Thursday, June 01, 2017

Online journalism group seeks articles about recent changes in thought and practice of the craft

Recent changes in journalism "have been dramatic and, for many journalists, traumatic," says the International Symposium on Online Journalism. "New technologies, tools and platforms have necessitated sweeping changes in the ways journalists report, write, edit and publish information. New software has put detailed audience data quite literally in journalists’ faces, and new data-savvy newsroom colleagues communicate in entirely different languages."

Altogether, these changes have surely led to changes in journalists' “habits of practice.” "But what about 'habits of thought?' ISOJ asks. "Have journalists changed the ways in which they think about what they do or why they do it? What, if any, shifts can be identified in their deeply ingrained beliefs about their role in democratic society; their relationship to audiences, sources and peers; or the normative principles that guide their decisions? How do contemporary journalists think about contemporary journalism – about what it is, what it is not, what it might become and what it should never be?"

#ISOJ Journal, the group's official research publication, is seeking manuscripts for a special issue on this topic, to be published in conjunction with the next ISOJ symposium in April 2018. Manuscripts will undergo a blind review, and the authors of articles selected for publication also will be invited to present their work at the symposium. The articles don't have to be academic or even empirical' "Non-empirical work that contributes substantively to our knowledge of how journalists think about themselves and their occupation also will be considered," says the call for articles. "Scholarship that goes beyond description to consider sociological, epistemological, ontological or other conceptually rich understandings of journalists’ perceptions of —change will have the greatest likelihood to be selected for publication."

The deadline for articles is Sept. 15. Find details on the process here.

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