Communication proposals to the SEP 2020 International Congress

The communication industry has undergone major transformations since the technological revolution and the economic crisis. New regulatory frameworks and changes in competition and business strategy have also influenced the structure of the media. As a consequence, the newspaper, magazine, radio, television, digital media and journalism industries face new challenges.

The difficulties for the economic sustainability of the media are forcing to open the door to new business models beyond advertising, subscriptions and subsidies. Likewise, the ability to boost internal and external entrepreneurship emerges as a pressing need for communication companies.

In this context, the key issues of the structure of communication, in general, and of journalism, in particular, remain relevant: freedom of expression, business and ‘printing’; the rights to information and truthful and plural communication; the relationship between pluralism, competition and diversity; the impact of the structure on contents; or the effects of the media industry on the democratic, economic and cultural environments of societies.

Taking into account the historical development of the media industry, balances of its performance can also be made in terms of audience, efficiency and profitability of companies and sectors as a whole; in relation to the quality and diversity of its services; and in its contribution to consumer welfare.

You are invited to present papers on the following thematic axes:

•  Strategies and business models of media companies.
• Innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives in the media sector.
• Communication structure and changes in the media industry.
• Quality, audience and effects of media management.

This thematic area encompasses in a broad sense all those research focused on the innovative use of content transmedia and the use of social networks in the journalistic field.

The research approaches to the phenomenon are varied and complementary: beyond multimedia or journalism crossmedia, the universe transmedia offers journalistic narratives that are developed through different platforms and media through complementary and interrelated contents.

Aspects such as content production, creativity management, relationships between content and audiences, professional roles, the creation of new journalistic genres, the new frontiers between information and fiction, the relationships between information and entertainment or the reformulation of classics have a place.

Papers are also welcomed on the relationships between journalism and social media that go beyond the use of social networks in the design of journalistic narratives transmedia. In this sense, it would include studies that focus on the use of networks by journalists or media, on the analysis of journalistic content and uses on the social web, as well as on the reception of journalistic content disseminated through the networks.

You are invited to present papers on the following thematic axes:

• Genres, content and creativity in journalism transmedia.
• Analysis of contents and uses of social networks by media and journalists.
• Audiences and their relationship with transmedia content in journalism.
• Reception of journalistic content in social networks.

Under the notion of new digital narratives, various journalistic experiences are developed. It is a large working territory where information, experimentation, creativity, spectacle or entertainment come together; and where new formats are configured with their corresponding codes, depending on the acceptance and interaction of the users.

Around this type of practices, issues related to the different levels of narrative density that can be put in place and the forms of attention and consumption by audiences are raised. It is also necessary to know and evaluate its technical, ethical, economic, content quality and ease or difficulty aspects in terms of integration into digital media.

In the same way that post-digital qualification is allowed for the current working environment, the very idea of narrativity has begun to be debated. The recent proposals of postnarrativism arise from the need to contain as much as possible both ideological biases and falsehoods when it comes to telling the facts.

The recognition of subjectivity, as something inevitable in the construction of any statement, contrasts with the convenience of a rigorous analysis of
contexts, the strengthening of rational argumentation when explaining facts, the recognition of the author’s manifest and implicit intention and the study of his relationship with sources.

The question is whether these possible new forms of work are acceptable in the current business climate.

You are invited to present papers on the following thematic axes:

• Identity, formats and codes of digital narratives.
• Work processes, technical needs, subjectivity and ethical implications.
• Forms of participation and involvement of users.
• Audiences and economic viability of the new narratives.

Digital culture has profoundly transformed the study of audiences in their quantitative dimension and in the qualitative aspect, such as the perception of media content.

Social networks and the digital transformation of the media ensured a more active and participative citizenship, involved in each and every one of the phases of the communicational process, reversing the unidirectional trend and making possible horizontal authorship dynamics.

At the same time, the traditional facet of press, radio or television consumption continues to be a reality that has a determining influence on periodic studies, the commercialisation of advertising spaces, etc.; although it does not remain alien to the digital factor, with phenomena such as content on demand or second and third screens in the field of audiovisual perception.

The transformation process that involves active perception is proposed to discuss, either from a quantitative perspective or from studies focused on some specific aspect of the immersion of citizens in the media, considering the Internet and social networks as means of massive character.

There is also room for theoretical essays, as long as they are well documented and presented in a clear and structured manner, focusing on subjects that can range from blogging or influencing to film experiences without an author or local information, to audience analysis and the perception of journalistic content in the 21st century.

You are invited to present papers on the following thematic axes:
● Audience studies in the post- digital and comparative era with the traditional ones.
● Transformations in information and entertainment consumers.
● Social prosumers, interactivity and citizen journalism.
● The communicative process and the Relational Factor in the postdigital era.

The technological and media context makes its way through a network of information, misinformation, truths and lies that build the social reality in which we live and that seek to influence behaviors.

Journalists and citizens face the challenge of understanding and organizing everything that comes from informational chaos, far from true communication.

The influencers generate biases in our thinking and behaviour by promoting the consumption of ideas, products and brands through digital marketing techniques that exceed those traditionally used by advertising. States, political parties, large companies and, by relationship, media companies, use fake news as a tool to discredit, delegitimize and defeat the opponent.

Pressure groups try to mobilize social groups in favour of their interests through new ways of influencing through the media and social networks. From the technological, media and educational fields, attempts are being made to respond to these and other phenomena of influence and even manipulation.

Training journalists and communicators to address these risks and develop critical thinking is key. New computer tools and journalistic initiatives that help contrast and verify facts and news are inescapable. The education of citizens in digital skills that improve their interaction with information and with
the media from the cognitive, attitudinal and axiological levels is a necessity.

You are invited to present papers on the following thematic axes:
● Influencers and construction of social thought and behaviour.
● Fake news, social networks, pressure groups and manipulation.
● Experiences of teaching innovation in the field of communication.
● Media education of citizens.

The first warning signs of a possible COVID19 pandemic in Europe began to be confirmed in Italy at the end of January when the first two cases were detected in Italy. A month later Spain adds to the global concern of an unprecedented health crisis. Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14 March published the state of alert for COVID 19 throughout the country. Days later the impact on the main economies of the European continent was already inevitable. France, the United Kingdom and Belgium were also affected by the pandemic. In other continents, the panaroma was replicating similar situations.

From the media point of view, the coronavirus crisis has caused changes in consumer habits, a proliferation of information in all communication media, the appearance of new formats in information content and even changes in the way governments and health specialists approach their appearances and press conferences. But, especially, the fake news, the “coronarumors” and the disinformation have been part of the media diet of the citizens: a fact that, sometimes, has been echoed by some media.

We invite you to submit communications related to the following topics:

• Information coverage of the pandemic by COVID 19 in the mass media, social media and other communication platforms.
• Transformations in information consumption habits in the stage of citizen confinement.
• Information formats and practices during the health crisis caused by Coronavirus.
• Disinformation, fake news, “coronarumors” and the media.
• Information sources in times of pandemics.
• Considerations on journalistic ethics in a state of alarm.