CallforpapersfortheeSACMAnn
nualConfer
rence2015
5
Conttextsand
dconseq
quences:approachesand
dresultssofcomp
para‐
tivecom
mmunica
ationandmedia
astudiess
Date:
Locatio
on:
Organissers:
Registra
ation:
Friday–Satu
urday,13–14
4March 201
15
Universityo
ofBern (UniiS)
InstitutfürKommunikaations (Ikmb
b) andMedienwissenscchaftderUniversi‐
tätBern
2015.ch
www.sgkm2
Conferrencethem
me
Thereceentboomofcomparatiiveapproac hesincomm
munication andmedia studiesiso
occurring
in a tim
me characterrised by key
ywords, succh as globalisation, tran
nsnationalissation, Euro
opeanisa‐
tion and
d American
nisation, which structurre both scieentific and public discoourses. Colllectively,
theseph
henomenarrefertothe growingten
ndencythat political,so
ocial,econom
micandculturalde‐
velopmeents no longger take pla
ace within cclearly defin
ned territorrial borderss. These phe
enomena
alsoimp
plythatcom
mmunication
nprocesses evolveacrossculturala
andpoliticallboundaries.There‐
fore,theesephenom
menarequire
eacomparaativeapproaach.Thereassonsarecleear:Onlyaccompara‐
tive perrspective alllows us to understand
u
how strong
gly flows of communicaation are sh
haped by
transnattionaland((sub‐)nation
nalcontexts .Thisappro
oachhelpsu
ustoanalyssewhichfacctorscan
explain significantd
differences betweencoountries,bettweensubnationalterrritorialunitsssuchas
cantons,betweencculturaland languagereegions,and betweenorrganisationssandinstitu
utions.It
allows u
us to determ
mine under what condiitions similaarities emerrge. In this llight, a com
mparative
approacchisnotmerelyoptionintheselecctionoftheaappropriate
eresearchddesignbut,m
moreand
more,an
nessentialrrequirementt:‘Itisnoloongplausibletostudyonephenomeenoninone
ecountry
withouttasking,ataaminimum,whetheritiiscommonaacrosstheglobeordisttinctivetoth
hatcoun‐
tryorpaartofthewo
orld’(Living
gstone,2012
2,p.417).
Switzerlland, in parrticular, pressents an ideeal candidatte for comp
parative reseearch. If we
e wish to
understtand the com
mmunication processess that shapee the countrry, it is not only the me
entioned
transnattionalandn
nationalcon
ntextsthataarerelevant;;equally,su
ubnationale ntitiescreattediffer‐
encesbeetweencultu
uralandlan
nguageareass.
Comparrative comm
munication and media research not
n only ha
as matured
d in recent decades
(Gurevittch&Blumler,2003)bu
ut,today,is oneofthem
mostproducctiveandproomisingfielldsofthe
disciplin
ne.Initscurrrentorienttation,comp
parativecom
mmunication
nandmediaaresearche
examines
mostlym
macroconteexts,i.e.cou
untriesandttheirregion
ns,culturesormarkets (Esser&Hanitzsch,
2012). IIt displays three
t
distin
nct characte ristics: First, comparattive commuunication an
nd media
research
hadoptsacross‐borderrperspectivve;second,ittaimstoasssessthereacchofempiricalfind‐
ings; an
nd third, it helps
h
us to understand
d how systeemic and cu
ultural conteexts can exp
plain the
differen
ncesandsim
milaritiesofccommunicattionprocessses(Pfetsch&Esser,20 03).
Inlinew
with thesettrends,theS
SACM’sann
nualconference 2015putscomparrative appro
oachesto
commun
nicationand
dmediastud
diesatitsceentre.Theaaimoftheco
onferenceisstoexplore thecon‐
sequencesoftransnational,nationalandsubnationalcontextsforcommunicationprocesses.We
invitecontributionsthat,on onehand,(a)discussthereach oftheoriesinrelationtodifferent
contextualfactors,(b)systematisecontextualfactorsanddeveloptypologies,(c)empiricallytest
hypothesesabouttheroleofcontextualfactorsor(d)focusonthemethodologicalaspectsand
challengesofcomparativeresearch.Ontheotherhand,theconferencewelcomescontributions
thathaveamorepracticalorientationandfocusonthechangeswroughtbyon‐goingtransna‐
tionalisationandtransregionalisationformediaoutletsandcompanies,mediaresearchorgani‐
sationsandjournalists.Here,wealsowelcomecontributionsthatshedlightonthetensionbe‐
tweenthenationalunityofthemediasystemasawholeandthesubnationaldiversityofjour‐
nalisticcoverageandthatfocusonthedifferencesbetweenjournalismculturesindifferentre‐
gionsandcultures.
Weinvitescholarsfromallresearchfieldsanddivisionsofcommunication,mediaandaudience
researchandmediapractitionersfrompublicrelationsandmediamanagement,journalismand
journalismschools,supervisingbodiesandaudienceorganisationstosubmitabstractsandpro‐
posals.Weparticularlywelcomeacademiccontributionsthatapplycomparativeapproachesto
communicationandmediastudiesandadvancethediscussionofthechallengeswhichtheyface.
Theconferenceseesitselfasaforumforpraxis‐orienteddiscussionsaboutcommunicationwith‐
intrans‐,sub‐and‐nationalcontexts,whetherfromthepointofviewofjournalism,publicrela‐
tions or media management. Submissions should address one of the following areas and can
addresseithercross‐sectionalorlongitudinalaspects.
Thematicfocus1:mediasystems,cultures,marketsandorganisationsfromacompara‐
tiveperspective
Whydomediasystemsdifferbetweensomecountries?Whyaretheysimilarinothers?Howare
masscommunicationprocessesshapedbypolitical,social,culturalandeconomiccontexts?
Whatconditionsencourageorpreventthegenerationoftransnationalandtransregionalcom‐
municationnetworks?Whatistheroleofmediaregulationintheseprocesses?Howdoesitaf‐
fectmediaorganisationsandtheirdevelopment?Howdoesitstructureentrepreneurialaction?
Howhavemediapoliticsevolvedovertimeandbetweenstates?Whatarethedrivingfactorsof
thisdevelopment?
Contributionsinthisareamostlycomparemediasystems,culturesormarketsandtheiractors
andexamine,forexample,thedifferentlinesofdevelopmentWesternmediasystemshavetak‐
en,theanalyticalreachandadequacyofcurrentclassificationsandtypologies,theeffectof
transnationalpoliticsonmediamarkets,thereciprocalrelationshipbetweenmediaregulators
andmediaorganisations,andthedrivingfactorsthatcondensecommunicativespacesinto
transnationalmediacultures.
Thematicfocus2:comparativejournalismandcommunicatorresearch
Whydocertainactorsinfluencethepublic(media)agendainonecountrybutnotinanother?
Howdotheprofessionalrolesandworkingconditionsofprofessionalandnon‐professional
communicatorsdifferbetweencountriesorregions?Whateffectsdohavedifferentpoliticalsys‐
temshaveon(election)campaigns?
Contributionsinthisareafocusprimarilyontheroleofcommunicators(e.g.journalists,spokes‐
personsandpublicrelationsofficers,bloggers).Theyexaminetheworkingroutines,profession‐
alrolesandvalueorientationsofprofessional(e.g.journalists,publicrelationsofficers,spokes‐
persons)andnon‐professionalcommunicatorsindifferentcountriesandregions.Theseworks
mayalsoinvestigatetherolevariouscontextualfactorsplayinthewaystheseactorsorganise
(election)campaigns.
SACM annual conference – Call for Papers 2 Thematicfocus3:comparingcommunicationcontents
WhydothecontentsofelectioncampaignsdifferintheUnitedStatesandEurope?Whydoes
coverageofsuchtopicsasclimatechange,Europeorquitegenerallytheeconomydifferbetween
countries?Howcanweexplaindifferencesinthecoverageofforeignaffairs?Whatdifferences
arethereinthemedia’scoverageofnationalandforeignaffairsinSwitzerland’slanguageareas?
Howcanweexplainthesedifferences,andwhataretheirconsequences?Whateffectdomacro‐
levelcontextualfactorshaveontherelationshipbetweenprofessionallyanduser‐generated
content?
Contributionsinthisareaideallycomparecommunicationcontentsin(election)campaigns;
similaritiesanddifferencesinthecoverageofEurope,theeconomyandforeignaffairs;ordiffer‐
encesinhowtopicsofcoverageareprocessedbymassmediaanduser‐generatedcontent(e.g.
blogs,YouTube)orgenerallyexaminedifferencesinthetransnationalflowofnewscoverage.
Thematicfocus4:comparativeaudienceresearch
Whydoesindividuals’information‐seekingbehaviourdifferamongculturalareas?Similarly,
whydoestheuseofmediadifferbetweencountriesandregions?Whatarethecausesofthese
differences,andhowaretheymeasured?Howdodifferentcontextsaffectthedevelopmentof
mediacompetence?
Contributionsinthisareaideallyfocusoncomparativeapproachesintheuseofmediaandtheir
reception,explorehowcontextualfactorsaffectindividuals’choiceofmediatypesandgenresor
examinetherelevanceandstatusofentertainmentformats.
Thematicfocus5:Comparativemediaeffectsresearch
Howdoestheframingofcertaintopicsdifferamongcountries,andwhatistheeffectonrecipi‐
ents?Aretransnationalspacesofcommunicationcongruentwithequallyshapedspacesofme‐
diaeffects?Whatfactorsleadtodifferencesincitizens’politicalknowledgeincountrieswith
strongandweakpublicbroadcasting?Whatroledopoliticalcontextsplayinshapingthesepro‐
cesses?
Contributionsinthisareaaddresstheeffectsofcommunicationinacomparativeperspective,
employingdifferentconceptsofmediaeffects(e.g.persuasive,cognitive,affective).
Thematicfocus6:Themethodsofcomparativeresearch
Howcanwemethodicallyunderstandtransnationalspacesofcommunication,andhowcanwe
operationalisethem?Howcanwetranslatetheexistingtypologiesandtheoriesofcomparative
researchintoappropriatemethods?Howcanwemodelregionalcommunicationspaces?How
cantheybeintegratedintonationalandtransnationalcontexts?Howcanweaddresstheprob‐
lemofequivalence,andwhataretheconsequencesof(semi‐)automaticformsofdatacollection?
Whatchallengesarisewhenanalysingdatasetsgeneratedbycomparativeresearch(e.g.multi‐
levelmodes,QCA)?
Contributionsinthisareashouldaddressthedevelopmentofmethodsincomparativecommu‐
nicationresearch.Typically,theseworksexaminemodelsthatcomparecountries,transnational
researchdesigns,thepossibilitiesandrestrictionsofferedbysuchmodelsasmultilevelonesor
theproblemsconfrontingcomparativesurveysandcontentanalysesoraddressquestionsof
equivalenceandhowwecanintegratemicroandmacrocontextsinourresearch.
Thematicfocus7:Therelevanceofcontextualfactorsfromapracticalpointofview
HowdotransnationalcontextsshapeSwitzerland’scommunicativeandmedialandscape?How
havecommunicationandthemediaevolvedinacountrysomarkedlyformedbydifferentlan‐
guageandculturalareas?Doesmassmediacommunicationcontributetotheintegrationofsoci‐
ety,ordoesitcauseculturalandlanguageareastodriftfurtherapart?Whataretheconsequenc‐
esofthe(non‐)existinginterdependenciesamongSwitzerland’sculturalandlanguageareasfor
masscommunicationprocesses,theircontentandthosewhoproducethem?
SACM annual conference – Call for Papers 3 Contributionsinthisareashouldfocusonthecommunicationpracticesofjournalists,public
relationsofficersandspokespersonsandexploretheirperspectivesandexperiencesofthechal‐
lengesandconsequencesofthedifferentcontextualfactorsforthemedia.
Workscited
Livingstone,S.(2012).Challengestocomparativeresearchinaglobalizingmedialandscape.InF.
Esser&T.Hanitzsch(Eds.),TheHandbookofComparativeCommunicationResearch(pp.415‐
429).NewYork:Routledge.
Gurevitch,M.,&Blumler,J.G.(2004).Stateoftheartofcomparativepoliticalcommunication
research:Poisedformaturity?InF.Esser&B.Pfetsch(Eds.),ComparingPoliticalCommunica‐
tion:Theories,Cases,andChallenges(pp.325–343).Cambridge,UK:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Esser,F.,&Hanitzsch,T.(Eds.).(2012).TheHandbookofComparativeCommunicationResearch.
NewYork:Routledge.
Pfetsch,B.,&Esser,F.(2004).Comparingpoliticalcommunication:reorientationsinachanging
world.InB.Pfetsch&F.Esser(Eds.),ComparingPoliticalCommunication:Theories,Cases,and
Challenges(pp.3–22).Cambridge,UK:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Submissions
Wewelcomeindividualsubmissions,aswellaspanelproposals;furtherformatscanbear‐
rangeduponrequest(seefurtherinstructionsbelow).Inbothcases,authorsmustindicatethe
thematicareaoftheirsubmission,asoutlinedabove.Papersandpresentationsmaybein
German,French,ItalianorEnglish.Forreasonsofinclusiveness,PowerPointslidesmustbein
adifferentlanguagethanthatoftheoralpresentation.
Distinguishedpaperswillbeconsideredforpublication(editedconferencevolume,special
issueofStudiesinCommunicationSciences).
Individualsubmissions:Extendedabstractsfora15‐minutepresentationshouldnotexceed
2000–2500words.Authorsshouldalsosubmitashortsummaryof100‐150wordsforthecon‐
ferenceprogramme.Additionally,authorsneedtofilloutthecoversheet(seeappendixofthe
CFP).
Panelsessions:Proposalsfor90‐minutepanelsessionsshouldinclude3to5individualcontri‐
butions.Panelsubmissionsshouldcontainbothapaneldescriptionof1000wordsandabstracts
ofapproximately1000–1500wordsforeachcontribution.Additionally,thepanelorganisers
needtofilloutthecoversheet(seeappendixoftheCFP).Weexplicitlywelcomepanelsessions
bymediapractitioners(e.g.journalists,publicrelationsofficers,spokespersons,bloggers).
Contributionsfromapracticalperspective(thematicfocus7):Contributionsinthisareado
notneedtoadheretotheclassicalformatofpaperpresentations.Theycantaketheformof
roundtablediscussions,workshopsorexhibitions.Ifyouplanasubmissioninsuchanalterna‐
tiveformat,pleasecontactDrDorotheeArlt([email protected])assoonaspossible.
Divisionslot:ThereisalsothepossibilitytosubmitasessionthroughoneoftheSACM’sdivi‐
sions.Thedivisionsareallowedone75‐minutesessionduringtheconferenceandselectthe
sessionformat.Panelsessionssubmittedthroughthedivisionneedtofulfilthesamerequire‐
mentsasthosesubmittedtothegeneralconference(seeabove).Otherformatsarewelcomed
andneedtobesubmittedwitha1000–1500‐wordproposal.
Allsubmissionsarereviewedanonymouslybytwoexternalreferees(peerreview).Forthe
purposesofblindrefereeing,thefullnameofeachauthorandthecurrentaffiliationandemail
addressofthecorrespondingauthorshouldbeenteredseparatelyonthecoverletter(seeap‐
SACM annual conference – Call for Papers 4 pendix).Anyinformationthatcouldleadtotheidentificationoftheauthor(s)shouldbere‐
movedfromtheabstract/panelproposal.
Thefollowingcriteriaareusedbythereviewerstoassessthequalityoftheacademic
submissions(thematicareas1‐6):relevanceofthetopic,pertinencetotheconference’s
theme,theoreticalapproach,methodsofdatacollectionandanalysis(onlyforempiricalcontri‐
butions),rigourofargumentationandoriginality.Submissionstothematicarea7(media
praxis)areevaluatedaccordingtothefollowingcriteria:relevanceofthetopicforpractical
questions,pertinencetotheconference’stheme,rigourofargumentationandoriginality.
AbstractsshouldbesubmittedasMSWordfiles(nopdf)nolaterthan15December2014
toSGKM2015@ikmb.unibe.ch.Theresultsofthereviewwillbecommunicatedbyearly
February2015.ConferenceregistrationisopenfromDecember2014until22February
2015viatheconferencewebsitewww.sgkm2015.ch.
Importantdates
Deadlineforabstracts
Resultsofreviews
Deadlineforconferenceregistration
Finalconferenceprogramme
SACMannualconference2015
15 December2014
BeginningofFebruary2015
22February 2015
Mid/endFebruary2015
13–14March 2015
Contact
Localorganisingcommittee:
TomHäussler,DorotheeArlt,SilkeAdamandFranziskaSchmidt
Email:
[email protected]
Website: www.sgkm2015.ch
SACM annual conference – Call for Papers 5 Coversheetforcontributions
Informationaboutthecontribution
Typeofcontribution: Paper Panel
Title:
Thematicareas:contributiontothematicareano.
Informationabouttheauthors/panelmembers:
Correspondingauthor/Panelmember1
Name,firstname:
Institution:
Emailaddress:
Author/Panelmember2
Name,firstname:
Institution:
Author/Panelmember3
Name,firstname:
Institution:
Author/Panelmember4
Name,firstname:
Institution:
Author/Panelmember5
Name,firstname:
Institution:
Additionalremarks:
SACM annual conference – Call for Papers 6