybrid journalism, what hybridity
actually means and what consequences it entails for news work.

Scholars like Carlson (2015, 2016) or Lewis (2012, see also Carlson &
Lewis, 2015) have shown that the boundaries of journalism are more and
more contested as journalists are forced to renegotiate the space
between producers and users in a digital environment characterized by
high choice (Van Aelst et al., 2017) and a participatory culture
(Jenkins, 2013). The established news production with its specific set
of epistemological beliefs is thus confronted with new actors and
professional roles such as data journalists, hackers, cybersecurity
experts, activists or whistleblowing platforms that turn journalism into
an ambiguous term. These circumstances might result in tensions over
definitions of journalism or it spheres of influence as cultures, role
conceptions, epistemologies, norms and educational paths increasingly
differ. However, they can also entail wilful attempts of boundary
crossing (Beckett & Mansell, 2008), for instance through
institutionalized collaborations between newsrooms and whistleblowing
platforms, making the boundaries even more porous.

The preconference aims at exploring uncovered and new forms of hybrid
journalism in order to map potential instances of boundary crossing or
dissolving boundaries in the field*. *Overall, the preconference wants
to challenge conventional and oversimplifying concepts of journalism,
particularly with regard to the use of data. Hybrid journalism requires
us to rethink theories about how to define journalism, and some of its
most central notions such as autonomy, collaboration, objectivity, the
separation of news and entertainment or the separation between fact and
fiction (or disinformation). This preconference wants therefore to
discuss, with a specific emphasis on the role of data-driven journalism,
cybersecurity and the role of coders/hackers in the newsroom, the
different kinds of hybrid journalism, what hybrid journalism actually
means and what consequences it entails for news work. In addition we
would like to explore collaborative news production between journalists
and actors outside the established journalistic field, and how they
shape the culture(s) of journalism. We also encourage scholars to submit
papers that cover non-Western countries, given that hybrid journalism
can also be observed in countries such as China (Dai, 2013).

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  * The role of data-driven reporting in shaping the journalistic culture
  * The borderline between activism and journalism
  * Hybrid journalism and investigative journalism
  * The importance of cybersecurity for and its impact on journalism
  * Alternative technologies and networks for reporting and news-making
  * The consequences of dissolving boundaries and shifting norms for
journalistic authority
  * Ethical challenges of hybrid journalism
  * The amalgamation of pop culture and news reporting
  * The consequences for newsmaking of different role conceptions of
actors participating in th networked news production
  * Specific genres of hybrid journalism
  * Hybrid forms of journalism and advertising
  * The organizational implementation of hybrid journalism

The preconference would like to bring together researchers from
different backgrounds. Also experts from outside academia are welcome,
particularly in order to foster the discussion between scholars and
practitioners on hybrid forms of journalism. In addition, the
preconference wants to bring together young and established scholars.
Consequently, we specifically encourage submissions from young and
emerging scholars, particularly from the YECREA network.

Abstracts of 500 words should be sent to (hybridjournalism2018 /at/ gmail.com)
by 20 May, 2018. The abstracts should include the main idea/argument,
research questions, a short literature review and/or theoretical
perspectives, information on methodology and empirical findings (if
relevant). Again, we welcome all different kinds of approaches,
including discussions of literature, concepts and theories, historical
perspectives and empirical analyses. All submitted abstracts must be
anonymous with no reference to authors. Please include your names,
affiliations and contact details either in the mail or in a separate
attachment. All submissions will be blindly peer-reviewed and acceptance
notifications will be sent out on June 11, 2018.

The preconference will take place 31 October, 2018, in Lugano, Switzerland.

Organizing committee:

Dr. Colin Porlezza, University of Zurich

Philip Di Salvo, Università della Svizzera italiana

More information can be found at:
https://ecrea2018hybridjournalism.wordpress.com/

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