Call for papers | Vol. 48 | Invisibilities in and of Journalism | From January 06, 2025 to March 31, 2025

2025-01-03

Thematic editors: Rita Araújo (CECS, Universidade do Minho, Portugal), Pedro Jerónimo (LabCom, Universidade da Beira Interior, Portugal) e Thomas Hanitzsch (Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Germany)

Journalism plays a central role in society due to its intrinsic relationship with democracy, given that “news shapes the way we see the world, ourselves and each other” (Wahl-Jorgensen & Hanitzsch, 2009, p. 3). Hence, it is important to study journalism and journalists, as well as the realities they render visible and, by extension, invisible. While “studying journalism without any sort of ethnocentric bias is an epistemological impossibility” (Hanitzsch, 2019, p. 214), research in journalism studies should account for diversity and pluralism, avoiding imbalances of gender or geographical location, among others.

Furthermore, the objectivity ideal and the aligned normative view of journalism state that journalists are not to become news. It is perceived as unprofessional to talk about oneself or the problems of the profession since it may compromise journalists' detachment and objectivity. Indeed, traditionally, journalists have spared the news industry the scrutiny that other areas are subjected to (Mesquita, 2003). Nonetheless, the current crisis in the news media sector has shed light on a difficult reality that characterizes journalism globally, and issues of precarity, non-standard employment relationships, violence and abuse towards media workers, and so on, are gradually making the news.

Submissions to this issue may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Invisibilities in journalism content, such as the underrepresentation of themes and/or news sources;
  • Newsroom diversity (or lack thereof) and its relationship with news content;
  • Labor issues within journalism, such as precarity or non-standard job relationships;
  • Vulnerability of journalists, such as online or offline abuse;
  • Threats to media freedom and its impact on journalistic practices;
  • Professional norms and practices;
  • Failure in journalistic projects and practices;
  • Initiatives that challenge journalistic norms (e.g., citizen information initiatives in “news deserts”);
  • Other invisibilities in journalism studies.

Proposals submission (full manuscript): from January 06, 2025 to March 31, 2025
Publication period: continuous edition (July to December 2025)

LANGUAGE

Papers can be submitted in English or Portuguese. The articles selected for publication will be translated into Portuguese or English, respectively, being published in both languages.  

EDITING AND SUBMISSION

Comunicação e Sociedade is an open-access academic journal, operating according to demanding standards of the peer-review system, and operates on a double-blind peer-review process. After submission, each paper will be distributed to two reviewers, previously invited to evaluate it according to its academic quality, originality and relevance to the objectives and scope of the theme.

Originals should be submitted through the journal's website. When accessing Comunicação e Sociedade for the first time, you must register before submitting your article (instructions to register here).

Refer to the guidelines for authors here.

For further information, please contact: comunicacaoesociedade@ics.uminho.pt