Cost CFP: New media, audience and emotional connectivity

-Call For Papers-

Special Issue of "Sociedad de la Información"
(ISSN: 1578-326X - D.L. AB 293-2001)
http://www.sociedadelainformacion.com/

New media, audience and emotional connectivity

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 they want to see reported. This implies that journalists must be aware that the audience has become a media watchdog (as is the case with for instance "Propublica"), 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: between audiences and 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 Phase - December 17th 2012 - (maximum) 600 word abstract.
Second Phase - January 16th-17th 2012 - Notifications of acceptance.
Third Phase - March 25th 2013 - Full manuscript submission.
Fourth Phase - June 26th-27th 2013 - Notifications of acceptance/suggestions.
Fifth Phase - October 2013 - Publication in "Sociedad de la Información".

IV. Submissions

The submission (abstracts and full manuscript), in English, should be sent electronically, as Word document, 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)

V. Guidelines for Authors

For specific manuscript submission guidelines:

Manuscript Preparation

1. Review and Publication Process

For abstract: The reviewers' will carry out an initial review for the abstract received in order to ascertain whether they comply with the minimum quality requirements.

Paper is sent to 2 reviewers for review. The reviewers' recommendations determine whether a paper will be accepted / accepted subject to change / subject to resubmission with significant changes / rejected.

For papers which require changes, the same reviewers will be used to ensure that the quality of the revised paper is acceptable.

2. Content and Structure:

The following information should also be provided:

For abstract

- Name of the author/s
- Institution
- Country
- Email Address

-Paper title
-Abstract: Should not exceed 600 words. Should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions (Should be in 11-point Arial, line space 1,5 justified-alignment).
-Keywords: Select 5 to 6 words or phrases.

For paper

Page 1:

-Identification: Authors and Institutions
Please indicate the given name and family name clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author:

- Name of the author/s
- Institution
- Country
- Email Address

-Paper title
-Abstract: Should not exceed 350 words.
-Keywords: Select 5 to 6 words or phrases.

Page 2:

-Paper title: Title should be concise and informative.

-Abstract: Should not exceed 350 words (final manuscripts). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions.

-Keywords: Select 5 to 6 words or phrases.

- Full manuscript submission (not exceed 10.000 words). All text in manuscripts should be in 11-point Arial, double-spaced, justified-alignment only. Authors are urged to write as concisely as possible, but not at the expense of clarity.

-Sponsoring information.
If the research is sponsored or supported by an organization, please indicate it.

- Subdivision of the article
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1, 2. (then 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2), 1.2, etc. The abstract is not included in section numbering.

-Table and Figures
Only JPEG (JPG) or TIFF (TIF) file format for illustrations and figures is accepted for photographs or images.

- Citations in the text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Avoid citation in the abstract. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

- References
- Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Avoid citation in the abstract. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text.

- References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", etc., placed after the year of publication.

-Reference to a book:
Riffe, Daniel; Lacy, Stephen & Fico, Frederick (2008). Analyzing media messages: using quantitative content analysis in research. Routledge, London.

-Reference to a journal publication:
Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J. A. J., & Lupton R. A. (2000). "The art of writing a scientific article". Journal of Scientific Communications, 163, pp. 51-59.

-Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Mettam, G. R., & Adams, L. B. (1994). "How to prepare an electronic version of your article". Jones, & R. Z. Smith (Eds.). Introduction to the electronic age. E-Publishing Inc, New York, pp. 281-304.

-Reference to a web source:
Smith, Joe (1999). One of Volvo's core values. [Online] Available: [http://www.volvo.com/environment/index.htm] (July 7, 1999).