The Public Service Media Policies Working Group of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites proposals for IAMCR 2023, to be held in Lyon, France, from 9 to 13 July (Lyon23) with an Online Conference Papers (OCP23) component from 26 June to 5 July.
The deadline for submission of proposals is 9 February 2023 at 23h59 UTC.
See the CfPs of all sections and working groups >
Conference themes
IAMCR conferences have a main conference theme that is explored from multiple perspectives throughout the conference in plenaries and other moments, including the programmes of the thematic sections and working groups. Additionally, each section and working group also defines some of its own themes, which are described in their individual calls for proposals. Proposals for contributions to the conference are submitted to the sections and working groups and may focus on an aspect of the main conference theme as it relates to the concerns of the section or working group, or address a theme identified by the section or working group.
Main theme – Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond
The main theme for IAMCR 2023, “Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond”, is concerned with possibilities for rethinking communication research agendas at a time when the irreversible effects of climate change is compounded by stark geopolitical, sociocultural and religious tensions in human communities. At this juncture, urgent reflection and research is needed on how we can hope to flourish today and in the future, and also how media and communication tools and environments can be positive forces and spaces for change.
Five sub-themes of this central theme have been identified: Humanity and progress; democracy; media, information and communication; cities and territories; and environmental accountability.
Consult a detailed description of the main theme and its sub-themes
The Public Service Media Policies Working Group invites proposals that address the general IAMCR conference theme "Inhabiting the planet: challenges for media, communication and beyond" in relation to Public Service Media (PSM) and public media around the world. We also invite proposals that address the Working Group theme: Public Media in Transformative Times.
The remit of public service media (PSM) regardless of its political and cultural context is to inform and educate national and diasporic populations, a critical role in times of crisis and conflict. As nation-states seek to tackle the impacts of climate change-induced disasters, refugee movements, pandemic waves, disinformation, and war, public service, and public media organisations are being called on to play a central role in communicating the scale and impact of these events, covering disaster responses and sustainability measures, supporting public awareness campaigns, connecting diversely affected communities and innovating in representing their experiences of trauma and recovery. In these respects, PSM contributes, as The Council of Europe notes “greatly to the promotion of social cohesion, cultural diversity, and pluralist communication accessible to everyone.” However, it often performs this role in the face of political and commercial ambivalence or hostility, and with declining public resources. It also faces deep challenges in engaging future generations, negotiating its independence from the state, and establishing alliances across national and international boundaries. How then might we map and measure the impact of PSM, public media, and their alliances in risky and transformative times?
In 2023 the IAMCR Public Service Media Policies Working Group invites papers that investigate the role, activities, and challenges for PSM and public media in an increasingly contingent context – both environmentally and politically. We are interested in papers that address the following themes as well as consonant ideas:
- PSM, disaster responses and accountability
- PSM innovation in the face of social challenges
- Representing trauma: new approaches to PSM and disaster coverage
- Portraying diversity in the risk society
- Trust in public service media: strategies and evidence
- Building social consensus: PSM and deliberative politics
- Next gen: PSM and the challenge of engaging youth audiences
- PSM adoption of solutions/constructive journalism
- Seeking independence – state media and editorial freedoms
In addressing these themes, and other relevant topics, we welcome both empirical studies and contributions that are normative in character or aimed at conceptual/methodological development. Proposals can be about single national case-studies or be comparative/cross-national in scope. We also welcome historical studies that can contribute, through the lens of the past, to a critical understanding of contemporary issues facing PSM. Finally, we welcome papers from around the world and we strongly encourage submissions from researchers based in countries outside the heartlands of traditional PSM.
Contributing to the conference: Lyon23 and OCP23
There will be two ways of joining IAMCR2023:
- If you are not able to or don’t want to join the face-to-face conference in Lyon but do want to submit an online-only paper, submit your abstract to OCP23 only. If accepted, you’ll later submit your full paper to the online platform, which will be open for discussion from 26 June to 5 July.
- If you do want to join the face-to-face event, submit your abstract to Lyon23 and OCP23. If accepted you’ll submit your paper to the online platform and present it at the face-to-face conference.
Guidelines for abstracts
Abstracts submitted to the Public Service Media Policies Working Group should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online here. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.
The deadline to submit abstracts is 9 February 2022 at 23h59 UTC.
It is expected that authors will submit only one (1) abstract. However, under no circumstances should an author submit more than two abstracts as a single author or as the lead author of a co-authored paper and no author will submit more than one abstract to the Public Service Media Policies Working Group. The same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to more than one section or working group. Any such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected.
Proposals are accepted for both single Papers and for Panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Proposals for panels can only be submitted to Lyon23 and OCP23. Panel submissions must include an abstract for each paper submitted here and a description & supplemental information submitted via this form on the conference website
See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind
Languages
The Public Service Media Policies Working Group can only accept abstracts, panel proposals, and papers in English for the 2023 conference. If you wish to secure help translating your abstract from French or Spanish to English, or if you are willing to help as a volunteer translator, please contact the PSM WG Co-chairs (see contact details below).
For further information about the Public Service Media Policies Working Group, its themes, submissions, and panels please contact:
Co-chairs: Fiona Martin fiona.martin@sydney.edu.au and Anis Rahman aniscom@uw.edu
Vice-Chair: Yik Chan Chin yik-chan.chin@bnu.edu.cn
