Tag: Serbia

Call for papers
CM: Communication and Media Journal
Special Issue: Revisiting classic communication theories/
Submission deadline: November 1, 2015(completed papers)

The wave of Internet research has somewhat marginalized classic theories especially in media and journalism studies. Without denying importance of academic orientation towards novelty, this special issue aims at re-examining the core communication theories that have shaped the academic discourse until Web 2.0. In the light of Moris and Ogan’s (1996) argument, that “new communication technology should lead scholars to rethink, rather than abandon existing definitions and categories”, this special issue calls scholars to revisit and if necessary rethink old theories for the new media era.

The special issue welcomes articles that reassess existing communication theories on empirical or theoretical and conceptual grounds. The papers might reflect on a range of theories, including but not limited to:

· Gate-keeping as particularly rich and longstanding theory in the field of journalism studies. It explains how information gets selected and shaped into media massages, accommodating the vast array of factors which influence that process: cultural, political and economic; organizational routines and practices; the outside factors, like audience, sources and technology; and journalists’ individual characteristics and professional values. Therefore, gate-keeping is a valuable perspective that allows thinking about the aspects of modern newsmaking without being stuck in the contemplation of their alleged novelty.

· Agenda setting *theory started with compelling idea that media have a power to direct audience attention and assign “importance” to certain issues. Since then, five stages of agenda-setting theory have been developed together with a wide research tradition around them. The basic assumption about the transfer of salience from the media agenda to the public agenda, grow into revealing the attribute agenda-setting effects; psychological factors determining ascribed salience; intermedia agenda setting (the influence of the news media on each other); and consequences of agenda setting for attitudes and opinions. The main strength of agenda setting theory lies in its evolution and potential to incorporate or converge with variety of other communication concepts and theories, including cultivation analysis, the spiral of silence, gate-keeping and framing. Therefore, the scholars are invited to estimate weather the theory is strong enough to survive in the harsh communication landscape of today.

· Framing *is rather divergent theoretical stance opened for different interpretations, but many competing perspectives on framing can be synthesised under Robert Entman’s (1993: 52) frequently cited definition: “To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation and/or treatment recommendation for the item described.” The concept became rather popular among communication scholars either due to ambiguity or the universal applicability of the notion. Nevertheless, it sparked much research, proving to be a theoretically fruitful approach for studying cognitive processes and effects. The special issue questions whether the Internet has changed the communication behaviour in framing respect?

Prospective authors should address any preliminary questions by email either to Jelena Kleut or Ana Milojevic,
otherwise full manuscripts should be submitted according to the journal’s Notes for Contributors.

All papers will be subjected to double blind peer review.

Timeline
Deadline for submitting papers: November 1, 2015
Review process: December 30, 2015
Revised papers submission: February 15, 2016
Publication: April 2016