The following are the statements of the candidates for positions as officers of the IAMCR Sections and Working Groups holding elections during the 2014 conference in Hyderabad.
Crisis Communication Working Group
To be elected - 1 Chair and 1 Vice-Chair)
Candidate for Chair
Eva-Karin Olsson, Associated Professor
Swedish National Defence College and Mid Sweden University
I hereby announce my interest in chairing the crisis communication group over the next mandate period, preferable as vice-chair. If selected for the position, my intentions for the upcoming period would to a large extent be to continue the excellent work undertaken by the previous chair and vice-chair of the group. The group has been characterized by a broad focus on communication in relation to crisis, disasters, wars, terrorism and other types of security related issues. In line with this, the group has welcomed different theoretical and methodological perspectives with the aim of encouraging scholarly discussions across various sub-fields within communication and journalism research. Based on my participation in the group over the last years of IAMCR conferences, I believe that the group has been a thriving and well needed meeting point for scholars interested in the above mentioned areas of research and as such it plays an important networking and inspirational role.
Candidate for Vice-Chair
Dr Rikke Bjerg Jensen, Research Fellow
Centre for Criminology and Sociology
Royal Holloway University of London
My work lies at the intersection between media, defence and security, and the blurring of boundaries between media and war studies. As a communications scholar, I have developed particularly strong interests in the communication of conflict and crisis issues. This involves military and political communication, and the representation of such issues by the media. Much of my research thus orbits around the broader field of crisis communication, and I continue to contribute to discussions on different aspects of this emerging subject within media and communications studies. I have published on areas including military media management, strategic communication, and the mediatisation of conflicts with a particular focus on ethnographic research methods. Although much of my work has centred round military and political communication, in the context of modern warfare (Afghanistan in particular), my latest research forms part of a wider, cross-disciplinary project on the use of social media technologies by British military personnel and their families. Like most of my work, it is driven by an underlying desire to explore and understand, rather than to offer ‘best practice’ advice for military establishments.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the emphasis on the communication of defence and conflict issues that lies at the heart of my work, the Crisis Communication Working Group has functioned as my academic home at the IAMCR, for the past four years. Bringing together a wide range of scholars from different disciplines, the Working Group helps encourage and stimulate cross-disciplinary work, which I have found particularly rewarding. Furthermore, from my own experience, the use of discussants has meant that the Working Group has served as a sounding board for new ideas and emerging perspectives as well as establishing a stimulating environment to present finished papers and engage in discussions. Because of its inclusive approach to, and understanding of, crisis communication, the Working Group allows for a broad spectrum of theoretical foundations, methodological choices and wide-ranging perspectives. This is also the key strength of the Group, in my opinion, as it not only functions as a meeting point for scholars from different disciplines, but it promotes discussion and the sharing of ideas.
I would be very keen, and would appreciate the chance, to continue the work that Assistant Professor Ester Pollack and Professor Sigurd Allern have so successfully started, and to help progress the work of the Crisis Communication Working Group.
Diaspora and the Media Working Group
To be elected 1 Chair and 1 Vice-Chair
There are no candidates
Environment, Science and Risk Communication Working Group
The Working Group proposes to add a second Vice-Chair
There are no candidates
Gender and Communication Section
The Section propsed to add up to two Vice-Chairs
There are no candidates
Journalism Research and Education Section
To be elected - 1 Vice-Chair
The incumbent Claudia Lago has not sent a statement
Dr Andrea Jean Baker, senior lecturer in journalism
School of Media, Film and Journalism
Monash University, Victoria, Australia
Journalism studies are a relatively new interdisciplinary field which connects journalism practice with the academy. As a lecturer, then a senior lecturer, (plus an awarding radio journalist of over twenty years) I have successfully negotiated a research path linking the journalism industry to teaching and research, and developed an expertise in broadcast, arts journalism and journalism studies within a global context.
Monash University, where I have worked since 2001, is one of Australia’s leaders in journalism studies. During this time I have developed, coordinated and taught Masters-based journalism studies projects, and highly successful undergraduate units such as ‘Journalism, city and country’, plus ‘News and Power’.
I am currently a financial member of the International Association for Media and Communications Research (IAMCR). Since 2002 I have presented conference papers based on my journalism studies research at various IAMCR conferences, which is considered the global stage for journalism, media and communications research (Barcelona, 2002; Cairo, 2006; Paris, 2007, Mexico City 2009, Hyderabad, 2014).
My 2014 IAMCR paper is titled ‘Journalists, the Creative Class and Music Cities’, and I will chair a session about ‘Quantitative research in journalism studies’ while at Hyderabad this year.
In 2009, the IAMCR and the Hampton Press publication series chose my monograph (based on the core findings of my Ph.D) for publication because it is cited as the one of first transnational case studies of youths, audio technologies, alternative journalism and music cultures (case studies of Melbourne to New York City).
It was published in 2012 by Hampton Press (New York) as Virtual Radio Ga Ga. Youths and Net-Radio and was the first monograph IAMCR/Hampton Press has published in ten years, the rest have been co-edited texts.
My Ph.D was awarded in 2010. It compared the consumption of emerging technologies by journalism students in Australia with that of students in the United States and the relationship to alternative media and music journalism. In 2005 and 2009, my research was enriched when I spent periods of leave at City University of New York’s (CUNY) Brooklyn College Radio, the first net-only student radio station in the United States.
In 2013 I have held two international research residences at other prestigious universities, another in the United States at University of Texas at Austin (2013) and one in Germany at Freie Universitat (2013), in relation to my current research project, Global Music Cities, which explores the history and development of three seminal music cities (Melbourne, Austin, Berlin, and their growing importance to the global cultural (and media) economies.
I have presented at other local, national and international conference papers derived from journalism studies research. I have also spoken on national radio about music and media issues, thereby contributing to the development of music as a significant part of Melbourne and Australia’s popular culture.
I have published widely as feature articles in the mainstream press and several solo-authored (peer reviewed) journal articles published in top ranking, international journals; and a peer reviewer for Media International Australia, Continuum, Journal of Youth Studies and Broadcast Histories.
My second monograph, Life and Death of the Great Music City, which is based on my current research, will be published in 2015.
Due my expertise, I have chaired music panels (locally in Victoria, Australia and internationally at South by South West, in Austin, Texas at the largest music conference in the world), and been selected as the academic representative on music boards in Victoria.
From 2010-2012 I was the Higher Degree Research coordinator for my school (the former School of Journalism, Australian and Indigenous Studies) where I helped to select, approve and supervise Masters and PhD journalism studies candidates.
Since 2006, I have initiated international journalism field trips (a first in the Australian tertiary sector) where journalism students visit global media cities such as in New York City, London and Paris. These trips, along with my PhD research, sowed the seeds for my current project, Global Music Cities (Melbourne, Austin, Berlin).
Media Education Research Section
To be elected - 2 Co-Chairs
There is only 1 candidate for the 2 positions
Candidates for Co-Chair
Ms. Sirkku Kotilainen, Ph.D., professor (media education)
School of Communication, Media & Theatre
University of Tampere, Finland (www.uta.fi).
Docent, children, youth and media, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Docent, media education, University of Turku, Finland
Media education is a global effort and, collaboration in research makes the change possible.
I have participated IAMCR conferences since 1998 in the media education section. I have a personal membership in IAMCR together with the organizational membership of the School of Communication, Media and Theatre at the University of Tampere.
Currently I am acting as the head of the Masters’ Program in Media Education which will be launched in English 2015 as an international masters’ degree program. Moreover, I act as the chair of the Doctoral Program of our School. Development of the postgraduate program including media education research is one my aims in near future. My own research is focusing on the international comparative perspectives on media use and, media education of children and the young.
Selected publications:
"Youth media participation: global perspectives", Communication Management Quarterly CMQ (29:8 (2014), 37-60. (Kotilainen, S. & Suoninen, A.)
“Cultures of Media and Information Literacies among the Young. South-North Viewpoints” in Carlsson, U. & Culver, S.H. (eds.) Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue, MILID Yearbook 2013, Gothenburg: Nordicom (Kotilainen, S. & Suoninen, A.), pp. 141-162. (2013)
Media Literacy and Education: Nordic Perspectives. University of Gothenburg: Nordicom & Finnish Society in Media Education (2010) (edited with Arnolds-Granlund, S.-B.), p. 188.
Media Production Analysis Working Group
To be elected - 1 Chair and 2 Vice-Chairs
Candidate for Chair
Roel Puijk, Professor in Film and Television Studies
Lillehammer University College
I have been chair of the Media Production Analysis working group for one term and whish to continue for the next four years. As chair my main occupation has been to see to it that our sessions at the annual conferences of the IAMCR are properly organised. This implies providing information for both participants, local organisers and the IAMCR, engaging well qualified referees, and putting together a schedule in an accurate and flexible way.
In addition I want to stimulate the growing field of production studies by co-organising more specialised conferences or seminars like the one our vice-chair Chris Paterson arranged last year. I have been trying to see whether papers from the regular sessions of the working group gave ground for publications, but the themes have been too diversified. Smaller and more focussed conferences will also provide a better opportunity to look at possibilities for publications.
I will be glad to consider also other ways to stimulate media production research in cooperation with the co-chairs. Having worked with different aspects of production studies, ranging from journalism to sports production, from newspapers to television and new media, from public service broadcasting to commercial film production, from ethnographic studies to interview based research, I feel I have a solid background to function for one more period.
Candidates for Vice-Chair
Dr Chris Paterson, Senior Lecturer
Institute of Communication Studies (becoming the School of Media and Communication, summer 2014)
University of Leeds
Chris Paterson is founder and currently one of two vice-chairs of the Working Group for Media Production Analysis. He is a candidate to remain in the position of vice-chair. Chris teaches and researches in the areas of international communications and journalism. His current research concerns the production and flow of international news; the safety of journalists; media in Africa; and communication for development. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Leeds, and is author of two monographs and numerous research articles, and co-editor of three anthologies; include the popular Making Online News volumes, which originated as a project of the Working Group. Chris organised the Working Group in 1999 as a means of encouraging and promoting research and publication concerning the media production process. The group has continued as one of the most popular and selective parts of IAMCR (whether group or section). Last year (2013) Chris led the group’s organisation of a pre-conference entitled “Advancing Media Production Research”, which was held at Leeds University and also served as an ICA post-conference. He is working now with co-editors to publish selected papers from that conference as part of the new IAMCR book series. Chris is also an elected member of the IAMCR’s International Council. Chris is keen to continue to assist the working group in its mission to facilitate and promote the rigorous investigation of processes of cultural production.
Willemien Sanders, Assistant professor Media and Culture Studies
Utrecht University
My motivation to stand as candidate for vice-chair of the Media Production Analysis working group of IAMCR is that I would like to increase the coherence of the working group and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences by organizing the group outside of the conference itself. I have been part of the working group since 2010 and have observed that a few people participate in IAMCR more or less each year, some every few years, and many only once or twice. Hence, the cohesion within the working group is limited.
Media production analyses – or production studies – is a growing area of research. As a result, the body of work in this area is increasing fast. However, being a working group at IAMCR, it still needs to establish itself as a mature sub-discipline of media studies. My aim is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences, and where possible to facilitate cooperation, by organising contributors to this IAMCR working group.
IAMCR and its supporting infrastructure (most notably, its website) might provide an opportunity to develop and facilitate collaboration. However, rather than constructing a new space or place for members and participants to gather, I would like to organise the group on an existing platform – where I trust many member will already be. This will provide easy communication about both IAMCR related and other production studies developments. In addition, it will increase the visibility of the working group for its members and their networks, and thus of IAMCR as a whole.
Ida Schultz, professor mso, PhD
Journalism, CBIT, Roskilde University
Head of the PhD program in Communication, Journalism and Performance Design
Head of Centre for News Research / Center for Nyhedsforskning / www.ruc.dk/cfn
Unfortunately, it is not possible for me to come to Hyderabad but I wish all a very good conference.
I would be very happy to continue as co-chair of the Media Production Analysis working group. I enjoy contributing to reviewing of papers and organizing the conferences and find it very important to continue working for the inclusion of different genres of media production analysis in the group, as well as the inclusion of young scholars and as many different countries as possible. I also find it an important task to keep focusing on the quality of the papers and presentations of the working group as we have been doing in the past period.
This said, I have been a co-chair for many years and thus fully understand, respect and support new candidates for the post.
Political Economy Section
To be elected - 1 Chair and 2 Vice-Chairs
Candidate for Chair
Dr. Rodrigo Gómez
Profesor-Investigador UAM-C
Observatorio de las Industrias, las políticas y los consumos culturales
It is an honor to be nominated for the Chair of the Political Economy section. I have been Vice-Chair for the last four years and an active member since 2002. During that time, I experienced fruitful debates and discussion with colleagues from around the world, addressing important issues related to our field of study. From my perspective, our section is one of the more international sections, where the dialogue involving the Global South and Global North has enriched our research and our epistemological starting points. At the same time, I have also witnessed the evolution of important research networks during and after our section sessions and parties. The Political Economy section should continue to promote different interactions and formulas to intensify the dialogue between the Global South and Global North. We have experienced a growing number of submissions and sessions for the latest conferences, however, I think that we reach another level in terms of the quality of our work and discussions. Thus, I think that we should incorporate a strong peer-reviewed process (as the IAMCR International Council is proposing) and strive for no more than two parallel sessions during conferences. Finally, I think our new on-line journal, The Political Economy of Communication, will became a very important reference for our field and we need to reinforce its presence with our section's members. If I’m elected as Chair, I would work towards these goals, and especially intensify the dialogue involving the Global South and Global North.
Candidates for Vice-Chair
Peichi Chung, Assistant professor
Department of Cultural and Religious Studies
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
With this statement I affirm my candidacy of vice chair in the Political Economy section of the IAMCR. It is an honor to be nominated for vice chair position by the committee members. I have been a member of the IAMCR since 2004. Ever since I joined the association, I have been a dedicated participant of the Political Economy section. My scholarship revolves around debates on global communication within this discipline. During my time at the IAMCR, I have benefited greatly from the insights of my colleagues within the organization.
As a scholar specializing in new media industries research in Asia, I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve the section. My long-term participation of the IAMCR has provided me with a broader critical global perspective in my development of media industry expertise on the Asia Pacific. During my IAMCR membership, I have researched extensively on film, new media and popular culture and I am well versed in tracing the complex industry linkages among various countries in the region. My work reflects an extension of theories developed by pioneers in the PE section. They provide inter-regional communication analysis in East and Southeast Asia as it connects to communication technologies and geopolitics. Given that my research encompasses media sites in South Korea, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries, I aim at contributing to the section with further connection to pan-Asian media scholarship, if elected.
Since 2008, I have regularly served as moderator for the panels on the Political Economy for IAMCR. I have also served on the association’s committee for the Schiller award in 2013 and Smythe Award in 2014. I thank the section committee for this opportunity to work with distinct colleagues from all over the world.
Dr. Peter A. Thompson, Senior Lecturer & Honours Coordinator
Co-Editor, The Political Economy of Communication
Media Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand
I am duly honoured to be nominated for the role of vice-chair of the IAMCR’s Political Economy section. I have been active in the IAMCR since 2001, and have much appreciated the collegial but rigorous academic debate the section offers. I have found the opportunity to engage with fellow scholars from around the world and learn about the political economic issues in other societies (particularly the global ‘south’) especially valuable. The section has a strong tradition of critical scholarship, and insofar as we celebrate the seminal work of Herbert Schiller and Dallas Smythe, then we also have an academic duty to nurture the next generation of political economists.
However, as media technologies and industries have evolved, so the field itself has changed shape. Although the critical questions concerning power relations, control of resources and conflicts of interest remain at the centre, there has been a broadening of field both in terms of new objects of analysis (e.g. the relations of production underpinning social media) and productive new engagements with emerging sub-fields (such as the sociology of time or finance). The need for an on-going forum where the shape and direction of the field could be debated was a key motive the establishment of the new Political Economy of Communication journal. The next phase of the journal’s development will depend in part on how it aligns with the priorities of the section and gains the on-going support from our members. As co-editor (along with Wayne Hope and Martin Hirst), I would be keen to see participation in the journal expanded (contributors, reviewers as well as editorial board members), and (if and when practicable) expanded to include other languages. If I am elected as vice-chair, I would be keen to work with my fellow Political Economy section members to try and achieve this vision.