Whilst the event has attracted significant attention, the majority of interested parties were unable to make the original date. In the interest of making the event inclusive and to incorporate as many perspectives as possible, we have decided to postpone it until November / December 2010.
We will publish an updated schedule in due course.
Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused for this. We do hope that you may be able to join us at the later date instead.
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Organised by the Centre for Journalism and Communication Research
The Media School, Bournemouth University
Friday 25th June, 2010 –> postponed
This symposium will be an opportunity to discuss and reflect upon the role of online news reporting during the May 2010 UK General Election. It will provide a forum for academics, researchers, journalists and bloggers to discuss emerging and established forms and practices of online election news. We aim to provide a lively discussion forum evolving around pertinent issues arising from the election campaign and aftermath.
You are invited to express interest in contributing your reflections (5-10 minutes each) or early findings from relevant research.
Please submit expressions of interest to attend or contribute as a speaker (indicating your topic) by 4th June to Einar Thorsen at ethorsen@bournemouth.ac.uk or using the online form.
Discussion points
Below is an indicative list of questions that could be addressed by the symposium, though you are welcome to suggest and contribute on other relevant topics.
- To what extent did online journalism live up to expectations?
- How did online reporting compare to rival print and broadcasting journalism?
- What role did citizen journalism have in the media landscape during the election?
- How have Twitter and Facebook changed the way in which journalists connect with their audiences?
- To what extent did journalists use social media, blogs and user-generated content as a source of election news?
- What were the strengths and limitations of live blogging?
- How did the speed, depth and immediacy of online news impact on the campaign?
- To what extent did news organisations succeed in facilitating public debates and comments?
- How did online journalism help inform the electorate?
Schedule
The symposium will take place 25th June in the city centre at The Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth University, 89 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8EB.
The event is free and open to all interested parties, but please register your interest to attend in advance by emailing Einar Thorsen at ethorsen@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Deadline for contributors to register interest is 4th June. Conference outline will be published shortly after.
Lunch and beverages will be provided.
Background
Elections represent a great spectacle of journalism and are therefore ideally suited to reflect upon the current and future state of political news and journalism, particularly in online contexts. In the words of Jon Snow: “Once an election is called, journalists go into overdrive. It’s a genuinely exciting time – a voyage into the unknown whose ending will affect all our lives.”
The 2010 UK General Election was expected to be a historic milestone and it certainly lived up to promise. Politically it offered the closest contest in years, returning the first hung parliament since 1974, and a coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The media campaign was groundbreaking too, dominated by the first ever televised prime ministerial debates, hosted by ITV, Sky and the BBC.
Online news reporting in its various guises was, unlike previous elections, no longer just a curious oddity at the fringes of the media landscape, but an essential part of online political journalism. Both newspapers and broadcasters invested heavily in election micro-websites, many of which included continuous campaign updates through live blogging. Journalists used Twitter and Facebook for breaking news or unconfirmed rumours, and also as a valuable source of ‘public sentiment’ and insight into the political process. Ordinary citizens, for their part, used social media to hold politicians and mainstream media to account.
Centre for Journalism and Communication Research
The Centre for Journalism and Communication Research was launched in 2009. It brings together two research groups – the Journalism Research Group and the Narrative Research Group – from within the Media School at Bournemouth University. Researchers affiliated to the Centre represent a diverse array of interests and expertise, while sharing a commitment to engage in real-world issues of pressing significance.
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