The Public Service Media Policies (PSM) Working Group of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of proposals for papers and panels for IAMCR 2024, which will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 30 June to 4 July 2024.
The deadline for submission is 7 February 2024, at 23h59 UTC.
See the CfPs of all sections and working groups
Theme
IAMCR conferences address many diverse topics defined by our 33 thematic sections and working groups. We also propose a single central theme to be explored throughout the conference with the aim of generating and exploring multiple perspectives. This is accomplished through plenary and special sessions, as well as in some of the sessions of the sections and working groups.
The central theme for 2024 focuses on "Whiria te tāngata / Weaving people together: Communicative projects of decolonising, engaging, and listening" - which draws upon a Maori proverb about the strength that comes through common purpose.
Consult a detailed description of the main theme
The Public Service Media Policies Working Group invites individual paper and panel proposals that address the general IAMCR conference theme "Whiria te tāngata / Weaving people together: Communicative projects of decolonising, engaging, and listening" in relation to Public Service Media (PSM) and public media around the world. We also invite proposals that address the Working Group theme: Promoting diversity and sustainability through public service media: decolonising, engaging, and listening.
The remit of public service media (PSM), regardless of its political and cultural context, is to inform and educate national and diasporic populations—a critical role in times of crisis and conflict between different cultures, identities, and territories. PSM plays a crucial role in bridging historic and contemporary divides and creating common ground for debates, dialogue, and the co-construction of solutions to societal problems. PSM researchers, educators, activists, and practitioners need to engage local communities in exploring how this institution can act in the public interest to address the inequities, social harms and crises that impact us all. How, for example, can PSM respond to the most pressing cultural, economic, political and regulatory challenges posed by big tech platforms and new forms of AI mediated communication? Can public service journalism deconstruct oppressive algorithmic cultures, and imagine new frontiers of mediatized and algorithmic resistance to platform power?
In 2024 the IAMCR Public Service Media Policies Working Group invites papers that investigate the role, activities, and challenges for PSM and public media in increasingly contingent contexts – both environmentally and politically. We are interested in papers that address the following themes as well as consonant ideas:
- Role of PSM in engaging marginalized communities
- Indigenous PSM initiatives and infrastructures
- PSM and decolonization
- Colonial impacts on PSM and community media
- Role of PSM in conflict-resolution and peace-building
- PSM adoption of solutions/constructive journalism
- Public service, algorithmic power, and generative AI
- PSM and intercultural or cross-cultural dialogues
- PSM in addressing climate change and environmental literacy
- PSM, disaster responses and accountability
- Next gen: PSM and the challenge of engaging youth audiences
In addressing these themes, and other relevant topics, we welcome both empirical studies and contributions that are normative in character or aimed at conceptual/methodological development. Proposals can be about single national case-studies or be comparative/cross-national in scope. We also welcome historical studies that can contribute, through the lens of the past, to a critical understanding of contemporary issues facing PSM. Finally, we welcome papers and panels from around the world and we strongly encourage submissions from researchers, activists, and practitioners from indigenous and rural communities.
Guidelines for abstracts
Ōtautahi Christchurch will be an in-person conference. There is no remote presentation option in this working group. Abstracts submitted to the Public Service Media Policies Working Group should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online here. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.
The deadline to submit abstracts is 7 February 2024, at 23.59 UTC.
It is expected that each person will submit only one (1) abstract. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same author, either individually or as part of any group of authors. The same abstract, or a version with minor variations in title or content, must not be submitted to more than one section or working group. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected by the abstract submission system, by the Head of the section or working group or by the Conference Programme Reviewer. Authors submitting the same work to multiple Sections or Working Groups risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.
Proposals are accepted for both single papers and for panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Please note that there are special procedures for submitting panel proposals. Panel proposals should include an abstract for the panel, ranging from 300 to 500 words, as well as names, affiliations, and contact information for each panelist and the chair (a minimum of three and a maximum of four panelists and one chair). Additionally, please provide individual abstracts for each panelist, each between 300 and 500 words. Full papers should not exceed 25 pages in double spacing, excluding the bibliography, and should have all identifiable information removed.
See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind
Evaluation criteria
Submitted abstracts will generally be evaluated on the basis of:
- Technical merit - theoretical framework and clear methodology
- Readability
- Originality and/or significance
- Use of or contribution to the field
- Relevance to the section or working group
The PSM working group will seek to have a mix of established, early career, and student researchers alongside community activists and practitioners.
Languages
The Public Service Media Policies Working Group can only accept abstracts, panel proposals, and papers in English for the 2024 conference. If you wish to secure help translating your abstract from French or Spanish to English, or if you are willing to help as a volunteer translator, please let us know.
See resources for IAMCR conference preparation and participation
If you have questions about the Public Service Media Policies Working Group, its themes, submissions, and panels, please contact the PSM WG Co-Chairs Anis Rahman (<aniscom@uw.edu>), Fiona Martin (<fiona.martin@sydney.edu.au>), and Vice-Chair Yik-Chan Chin (<yik-chan.chin@bnu.edu.cn>).