The Community Journalism Interest Group (ComJIG) invites scholarly submissions from faculty and graduate students for its competitive paper and poster sessions to be presented at the 2022 AEJMC national conference in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
In addition to the Top Faculty ($100 and plaque) and Top Graduate Student ($150 and plaque) paper awards, ComJIG has a special call and $150/plaque prize for the top graduate student paper with a niche focus on social justice in context of community journalism. All papers should apply or advance theory and/or professional practice in community/local journalism and can use a variety of methods and approaches. All papers up for the graduate student awards cannot be co-authored by a faculty member – indicate in your submission if you want to be considered for it. The deadline for paper submissions is April 1, 2022.
The Scope: Community journalism is in the midst of a paradigm shift in both research and practice. New technologies, an increase in the digital divide, the ongoing shift from print to digital, the encroachment of a global community on local reporting, and the increasing distrust of mainstream news outlets and its effects on audience perceptions of hyperlocal news, to name a few, represent a moving target for community reporting.
The concept of community has also expanded to include well more than just a group defined by characteristics of physical proximity. In the digital age, communities also are defined by the strength of social relationships among individuals based largely on the interests, beliefs, and ideologies that bring them together, irrespective of their geographic location. ComJIG encourages submissions that address these issues as well as this diversity within and about communities in whatever forms they take. It also encourages submissions on the role(s) journalism plays in reporting as well as informing these communities. In addition, it encourages submissions that provide action-oriented insight into effects, trends, and issues facing community journalism outlets that would be of use to industry practitioners. We also encourage research that looks at community journalism (or even community itself) within a broad ideology.
Research topics may include, but are not restricted to:
· Social justice at the community level – coverage, influence, responsibility, etc.
· How and if news organizations—print and digital-- fulfill a community’s critical information needs
· How news organizations build audiences within their communities with or without use of digital technologies
· How community newspapers thrive or struggle to survive in present times and changes, if any, in community journalistic practices in the digital age
· How journalism entrepreneurs juggle advertising with community news reporting
· The effects of the closure of community news outlets—print and online – on communities, specifically those in news deserts or in relation to the digital divide
· How news organizations create and engage with communities through innovative practices
· Conceptual ideas that push our understanding of community in new directions
· Conceptual ideas that explore the meaning and interpretation of “local news” in a global era
The Awards: ComJIG awards top papers in the faculty and grad student categories. The authors of these papers will be invited to publish their manuscripts to ComJIG’s official, peer-reviewed publication, Community Journalism. Others also are encouraged to send their work to the journal for consideration. In addition, and new this year, an award will be given to the top graduate student paper focused on this year’s niche call – social justice and community reporting.
The Submission guidelines:
Format: Paper submissions should include a 100 to 150-word abstract and should not exceed 8000 words, including references, tables and notes. All papers should conform to APA style, Sixth edition. Papers must be typed in 12-point font using Times New Roman and paper text must be double-line spaced with 1-inch margins around each page. The pages should be continuously numbered. References must be provided. Tables or figures can be included within or at the end of the paper. An author can submit more than one paper to ComJIG but no more than two manuscripts. All submissions will be subjected to a blind peer review.
Author Identification: All authors and co-authors should include their information when registering on the online system. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that no identifying information is included anywhere in the paper or the properties section of the PDF document or it will be disqualified from the conference. Thus, authors are encouraged to submit early to fully check their submissions in the system for self-identifying information and any other technical glitches so they can resubmit their manuscripts, if necessary, before the system closes on deadline. Please follow the directions provided in “submitting a clean paper” section under the uniform paper call on the AEJMC website.
Student Submissions: Graduate students are encouraged to submit papers to the group. Student authors should clearly mark their papers by including the phrase “STUDENT SUBMISSION” on the title page to be considered for the student paper competition. These papers should be authored by students only and not include any faculty co-authors.
Uploading Manuscripts: The papers should be submitted to ComJIG via a link on the AEJMC website. Please see the AEJMC’s paper competition uniform call for more information.
Presentation Requirement: For the manuscript to be considered for presentation in the panel or poster session at the conference, at least one of the authors must attend in person to talk about the research. An exception may be made for papers with ONLY student authors; if the graduate students are unable to attend, then they must arrange for someone else to present the research on their behalf.
Questions, Concerns, Clarifications? Please contact ComJIG Research Committee Chair Aaron Atkins, assistant professor of communication, digital media, and journalism at Weber State University, datkins@weber.edu
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