[FoME] WG: [IAMCR] Call for papers: Social media and journalism in Africa

[Wolf Ludwig]

Just FYI -- with regards,
Wolf

_____
Chris Paterson sent Mon, 28 May 2012 13:56
>Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies
>
>Call for papers: Special Issue -
>Social media and journalism in Africa
>(final call, with apologies for cross postings)
>
>Guest Editor: Chris Paterson, University of Leeds
>
>This Special Issue of Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies will survey the intersection of SOCIAL MEDIA and
>JOURNALISM in Africa. We hope to offer a venue for new empirical research and for the development of theory and
>analysis. Publication will be in early 2013.
>
>Around Africa tensions are evident between the rapid commercialization and deregulation of traditional media and
>increasing pressures for a compliant media discourse from commercial and state media proprietors. Social media
>demonstrate an unprecedented ability for the politically engaged to both bypass and influence traditional information
>flows, but social media use faces unique circumstances through much of Africa, due to an underdeveloped telecommunications
>infrastructure, limited (though rapidly increasing) extra-urban mobile access, and bandwidth limitations in
>many areas. There has been a rapid escalation in the numbers of people using Twitter to monitor and to disseminate
>information, and the use of mobile devices is also skyrocketing amid massive marketing campaigns dominated by a few
>multinational providers. While use of social media may be less constrained by government control in Africa than
>elsewhere, its role remains largely untested in the context of general under-development and limited ICT penetration.
>Signs of social change brought by leapfrogging mobile technology are evident around the continent, inspiring questions
>about the new nature of information exchange and citizenship. Crucial questions remain about whether the apparent
>efficacy of social media as a political organising tool beyond state control in north Africa has implications for the rest of the
>continent.
>
>Authors may address the following questions, but other approaches and related topics are welcome:
>- How have social media supplemented or replaced traditional information sources?
>- How are social media and other new media being incorporated into processes of journalism in Africa?
>- Are social media changing established flows of information in Africa and between Africa and the world?
>- How do specific cases of social media and other ICT use in Africa compare with non-African cases?
>- How are diasporic and/or exiled journalists employing social media?
>- To what extent have social media been an empowering force in Africa?
>- Are new forms of citizenship emerging in Africa as a result of social media?
>- What new methodological challenges to the study of journalism in Africa are posed by social media or emerging forms of
>communications generally?
>
>We are open to a variety of methodological approaches and geographic foci. Articles should be 6000-8000 words and
>proposals for shorter commentaries are also welcome.
>
>Contact the editor of this issue with expressions of interest: c.paterson at leeds.ac.uk. The deadline for articles is July
>15 2012, but earlier submissions are welcome. All submissions will be peer reviewed, with notification of
>acceptance by September 1, and revision required by October 1 2012.
>

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