JOURNALISM PRACTICE
SPECIAL ISSUE CALL FOR PAPERS

Guest editor: Einar Thorsen

Elections represent a great spectacle of journalism and are therefore ideally suited to reflect upon the current and future state of journalism practice in relation to online political news and communication.

Online news reporting in its various guises is now an essential part of online political journalism. Recent examples range from political blogging and Youtube debates during the 2008 US presidential election, through the use of Twitter to report and mobilise civic uprising in the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian and Moldovan elections, to the normalising of online news during the 2010 UK general election.

Newspapers and broadcasters now invest heavily in election micro-websites. Journalists increasingly use 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, use social media to hold politicians and mainstream media to account.

This special edition of Journalism Practice will be an opportunity to discuss the role of online news reporting during national elections and referendums. It will provide a forum for both practitioners and academics to discuss emerging and established forms and practices of online journalism.

Comparative research is of particular interest to this special edition – either different national contexts, or different news practices within the same national context.

Suggested areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

• How does online election reporting compare across different national contexts?
• Has online journalism lived up to expectations during elections?
• How has the Internet changed the working practices of political journalists?
• How does online reporting of elections compare to print and broadcasting?
• What role have citizen journalists had in the media landscape during elections?
• How have Twitter and Facebook influenced the way journalists connect with audiences?
• How do journalists use social media, blogs and UGC as election news sources?
• What are the strengths and limitations of live blogging?
• How have the features of online news impacted on election campaigns?
• How have news organisations facilitated online public debates and comment?
• How has online journalism helped inform electorates?

Prospective authors should email abstracts of 500 words to Einar Thorsen (ethorsen@bournemouth.ac.uk). Papers will then be invited and subject to peer review.

• Deadline for submission of abstracts: 10 September 2010
• Deadline for submission of articles for review: 1 December 2010
• Final revised papers due: 31 March 2011 (following peer review)
• Publication: end of 2011/early 2012

If you have any questions or want to discuss an idea for the special issue, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

PDF version of CfP available on Routledge website.