Call for Papers
International Journal of Digital Television, Issue 6.2
Public service objectives in communications: Shifting paradigms (June 2015)
Guest edited by Michael Klontzas (University of Huddersfield, UK)
Deadline for Proposals: 1 December 2014
Deadline for Full Papers: 16 March 2015
In different part of the world, the establishment and sustained development of electronic media has been intrinsically associated with national institutions
delivering public service purposes to constructed mass audiences. Public service media were understood as performing important political, cultural and economic functions. On the back of widespread public and political support for much of the 20th
century, public service broadcasters in a number of national contexts became political communication platforms, production powerhouses, innovation hubs, communications and industrial policy instruments, and household brands. Their remit centred on changing
definitions of diversities, access and entitlements.
Globalising markets, shifting political and economic paradigms, and the obsolescence of scarcity in the technical capacity of ICTs have been progressively
eroding the privileged position of public service media. Their legitimacy and relevancy are questioned as audiences, revenues and investment fragment, while intense lobbying from commercial players supports public policies that seek to contain publically funded
operations.
In this context, public service media further enjoying preferential and protected access to resources is under constant scrutiny. Diverting such resources
away from longstanding, relatively integrated organisations with explicit public service remits is increasingly seen as the way to open up public service provision to market competition in on-demand environments. Sharing out resources often involves top-slicing
of funding previously ring-fenced for public service media, and making their output and production facilities available to third-parties. Contestable funding has also been proposed to stimulate desirable content and services in line with prescribed criteria.
In line with this theme, indicative perspectives include, but are not limited to the following:
The
International Journal of Digital Television will describe and explain the transition to digital TV and wider trends in television. As switchover happens across the globe and television’s operations and audiences are transformed, the
International Journal of Digital Television will be at the forefront of efforts to understand the changes and developments. The Journal will bring together, and share, the work of academics, policy-makers and practitioners, offering lessons from one
another’s experience. Content will be broad and varied, evolving as the focus shifts from switching off analogue TV to the challenge of exploiting digital television’s convergence with the Internet and telecommunications. National case studies and comparative
studies will be a feature, accumulating the evidence for authoritative global analysis of the economic, political and cultural factors accounting for common principles and national differences.
Please send an abstract of up to 500 words or questions to the guest editor by 1 December 2014: Michael Klontzas
[log in to unmask] . Invited authors will be notified by 15 December 2014 and full articles of up to 8,000 words will be due on 16 March 2015. All submissions will be subjected to double-blind peer review.
More information about the Journal and Notes for Contributors:
http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=175