Dear MeCCSA Practice people,

Apologies for any cross postings.  

The Practice Section is putting together a Panel for MeCCSA 2008 Annual Conference.

The (Mal)Content Generation: Media Practice in the Digital Environment Panel
CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS AND PRACTICE SCREENINGS
MeCCSA 2008 Annual Conference, Cardiff, 9-11 January 2008

The internet and convergent digital technologies have had huge implications across a range of 
media practices, including citizen journalism and "vanity publishing" sites such as lulu.com; 
internet film distribution (from Blair Witch to YouTube.com); mobile phone distribution (blip.tv); 
peer-to-peer networking (MySpace.com, FaceBook.com) and photo-sharing (Flickr.com); music 
distribution (iTunes.com); digital radio; video and podcasting; interactive digital TV and 360-
degree broadcasting, not to mention gaming and the possibilities of new media.  These in turn are 
changing the business models of media production and "threatening" traditional industry 
structures in print journalism, publishing, broadcasting, music and cinema distribution. The 
profusion of screens and contexts for consumption of various types of media is matched by the 
supposed democratisation of media production, in tandem with the technological means for peer-
to-peer distribution and user-generated content.

The Practice Section is interested in receiving presentations and screenings of practice on the 
theme of digital content generation and its implications in terms of Practice Research, Teaching 
and Professional Practice. As Practice researchers and teachers we are at the coalface of emerging 
trends in digital content, but this word "content" begs many questions:

What does the term "content" imply? And what does it suggest about the "work of production" that 
goes in to producing specific media texts? Is the attention span of today’s audiences becoming 
too jaded to engage with content that is more considered or crafted? What are the aesthetic/
ontological implications of digital media? Is the technology dictating content? Are we dealing with 
anti-content? Is anything validated as content just because it is recorded? Is "authenticity" still a 
useful concept?

How are we as practitioners using the demotic/democratic possibilities of these new technologies 
to advance our own research and/or teaching? How do these changing technologies demand us to 
be self-reflective about our assumptions of what is "content" in our own practice and teaching?

What are the ethics of "content"? As teachers, how do we engage the "click – shoot" generation in 
debates about content, philosophy, social issues and responsibility? What are the issues in terms 
of intellectual copyright and cross-platform exploitation?  What are the emerging business 
models?  How is the industry adapting to this new digital environment?  How are broadcasters 
reacting to the threats and opportunities presented by digital culture?

As teachers and researchers of practice, we are in the front line, engaging with these issues, we 
can challenge, engage and shape the visions of future practitioners, but only if we as practitioners 
engage with the technology and its possibilities.  

Abstracts of 250 words outlining the presentation themes and AV requirements, should be 
emailed to [log in to unmask] with "(MAL)CONTENT PANEL" in the subject line by 1 Sept in order 
for the panel to be put together and submitted for peer review by the conference organisers. Any 
presentations not selected for the panel will be automatically forwarded for consideration for 
inclusion in the wider conference. Preview material should be sent on DVD to Charlotte Crofts, 
School of Cultural Studies, University of the West of England, St Matthias Campus, Fishponds, 
Bristol BS16 2JP.

Please also disseminate the attached CFP, and forward this email to any colleagues you think 
might be interested.

Many thanks,

Charlotte Crofts

www.myspace.com/meccsapractice
The Practice Section is experimenting with using MySpace to develop an online community and 
method for communication and dissemination of practice events and issues.  Please sign up and 
become a friend, or just visit the site to see blogs on diverse issues from the UK Commission for 
Employment and Skills and the Leitch report, to Wonderlandaward.com, a peer-review film website 
that is seeking academic peer reviewers to assess submissions.  After a brief glitch where I 
published the wrong address on the MeCCSA.org/practice website (I had typed myspace.co.uk 
instead of .com which takes you to a sexy website - apologies to anyone who was led astray), the 
MySpace site is up and running and awaiting you to join as friends, post comments, and get the 
online practice community going.