CALL FOR PAPERS. JOURNALISTS BEYOND JOURNALISM: NEW FIGURES FOR FUTURE AND PRESENT CHALLENGES

2023-02-14

THEMATIC EDITORS

Josep Lluís Micó PhD
Alba Sabaté Gauxachs PhD
Universitat Ramon Llull

 

About this monograph

Communication and technology are changing at a frantic pace. Their unavoidable interdependence provokes a continuous reinvention of media. Organisations are constantly challenged to implement these changes while trying to preserve the fundamental social function of journalism.
Different crises and the ongoing trend of digitalisation pose new difficulties and opportunities. As new business models emerged, room for innovative tools and platforms that broaden the horizon also grows. Artificial intelligence, automated content, metaverses, influencers, branded content, and podcasts have become trends that are met with both applause and scepticism. The Reuters Institute’s most recent report on the future of journalism (2023) confirms this is the case. The report also predicts a period of heightened uncertainty marked by dilemmas regarding sustainability and disinformation.
This seemingly constant crisis also favours a wide range of professional possibilities. Traditional roles have been expanded and we now find journalists working “beyond journalism.” This volume looks at the professional positions that are currently being filled by journalists: what kind of organisations they work for, what are the roles they are playing, which formats are they working with, what sectors require their skills and knowledge, and what are the opportunities the new generations will have.
This monograph aims at answering these questions, exploring the fate of a profession heading facing a rather imminent future, while addressing the main topics of the XXIX International Conference of the Spanish Society for the Study of Journalism (Sociedad Española de Periodística), which will take place in Barcelona on June 29th and 30th 2023.

 

References

Hallin, D. C., Mellado, C., & Mancini, P. (2021). The Concept of Hybridity in Journalism Studies. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 28(1), 219–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211039704

López-García, X. (2022). Redefinición de metacompetencias, competencias y habilidades de los periodistas digitales. Anuario ThinkEPI, 16. https://doi.org/10.3145/thinkepi.2022.e16a03

Lünenborg, M., & Medeiros, D. (2022). Under pressure: Journalism as an affective institution. In Churcher, M., Calkins, S., Böttger, J. & Slaby, J. (eds). Affect, Power, and Institutions (pp. 80-102). London: Routledge.

Montagut, A. (2021). Reset. Cómo concluir la revolución digital del periodismo. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg.

Newman, N. (2023). Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2023. Oxford: Reuters
Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Reyes-de-Cózar, S., Pérez-Escolar, M. & Navazo-Ostúa, P. (2022). Digital Competencies for New Journalistic Work in Media Outlets: A Systematic Review. Media and Communication, 10(1), 27-42. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i1.4439

Serdouk, A. and Bessam, A.C. (2022). Bots in Newsrooms: What Future for Human Journalists? Media Watch, 14(1), 100-115. https://doi.org/10.1177/09760911221130816

 

Subtopics

In order to answer these questions from different approaches, a call for manuscripts is made on areas linked or aligned with the focus of the Conference. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• New professional profiles and roles for journalists.
• Training for journalists: new platforms and formats.
• Journalists 4.0: from digital journalism to the metaverse.
• Artificial intelligence and journalism: the automation of content.
• Journalists and the challenge of disinformation.
• Personal branding and journalists: from informers to influencers.
• Brand journalists: from press offices to branded content.

 

Thematic editors

Josep Lluís Micó Sanz is a journalist, Professor of Journalism and Dean of the Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations (Ramon Llull University). Previously, he has been director of the Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and the Blanquerna-Grupo Godó Master's Degree in Advanced Journalism and Reporting, among other degrees. He has led national and international research projects and has participated in innovation initiatives with technological platforms such as Google and Facebook. In the classroom, he teaches and practices the same genres and formats that he later applies in media or groups such as 'La Vanguardia', Prensa Ibérica or RTVE: new new journalism, visualisation of massive data, branded journalism... He has won several prizes for articles and essays and has appeared on several lists of digital influencers.

Alba Sabaté Gauxachs is a journalist, coordinator of the Degree in Global Communication Management and lecturer in the Degree in Journalism and Corporate Communication at the Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations (Ramon Llull University), where she also serves as deputy director of the Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture. Current member of the Global Board of Directors at the World Association for Christian Communication and Fellow 2020 of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), she has participated in national and international research projects. Assistant Editor of the Tripodos academic journal, she has previously coordinated the Blanquerna Master’s Degree in International Journalism and has coordinated digital communication projects for organisations such as the Mobile Word Capital Foundation or the Catalonia’s Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

 

Calendar

- Deadline to submit manuscripts: September 4th 2023
- Publication: December 2023