Sunday, September 26, 2010

2008 National Annenberg Election Survey Telephone Data Now Available

The 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES) telephone data set is now available to scholars on the Annenberg Public Policy Center web site, www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org. NAES, the largest academic public opinion survey of the American electorate, includes 57,967 telephone interviews conducted with adults across the U.S. over the course of the 2008 presidential primaries and general election campaigns, and 3,737 re-interviews as part of its post-election telephone panel. These data served as the basis for the innovative and highly praised new book, The Obama Victory. Scholars from all over the world can access and download the data set and codebook for their research projects from our web site.

The available data set includes the 2008 national rolling cross-section telephone survey and post-election telephone panel survey. In the data set, you will find information about the electorate’s beliefs, attitudes, intentions, media habits, and behaviors relevant to the 2008 presidential campaign. Specific areas covered in NAES include, evaluations of candidates’ issues stances and character traits, the electorate’s stances on issues, evaluations of the state of the nation and economy, extent of candidate support throughout the campaign, political participation, media sources for campaign information, presidential endorsements, party conventions, candidate debates, voting behavior, and a full slate of demographic questions.

If you are affiliated with an academic institution or research organization you are eligible to download the NAES data. To access these important and relevant data, go to the Annenberg Public Policy Center web site, register, and click on “Data Sets” on the left-hand side of the home page.

Additionally, NAES conducted an online 5-wave panel survey that will be available later this month.

For more information: Ken Winneg, Ph.D. (215) 898-2641 kwinneg@asc.upenn.edu
Visit: www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org

Call for Articles - Special Issue of /Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies/

Vol. 32:2, 2011: Media Freedom in Africa*

*Deadline for submissions of full papers:* 30 November 2010

*Contact:* Send all submissions to Herman Wasserman, h.wasserman@ru.ac.za < mailto:h.wasserman@ru.ac.za>

/Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies/ is now listed on the ISI Social Science Citation Index and will be published by Routledge as from 2011. For author information see: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/RECQ

The controversial proposals in South Africa for a Protection of Public Information Bill and a Media Appeals Tribunal have caused widespread concern in that country. These proposed measures are seen as threats to freedom of expression and of the media, and have met with resistance from civil society, journalists and journalism educators in South Africa and internationally.

Some see the latest developments in South Africa as following a trend in other postcolonial African states of restricting the freedom of journalists to act as watchdogs of the public and to report on corruption often endemic in African countries. Journalists and editors favour self-regulation as the remedy for the excesses of the media.

Others dismiss the view that South Africa is following in the footsteps of other African countries as informed by an Afro-pessimistic attitude, and point to the imperfections of journalism (such as 'brown-envelope journalism' or the influence wielded by capital over editorial content) as justification for stronger controls.



This issue of /Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies/ wants to consider the debates around media freedom in South Africa as a point of departure to examine the state of media freedom on the African continent in general. Articles are invited that examine various or different aspects of the relationship between the media, government and capital, assess existing regulatory processes and analyse the discourses around notions of 'freedom', 'responsibility' and the 'public interest'.

Articles taking an analytical approach rather than providing descriptive overviews, especially comparative analyses, will receive preference.

Empirical studies, including case studies and content analyses, are also welcomed.

Questions may include but are not limited to:

* • How do statutory restrictions on media freedom in Africa impact

on journalism?

* • What are the main normative frameworks to which journalists and

politicians in Africa appeal?

* • Is there a tension between media freedom and calls for

journalism to serve a developmental or socially reconstructive

function in African societies?

* • What media accountability systems exist in Africa, and how could

they be improved?

* • How do media ownership and diversity impact on journalism

practice in African countries?

* • How should journalism education respond to threats to media freedom?

* • How can journalism contribute to critical citizenship in a

climate of mistrust?

* • How does the situation pertaining to media freedom in South

Africa compare to the position of the media elsewhere in Africa?


*Call for Articles - Special Issue of /Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies/*

*Vol. 32:3, 2011: Media and the production of public debate in Africa***

*Guest Editor:* Anthea Garman (School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa) *Deadline for abstracts: *October 30, 2010 *Deadline for full papers: *February 7, 2011

*Contact: *Send all submissions to Anthea Garman, a.garman@ru.ac.za

/Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies /is now listed on the ISI Social Science Citation Index and will be published by Routledge as from 2011. For author information see: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/RECQ

Research article submissions are invited for a special issue of /Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies /on the theme of "Media and the production of public debate in Africa"

Many theorists have taken issue with the public sphere as the normative standard, as defined by Habermas. The modern configuration of media institutions, political power and issues aired in public does not necessarily lead to either the formation of recognisable public opinion or to social and political change.

If we use the Habermas study as an "indispensable point of theoretical departure" (as Calhoun, 1992, advises), we may find that an examination of "actually existing" public spheres (to use Nancy Fraser's phrase) offers up insights into the new and inventive ways publics in Africa today are using public spaces to air topics of concern and interest via different mediums.

Political, social, economic and aesthetic questions about agency, identity, belonging and voice, provoked by our contemporary context, may be well served by a relook at public spheres, public deliberation, public debate and public intellectual activity, and the way various types of media are providing platforms for journalism in Africa today.

This edition calls for papers which elucidate the working of and uses of public sphere in Africa now. Submissions are sought on:

* • case studies and empirical studies as well as

critical-analytical overview papers

* • contributions and performances in public that may not be

considered classic cases of 'rational-critical' debate, but which

are raising pertinent issues of identity, citizenship, voice,

belonging, authenticity, authority and power.

* • different 'journalisms' in Africa and the construction of

alternative public spheres


Herman Wasserman

Professor of Journalism and Media/Cultural Studies School of Journalism and Media Studies Rhodes University PO Box 94 Grahamstown

6140

South Africa

Tel +27 (046) 603 7141

Fax +27 (0)862735345

Email:h.wasserman@ru.ac.za

Web:http://www.ru.ac.za/jms/staff/mediastudies

Editor, Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies < http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/RECQ>

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

MEDIA IN CRISIS; CRISIS IN MEDIA III. Slovak; Czech; Polish; Hungarian - Austrian Communication Forum, DECEMBER 2-4, 2010

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Already for a third time, scholars from the four Central European coutries plan to organize, meet and discuss the latest research, trends and issues in communication, media and politico-economic science. The first meeting took place in Ksiaz and Wroclaw in Poland (chief organizer was the University of Wroclaw), for the second time it was in Brno and Telè, Czech Republic (under the auspices of the Masaryk University and Czech Syndicate of Journalists) and now its time that the gathering will move to Slovakia.

Faculty of Media, Pan European University (formerly Bratislava School of

Law) is proud to be organizing the third meeting of scholars not only from Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia but from other European and foreign countries as well.

Already the second conference was attended by scholars, lecturers, and university and media professionals from many European nations.

Main organizer: Faculty of Media, Pan European University (formerly Bratislava School of Law), Slovakia Affiliated organizers: Embassy of the Unites States in the Slovak Republic

- Embassy of the United

Kingdom in the Slovak Republic - Faculty of Social Sciences, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

- Polish Communication Association, Wroclaw, Poland - King Sigismund College, Budapest, Hungary - Janos Kodolanyi College, Szekesfehervar – Budapest, Hungary - Sales Manager Academy, Vienna, Austria

The 2010 Meeting

The topic of the 2010 meeting that is scheduled to take place in November is Crisis in Media, Media in Crisis. Since 2008, the global economy started to evolve signs of crisis and recession that have resulted in a global economic meltdown. Central European countries are no exceptions – here as well cuts and erosions into the long-established economic growth are being reported. The aim of this conference is to analyze and record the changes in the media industry and how it has mirrored on various aspects of the media presence and professionalism. Among issues analyzed will be recording any decline or growth in advertisement revenues, changes in consumers behavior (readership, circulation of print press), changes in foreign and domestic ownership structures, record any new investments and impact on employment of media workers, cultural and societal changes that could be observed in these crucial times.

Scholars from around Central Europe, Europe and the rest of the world, will analyze what has happened, why are media in crisis and what will follow next for the industry that is regarded as the watchdog of democracy among others. Keynote speakers are in negotiations but are planned to be from top-ranked universities in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and others.

The conference papers are planned to be peer-reviewed and published at the Polish Edition of Global Media Journal.

The conference is going to be split into these sections:

Section 1: Impact of the 2008 Economic Crisis on Media Section 2:

Changes in Media and Journalistic Professions Section 3: Cultural and Critical Aspects of Media Communication Section 4: Doctoral students section

Conference fees:

Categories:

All Inclusive: includes 4-star hotel accomodation near the venue for two nights, all conference materials, attendance fees, coffee breaks, meals and reception € 150

Reduced Standard fee (without Hotel accommodation): all conference materials, attendance fees, coffee breaks, meals and reception €

35

Doctoral Students Fees: all conference materials, attendance fees, coffee breaks, meals and reception € 15 (additional payment for Hotel accommodation if needed)

Conference Timeline

Keynote speakers announcement: during September, 2010 Abstract

submission: by October 15, 2010 Abstracts acceptance: by October 20,

2010 Presentations during the conference December 2-4, 2010

Submission contact: Zuzana Komárová – zuzana.komarova@uninova.sk Secretaries of the conference: Branislav Ondrá¹ik and Zuzana Komárová

Mgr. Zuzana Komárová

Fakulta masmédií BV©P

Tematínska 10

851 05 Bratislava 5

www.uninova.sk

+421-2/6820 3649

CfP call for paper - Conference

Contested Truths: Re-Shaping and Positioning Politics of Knowledge

16.06.11-18.06.11

Berlin, Germany

Aims of the conference

The central topic of the conference is the politics of knowledge and its entanglement with issues of epistemics, power and gender. Focusing on a deeper understanding of the knowledge-power nexus, the conference particularly aims to analyze social and epistemological orders, configurations and hierarchies of knowledge.

Thereby, a wide range of issues dealing with different sites of knowledge production, objects of inquiry and fields of research will be addressed. The conference seeks to contribute to debates concerning the situatedness of knowledge. This topic was first adressed in the humanities, science and technology studies and gender studies by Foucault, Bourdieu, Latour, Haraway, Harding and Barad among others.

The conference particularly engages with the following questions from this vast and heterogeneous field: How is knowledge socially and epistemically formed and positioned? What are the consequences of certain practices and techniques of knowledge formation? Where and how does knowledge legitimate power relations? How can hegemonic politics of knowledge be destabilized and re-shaped? Finally, what are the 'conditions of possibility' for truths to be contested? The three panels address these central questions by (1) uncovering implicit knowledge politics in the formation of disciplines and the process of canonization, (2) discussing the impact of classifications and infrastructures and (3) questioning and destabilizing universal and neutral knowledge.

1. Forming disciplines and canonization This panel focuses on the political implications of the formation of disciplines and the process of canonization. Contributions might analyze, for instance, how disciplines are defined by the gendering of their methods and theoretical foundations as demonstrated in computer science and historiography. Other topics include the function of efforts for integration (such as the aim to position psychology as a life science) or boundary work (such as distinguishing gender studies from the knowledge of feminist activists). Papers could identify and question legitimating strategies or analyze 'regimes of translation' (Latour).

One example of this type of analysis is the study of the migration of the term 'system' from engineering to sociology. We are also looking for presentations that point out the mutual dependency between certified and accepted knowledge and excluded and rejected 'non-knowledge'.

2. Classification and infrastructure

Classification systems arrange knowledge in a proper order (e.g., the biological systematics of Linné), help to find knowledge (e.g., library

classifications) or aim to support communication by providing controlled vocabularies (e.g., in knowledge management). However, classifications are at the same time instruments of power. We seek contributions, which investigate social and epistemological exclusions that are intertwined with particular classifications and infrastructures. Participants might present case studies that explore how classifications are (co-)produced by those who are classified (such as in virtual social networks). Presentations about strategies to avoid knowledge classification systems and those, which call existing classifications or infrastructures into question, are welcome. In addition, we also encourage submissions on the subversive potential of infrastructures (as in queer projects).

3. Localizing and positioning knowledge By viewing knowledge as situated and located, the panel raises questions about the position of authorship, conflicts between legitimation and marginalization, as well as differences between global and local knowledge distribution.

Contributors could address some of these problems within different theoretical frameworks, e.g., by developing critical perspectives or drawing on established concepts such as -situated knowledge' (Haraway) from fields such as gender or science studies. They might also examine particular politics of location, demarcation or transgression of boundaries that are, e.g., inspired by notions such as -travelling concepts' (Bal) or -quasi-objects' (Latour) or 'travelling theories'

(Said) following postcolonial theories. We are also interested in proposals for anti-hegemonic positioning of knowledge or the possibilities of decolonization in the production of knowledge.

Important information

We invite abstracts for twenty-minute papers.

Abstracts should be in English and may not exceed 300 words. They should be accompanied by a short biographical sketch of not more than

300 words and sent to contestedtruths@gmail.com until 1 December 2010.

Please indicate the panel your paper relates to.

The conference language will be English. Please indicate your accessibility needs as well as any other possible requirements (e.g.,

childcare) by

1 December 2010, we will do our best to meet them or get back to you to figure out what we can do. Please note that travel funds can only be granted in exceptional cases. We ask participants to apply in time for travel funding at their home institutions.

Organizing committee

-- PhD research programm "Gender as a category of knowledge" (working group "knowledge": Dr.

des. Corinna Bath, Jens Borcherding M.A., Lukas Engelmann M.A., Dipl.-Psych. Lisa Malich, Falko Schnicke M.A.)

-- Charité Berlin (Prof. Dr. Volker Hess) and the

-- Technical University of Braunschweig (Prof. Dr. Bettina Wahrig)

Email: contestedtruths@gmail.com

Job Posting - Université de Montréal

Department of Communication - Faculty of Arts and Science
Professor in Political Communication

The Department of Communication invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position as Assistant Professor in Political Communication.

Responsibilities

Successful candidates are expected to teach at all three levels of the curriculum, supervise graduate students, engage in ongoing research and publication, and contribute to the academic life and reputation of the institution.

Requirements

PhD (or near completion) in Communication or in a related field.

Evidence of dynamism and creativity in teaching and pedagogy.

Research interests and relevant research experience in issues related to contemporary Political Communication, such as Web-based political activities and new types of activism and militancy, analysis of communication practices of political actors including citizens, elected officials, journalists, government bodies, para-governmental agencies and pressure groups, studies of media practices and media roles in political processes, analysis of speeches, interaction or elements that contribute to the definition of the field, its participants and contemporary political processes.

Proficiency in the French language. The Université de Montréal is a Québec university with an international reputation. French is the language of instruction. To revitalize its teaching faculty, the University is intensively recruiting the world’s best specialists. In accordance with the institution’s language policy [http://www.direction.umontreal.ca/secgen/recueil/politique_linguistique.html], the Université de Montréal provides support for newly-recruited faculty to attain proficiency in French.

Salary

The Université de Montréal offers a competitive salary and a complete range of employee benefits.

Starting Date

From June 1, 2011.

Deadline

The complete application, including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, copies of recent publications and research, and a statement of research and teaching interests, must be received at the address below by November 1, 2010.

Three letters of recommendation are to be sent to the department director at the following address:

François Cooren, Director

Department of Communications

Université de Montréal

P. O. Box 6128, Station Centre-Ville

Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3J7

CANADA

Phone: 514 343-7819

Email: f.cooren@umontreal.ca

For more information about the Department of Communication, please consult the Web site at: www.com.umontreal.ca.

Confidentiality

The Université de Montréal application process allows all regular professors in the Department to have access to all documents unless the applicant explicitly states in her or his cover letter that access to the application should be limited to the selection committee. This restriction on accessibility will be lifted if the applicant is invited for an interview.

Employment Equity Program

The Université de Montréal upholds the principles of employment equity and welcomes applications from women, ethnic and visible minorities, aboriginals and people with disabilities. Applicants who belong to one of these groups are asked to complete the employment equity identification questionnaire posted www.fas.umontreal.ca/affaires-professorales/documents/quest-acces-emploi-EN.pdf and attach it to their application.

Immigration Requirements

In compliance with Canadian immigration requirements, priority shall be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

ACoP/IJoPP Call for Papers

The International Journal of Press/Politics and the ACOP (Asociación de Comunicación Política) call for papers for a forthcoming issue on "Research on Press and Politics: New Trends and Challenges". The goal of this issue is to identify and discuss key directions and questions in contemporary research in the field across political regimes and media systems. The issue will be edited by Professor Victor Sampedro Blanco, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos I, Madrid, Spain. All submissions will be peer-reviewed, and should be sent to the IJPP online system with the subtitle "Research on Press and Politics". Papers should not exceed 6,000 words including tables and references. The issue is tentatively scheduled to be published in late 2011. Deadline: 26th November 2010.