The Downturn. Whose story now?
University of Salford
Friday 26 June 2009

The rapid change in economic fortunes over the past few months has
produced the usual stories from familiar sources – the financial
districts, big urban centres and countless experts all passing
calculated judgements on when the rest of us can expect things to
improve. This style of coverage has long dominated the mass media but in
an age of rapidly expanding networks of social media it seems
particularly remote and old-fashioned. A mounting number of critics
accuse large mainstream organisations of ignoring a new multiplicity of
voices being expressed through networking sites, blogs, video diaries
and other social media.

‘The Downturn: Whose story now?” brings together audiences, academics,
editors, content managers and all styles of media practitioners to
debate the ways in which the downturn might be covered. It also seeks to
examine the human cost of the downturn presented through materials
generated by community groups and members of the public, telling their
own stories from the frontline of their experience.
The conference draws on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human
Rights, which protects individuals’ rights to a private life, family
life, the home, and correspondence. In times of economic hardship, how
are these rights protected or infringed, how are concerns about the
protection or infringement of these rights articulated, and what part do
traditional and new media platforms play?

The conference will take place at the University of Salford on Friday 26
June 2009 and will feature papers, flash panels, screenings and
workshops for those keen to embrace the challenge of Social Media. We
aim to bring hard news together with the felt experience of those
traditionally defined as ‘audiences’. Our aim is to help foster a new
collaborative venture for media producers that will, in turn, engender a
new multiplicity of stories.

This call welcomes papers that draw on the conference themes and might
include the following:
- the changing role of alternative media in the news coverage of the
economy (blogs, citizen journalism, user generated content...)
- how the downturn is informing traditional journalistic practices
- evidence/testimonials of new co-operative news ventures in covering
the economy
- portrayals and representations of the way real people experience the
downturn
- the rhetorical dimensions of the downturn: comparative approaches to
narratives of crisis and the way the downturn is framed in different
media; the development and evolution of a “crisis discourse”
- the effects on public perceptions of coverage of the downturn
- analyses of sources in the news coverage: who is shaping the debate?
- the visual dimensions of the downturn
- new ways of conceptualizing the relationship between political elites,
journalists, and global/local audiences
- ethnic media coverage of the downturn

The conference itself will be broadcast live on Salford University’s own
IPTV station. An edited version will be packaged for broadcast later in
the year. Our intention is to maintain links forged at this event in
order to provide a forum for debate on other platforms and to develop an
archive of people’s experiences, making their own news and telling their
own stories.

Proposals for papers (duration 20 minutes) on any of the conference
themes are welcomed.

Please send a 200 word abstract and brief biographical paragraph to
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] no later than 5pm Friday
8 May 2009