[Commlist] Call for Abstracts: Journalism Studies Symposium: Connecting to the Human

CALL FOR EXTENDED ABSTRACTS

Journalism Studies Symposium: Connecting to the Human

May 11, 2026 - Lisbon, Portugal


As digital tools, especially machine learning and artificial 
intelligence, have come to play a greater role in journalism practices, 
journalists and researchers have begun to reconsider the value of the 
human in journalism, whether the human touch in reporting, human 
connection, or a greater acknowledgement of the humanity of journalists 
and audiences. In this vein, researchers in journalism studies at the 
Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC) at the Universidade 
Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, invite submissions of extended abstracts 
for the symposium, “Journalism Studies: Connecting to the Human” to be 
held on May 11, 2026, with a keynote address by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, 
professor at the Cardiff University School of Journalism.

This symposium aims to bring together researchers, students, and 
journalists who are thinking about how journalists can connect or 
re-connect with the people and communities they are meant to serve, what 
aspects of journalistic work require a human element, and how 
journalists as human beings are affected by the work they do. The 
symposium is open to researchers who wish to present on topics relating 
to these and other issues related to the human/humanity in journalism.

Please submit an anonymized abstract of no more than 750 words (not 
including references) to (journsymposium /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(journsymposium /at/ gmail.com)> by January 12, 2026. Notifications of 
acceptance will be sent by mid-February 2026. Submissions may also be 
considered for inclusion in a poster session. Please note that the 
symposium will be held in person, and we cannot accommodate remote 
participation. Submissions from early-career researchers and Ph.D. and 
M.A. students are especially welcome. In the spirit of the theme of the 
symposium, we would like to emphasize that all abstracts should be 
original and human-authored.

Abstracts may address a number of topics within journalism studies, 
including, but not limited to:

- Humanitarian journalism

- Solutions journalism

- Journalism and human story-telling

- Human-machine connections

- Journalism and communities

- Mental health and well-being of journalists

- The role of empathy in journalism

- Journalism and humanity

- Local journalism

- Civic and participatory media

- Journalism and artificial intelligence and its rejection/backlash

- Misinformation, disinformation, junk news, and its effects

- Contemporary news audiences

- Genres and styles of journalistic writing

- Human judgement in journalism

- AI (slop) and human perceptions

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