Digital Transformation, Media and Social Inequalities

ESA RN18 Mid-Term Workshop

Bucharest, Romania, 25-26 January 2024



Research Network 18: Sociology of Communications and Media Research in cooperation with the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania



CALL FOR PAPERS



Recent technological developments and transformations in media and communication require a global reflection on their effects and outcomes on society, democracy and business. The platformisation process with its institutional dimensions: data infrastructures, markets and governance (Poell, Nieborg & van Dijck, 2019) led to new business models and relationships between social, market and political actors. Journalism as an institution has been under question for over a decade or even two (Deuze, 2020) as the news industry is declining. Journalism as a profession strives to retain or regain the people’s trust. With its recent advances artificial intelligence is seen as a threat or a chance for humanity. The AI’s impact on the media and communication sector is open for debate. Is it a threat or an asset for professional practice? At the same time, the hybridisation of communication professions – roughly defined as a mixture of journalistic and public relations and advertising&marketing practices in the digital context – adds new challenges in maintaining a fair and democratic public sphere and ensuring equal access to quality information.



Our focus is to foster an open academic debate on broad themes related to the outcomes of digital transformation in contemporary media and communication. We encourage contributions that adhere to the critical sociology perspective.



ESA RN18 calls for contributions that in particular, but not exclusively, addressed to any of the following topics:



* Market dominance, monopoly, and control through digital technology.



* Possibilities and limits of current regulatory regimes of digital platforms in liberal democracies.



* Media and communication professions: transformations, configurations, and challenges.



* Digital communication: computational propaganda and democracy, fake news, nationalism, illiberal parties and movements.



* Audiences’ vulnerability in social media – the impact of gender, social class, age and other identity categories.



The abstract (300 words) will contain the author’s/authors’ details, the study’s purpose, research questions, employed methodology or approach, (potential) results, and references.



The deadline for abstract submission is the 1st of October 2023, at the address: [log in to unmask]



Participation fee: 90 Euros (ESA members and PhD students), 120 Euros (non-ESA members).



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