[Commlist] CFP: Research Network 18: Sociology of Communications and Media Research

European Sociological Association

Research Network 18: Sociology of Communications and Media Research

in cooperation with the University of Bucharest, Romania

ESA RN18 Mid-Term Conference

Digital transformation, media and social inequalities

Bucharest, 25-26 January 2024

Call for papers

Recent technological developments and transformations in media and 
communication require a global reflection on their effects and outcomes 
on society, democracy and business. The platformisation process with its 
institutional dimensions: data infrastructures, markets and governance 
(Poell, Nieborg & van Dijck, 2019) led to new business models and 
relationships between social, market and political actors. Journalism as 
an institution has been under question for over a decade or even two 
(Deuze, 2020) as the news industry is declining. Journalism as a 
profession strives to retain or regain the people’s trust. With its 
recent advances artificial intelligence is seen as a threat or a chance 
for humanity. The AI’s impact on the media and communication sector is 
open for debate. Is it a threat or an asset for professional practice? 
At the same time, the hybridisation of communication professions – 
roughly defined as a mixture of journalistic and public relations and 
advertising&marketing practices in the digital context – adds new 
challenges in maintaining a fair and democratic public sphere and 
ensuring equal access to quality information.

Our focus is to foster an open academic debate on broad themes related 
to the outcomes of digital transformation in contemporary media and 
communication. We encourage contributions that adhere to the critical 
sociology perspective.

ESA RN18 calls for contributions that in particular, but not 
exclusively, addressed to any of the

following topics:

·Market dominance, monopoly, and control through digital technology.

·Possibilities and limits of current regulatory regimes of digital 
platforms in liberal democracies.

·Media and communication professions: transformations, configurations, 
and challenges.

·Digital communication: computational propaganda and democracy, fake 
news, nationalism, illiberal parties and movements.

·Audiences’ vulnerability in social media – the impact of gender, social 
class, age and other identity categories.

The abstract (300 words) will contain the author’s/authors’ details, the 
study’s purpose, research questions, employed methodology or approach, 
(potential) results, and references.

The deadline for abstract submission is the^5th of November 2023, at the 
address: (conference /at/ fjsc.ro) <mailto:(conference /at/ fjsc.ro)>

Participation fee (includes lunch and coffee breaks): 90 Euros (ESA 
members and PhD students), 120 Euros (non-ESA members).

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