2020 Conference theme announced

By JERAA

February 6, 2020

JOURNALISM and DEMOCRACY.2020
Transformations in journalism research, education and practice
RMIT, December 2, 3, 4, 2020

The past decade was a transformative period in the international history of journalism. Wide-ranging challenges, many of which go to the heart of what journalism is all about, confronted industry and the academy. Professional journalism’s authority and legitimacy has been destabilised by populist politicians, coordinated disinformation campaigns and diverse social actors competing to distribute information. Continuing economic upheavals are making it harder to find sustainable business models, while technological advances demand new approaches to traditional news practices.

Here at the bottom of the world, nestled into south-east Asia, how might the democratic roles of news and journalists be different to other regions? What practices and values are we changing, enhancing or defending? How might Australian researchers develop different approaches to our colleagues in the northern hemisphere? Can they bring fresh perspectives to global journalism issues? And with the U.S Presidential Election of 2020 just finished, China’s territories in ongoing democratic revolt, and Australia’s climate change policy battle at the frontline of international attention, what novel political reporting insights are likely to demand our attentions?

Journalism.2020 will engage with the big questions of our time and consider developments in the journalistic environment regionally and worldwide. We call on submissions that explore from where the journalism field has come, and where it is positioned for the next decade in relation to politics, technology, economics, the environment, audience, culture, and academia. We welcome submissions from all theoretical, epistemological and methodological perspectives.

There will be a number of keynote and panel presentations, as well as regular paper presentations on the following themes:

• Journalism and journalism education from the southern hemisphere.
• Journalism, global justice and global challenges
• The politics of political reporting
• Press freedom and safety
• Genres: constructive journalism, slow journalism, choose your own adventure, VR etc
• Public Interest Journalism and collaborative investigations
• Funding: from rock concerts to philanthropy
• Verification and misinformation in an age of information overload
• Automated journalism and its ethics
• Journalism history

First Confirmed Keynote: Professor Julian Thomas on responsible, ethical, and inclusive automated decision making.

Conference events: An HDR/ECR pre-conference offering skills training and HDR sessions; a public event at Melbourne’s Capitol Theatre; a night of thought-provoking films, the Ossie Awards for student journalism and more TBA.

PLEASE NOTE: The ANZCA Conference will be held in Melbourne in the same week, and there will be some planned cross-over events.

For enquiries please email Lucy Morieson – lucy.morieson@rmit.edu.au