CALL FOR PAPERS
JOURNALISM IN CRISIS
A conference organised by the Department of Journalism and Mass
Communication, University of Westminster in association with the British
Journalism Review
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Professor James Curran Goldsmiths College Professor Todd Gitlin Columbia
University
London May 19-20 2009
News journalism is in deep crisis. Newspaper readership is falling, the audience
for television news shrinking, and young people in particular seem to be less
interested in traditional forms of news consumption. 24-hour news channels
on shoestring budgets fight over tiny audiences while even well established
and committed news organisations like the BBC and New York Times are
cutting budgets and laying off journalists.
Those that remain complain of increased workloads, lack of resources,
insecurity of employment, greater dependence on news agencies and PR
handouts, and lack of training opportunities. There are accusations that
serious journalism, with in-depth coverage of important issues that can hold
the powerful to account, has given way to a toxic mix of infotainment,
sensationalism and trivia.
Some, particularly the young, see online as the way forward.
Internet penetration is high in most developed countries and growing rapidly in
the developing world. The web offers a multimedia environment for new
developments like citizen journalism and blogging, different kinds of news
reporting and new approaches to current affairs.
But it also threatens the business model of newspapers as classified
advertising moves online, while television suffers from fragmented audiences
and the growth of time-shifted viewing. Many question whether user-
generated content can ever be a substitute for well-resourced newsgathering
carried out within trusted institutions according to established professional
values.
This conference will review the current threats to the practice of
journalism and examine some of the developing alternatives.
Papers are invited that address any of these issues. We welcome
contributions on:
• The audiences for news
• The development of new media outlets
• Current practices in journalism
• The impact on journalism of changing economics and ownership
• New approaches to journalism, and
• The future of journalism as a paid occupation.
Many of the problems identified are specific to the advanced countries. The
organisers welcome papers that address the different situation in developing
areas, like India, China and Africa, where audiences for traditional media
continue to grow and where online news has quite different implications.
Charles Wheeler Award and Memorial Lecture
The conference will close with the inaugural Charles Wheeler Award for
outstanding contribution to broadcast journalism, sponsored by the British
Journalism Review. This will be followed by an inaugural memorial lecture, given
by:
Mark Thompson
Director General of the BBC
If you wish to present a paper at the conference, send a 250 word abstract
to:
Ms Helen Cohen [log in to unmask], who is also the contact for all
enquiries.
Deadline 1 February 2009.
NOTES:
1. The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of
Westminster is home to the UK’s oldest undergraduate degree involving
journalism training, the BA in Media studies, which recruited its first students in
1975. Today, the Department has a wide range of courses in journalism and
media production at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level
(http://www.wmin.ac.uk/mad/page-97).
2. The Department is also home to the Communication and Media Research
Institute, rated by the 2008 national Research Assessment Exercise as the
UK’s leading media research centre (http://www.wmin.ac.uk/mad/page-561).
3. The British Journalism Review was established in 1989 by journalists
and scholars concerned about issues of ethics, standards and quality within
the journalism profession. Now published by Sage, it continues as a quarterly
journal for serious reflection on the practice and theory of journalism, and the
evening event and award is part of its 20th anniversary celebrations
(http://www.bjr.org.uk).
The University of Westminster is a charity and a company limited by
guarantee. Registration number: 977818 England. Registered Office: 309
Regent Street, London W1B 2UW.
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