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@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@us.es)