The Participatory Journalism Interest Group, PJIG, invites research paper submissions for the 2019 AEJMC Conference, August 7-10 in Toronto, Canada. The deadline for paper submissions is April 1, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. (CDT).
PJIG is interested in research that examines participatory journalism broadly defined as the use of digital tools and techniques to involve members of the public, sometimes called “citizens,” “users,” or “participants” in the production, dissemination, and sharing of news. If your paper concerns social media intersecting with news, comments on news sites, journalists’ perceptions of audiences, entrepreneurial media products where public contributions are involved, or independent publishing near the boundaries of institutional news, PJIG is the place for your paper. Quantitative and qualitative methods are respected equally, and we accept pedagogical papers as well.
Papers submitted will be eligible for four separate awards: first- and second-place faculty paper awards and first- and second-place student paper awards (both $150 and $75 respectively). The poster award will be given after the poster session and is based on the combined quality of the research and poster presentation. Students should clearly identify their papers as “student papers” in the submission process. Papers co-authored with faculty members do not qualify for the student competition.
Suggested paper topics include: Participatory journalism in political campaigns, independent/citizen media, civic mapping, community conversations, user comments, newsroom projects involving user content, entrepreneurial journalism with collaborative elements, legal and ethical issues in participatory journalism, crowdsourcing versus traditional “gatekeeping” models of journalism practice, news sharing and social media distribution, participatory journalism in a multicultural and/or multinational environment, participatory journalism and mobile/wearable/immersive technologies, history/philosophy of participatory media, economic elements of traditional media and their relationship to participatory journalism movements, the mission and meaning of “participatory” media, teaching journalism and media production in participatory contexts, and the use of polls, focus groups and other methods to report the news.
Papers must be submitted in accordance with all requirements of AEJMC and its uniform paper call and electronic submission process. Paper length is limited to 25 pages, not including references, tables, figures or appendices. Font size should be 12 pt. with margins at least 1 inch on all sides. We accept papers in any academic formatting style. Papers should not have been published.
Please direct questions to PJIG Research Chair Jeremy Littau (jjl409@lehigh.edu).
All submissions undergo a blind review process. Authors should ensure that their papers do not contain identifying references. For a detailed explanation, please see “submitting a clean paper” under the uniform paper call on the AEJMC website. Submitters: Carefully check manuscripts for self-identifying information of any kind including self-citation, consulting the APA style guide directions on self-citation. Take every precaution to ensure that your self-citations DO NOT in any way reveal your identity. We urge you to submit at least two days before the deadline so you can check your uploaded document for self-identifying information and resubmit prior to the deadline.