Call for Papers: – Special Issue of Journalism Education Theme: Science Journalism in the World: Education and Practice
For a long time, the public’s main source of information about science and technology has been the mass media. Current scientific and technological developments are becoming dominant elements of the everyday politics. Science informs public policy as well as personal decisions on environment, conservation, agriculture, health, transportation, communication and defence.
Almost every aspect of modern life is impacted by scientific knowledge. If on one hand technology is gaining wider social acceptance, on the other, apprehensions are voiced of potential risks associated with some of the novel techno-scientific innovations. Scientific and technological controversies are creeping into our public discourses.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also thrown up challenges for all of us, where we not only need to reevaluate our current science journalism approaches but also innovate new ones. The pandemic has created a niche area of communication where scientific research, health, environment and risk communication intersect and interact with each other. At this juncture, need for science journalism is now more than it has been ever before.
Science Journalism has the potential to engage the public on broader scientific and technological discourses and in strengthening our democratic and liberal values. With increasing corporate control on scientific research, profit is slowly replacing the idea of larger public good in science. Contemporary scientific and technological developments such as Artificial Intelligence, CRISPR and self-driving vehicles are generating important ethical and social questions. Emerging political cultures are altering the way we think about aspects of expertise and trust in policymaking. In such a scenario, science and scientific innovations not only need to be celebrated but also watched with a sense of scepticism.
Critical Science Journalism could focus on providing a balanced assessment of the work, one that highlights specific strengths but also emphasises specific limitations or flaws. We believe that science Journalism must understand the widest social and cultural consequences which scientific and technological innovations have or are capable of having in the society. At a juncture when lot of politics happens around scientific knowledge in terms of claims and counterclaims, science faces challenges at multiple fronts.
Science journalism can enrich the public’s understanding of science and also prevent misleading claims from going viral. With ever evolving digital technologies, mobile devices and social media platforms, the entire media landscape is changing and so is science journalism. New media platforms are broadening access to scientific information. But with the increasing access to scientific information, there is also a tremendous regional deficit which is felt in academic and training programs in the field of Science Journalism.
Keeping in perspective, some of the issues spelled out here and with a zeal to broaden the discussion on science journalism education and practice, we are dedicating the special issue of Journalism Education to the theme, Science Journalism in the World: Education and Practice.
Call
We invite research papers that engage with, and specifically focus on following themes:
- Science Journalism education Issues and Concerns
- Evolution of science journalism in the digital age
- Science Journalism in the post-truth era
- Usage and relevance of data in Science Journalism
- Critical Science Journalism
- Political assault on Science and role of science journalism – Case Studies
- Covid-19 Pandemic and Science Journalism Science Journalism Education in Global North and South
About the Journal
Journalism Education is an international academic research journal from the Association for Journalism Education in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The journal helps journalism educators worldwide to keep updated with the latest thinking and research in journalism education. The aim of the journal is also to promote and develop analysis and understanding of journalism, journalism education and training.
Submission Procedure & Guidelines:
The contributors can email their abstracts at:
The last date of sending the abstracts is May 15, 2021. Abstracts must be no longer than 200 words and should contain the draft title of the paper. Only after the abstract is accepted, can contributors send their full paper.
Please include a short (100words) biography as a separate document.
The journal accepts original papers that are not offered for publication elsewhere at the time of submission. Research Papers for the peer review should be in the range of 5000- 7000 words.
Presentation:
Articles should be produced in Word format, double spaced and set in Times New Roman 12pt with the minimum of formatting.
Please do not press the “enter” button to put a double space between paragraphs and do not use specialist templates. Referencing should be in standard Harvard form with citations in the form: (Simmons 1955, p404) whilst notes should be set as footnotes. References should put the publication title in italic with authors’ name in the form: Jones, Brian (2004).
All tables and figures should be produced separately either at the end of the article or in a separate file. Each should be clearly labelled Tab1e 1:….. Table 2…… Fig. 1:…. Fig. 2: etc and a note inserted in the text identifiying approximately where it should be placed.
Copyright
Authors should confirm that they have cleared all copyrighted work for publication and agree that they will indemnify the editors against claims for defamation, copyright infringement or plagiarism. All authors will be asked to sign a contract confirming this.
Process:
Papers are sent to at least two referees for comment. On return, your paper will be accepted, following editing as identified by the referees or refused. Comment and criticism pieces and book reviews will be decided by the editors but may be accepted on the basis that they are edited as identified.
Editor:
Prof Chris Frost
Liverpool John Moores University
Special Edition Guest Editors: Prof Gita Bamezai
Former Professor and Head
Department of Communication Research Indian Institute of Mass Communication New Delhi
Rayies Altaf
Science Communication Researcher & Assistant Professor (Guest)-Science Journalism
Delhi School of Journalism University of Delhi