Updated call for papers

An updated call for papers has been posted on the site.

 

BlogUpdate: New calls for papers

An updated version of the “Call for papers” has been posted on the site. Changes include an extended abstract deadline for Media and Islam as well as new calls for abstracts on Social Networking and Communities as well as for Media Discourses and Cultural Globalization: A Chinese Perspective.

 

BlogComment – UK: Addressing the historical deficit in political communication studies

There has long been a historical deficit in media studies and political communication. Most university programmes assume that only the television age and what has come after is important. So, what happened before the 1930s is seen as unimportant. This may be about to change. The British Library has put 49 newspapers between 1800 and 1900 online. Some are free, some cost. But for anyone who has ever struggled with motion sickness while trying to read newspaper articles on microfiche it will be a relief. The time period is significant in the history of British newspapers. Ed King’s brief synopsis of newspaper history argues it marked the rise of the professional journalist in Britain and the emergence of specialist City, parliamentary and foreign correspondents. He traces the significance of political, economic and demographic change in driving demand for news; the significance of technology and improved infrastructure in the ability to supply this; and the impact of taxes on the affordability of newspapers.

 

BlogComment – Iran/Global: Twitter, protests and activism

Iran: Post-election protests

Something extraordinary is happening in Iran. On Friday, 85% of Iranians voted in a record turnout for a presidential election. On Saturday, Ahmadminejad was declared victorious. Thousands of his supporters celebrated in the streets; but thousands of the opposition supporters protested, claiming the vote had been rigged. As protests escalated and spread beyond Tehran to other cities pro-Ahmadminejad elements in the security forces sought to violently suppress protests and the authorities curbed the media. Two things are interesting here: the ways in which the Iranian government has sought to curb media and the difficulties of curbing Twitter. Exploring the relationship between these has prompted some to comment on how Twitter has shifted from “campaigning tool to a protest tool” and ask what is it that makes it a particularly effective protest tool and what makes it difficult for authorities to suppress. So significant has the media platform become in the circulation of information that the site’s administrators delayed a 90-minute maintenance upgrade until midnight Tehran time so as to ensure minimum interruption of flows of information from Iranians.

 

BlogComment – Britain: The emerging “British jobs” social movement

British Jobs (Mirror 04/02/2009)

Maggie Thatcher’s reforms largely neutered the trade unions and with them a significant component of the “labour” elements of British civil society. The argument for breaking their power was that the unions were blocking major reforms needed to revitalize a British economy that had been in decline since the Second World War. Weakening the unions was key to Thatcher’s ability to usher in a neo-liberal ideology that underpinned a massive recovery in the country’s economy – or at least in financial services – and became part of a political consensus in both major parties. This consensus formed the basis on which Gordon Brown was able to further de-regulate the market with relatively little opposition. Now, commentators across the political spectrum believe the current financial collapse is the consequence of this neo-liberal agenda. The political fall-out is evident in the revival of the “labour” elements in civil society.

 

BlogUpdate – Britain: Re-visiting the legality of the Iraq War

A Tribunal has ordered the British government to release the minutes of two meetings in which the Cabinet discussed going to war against Iraq. The ruling has significance in Britain for the transparency and accountability of one of the most controversial policies in recent British history. But it may also have international significance. Campaigners are hoping to get their hands on evidence that at least one person in the British government believed the war was illegal. If such evidence is forthcoming, they hope to be able to pursue the British and American governments in the international courts. Hardly surprising, then, that the government is resisting pressure to release documents.