Eugenia Mitchelstein., Vice Chair
Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina
E-mail: emitchelstein@udesa.edu.ar
The Journalism Studies Division encourages research that advances our understanding of how journalism and news work, whether within localized spaces or comparatively across countries and regions. Subject areas include, but are not limited to, the roles of journalism in society; the structural, cultural, and technological influences on news; the attitudes, characteristics, and working conditions of journalists; the shifting boundaries, practices, and forms of journalism; economic and business models for news; the nature of news audiences and engagement; and features of news content and their consequences. Of interest are the relationships between journalism and power, democratic norms, financial and political pressures, technological change, organizational innovation, and academic critique. Papers may examine journalism at various levels of analysis and using a variety of theories, methods, and perspectives. The Journalism Studies Division is also interested in submissions attempting to clarify, define, and question core concepts, such as “news,” “audience,” “media,” and “journalism,” which are increasingly vague in meaning.
The Division accepts three forms of submissions: scholarly papers (i.e., full papers), panel proposals, and extended abstracts for works in progress.
For the 2025 conference, Nanyang Technological University is sponsoring a US $1000 Travel Award to offset travel costs. Authors residing in a Tier C country whose submissions are accepted to ICA will be considered by the Division for the award.
1. Scholarly papers (i.e., full papers)
Scholarly papers should be original and innovative. They can be either theoretical in focus or employ empirical methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed, comparative, computational, etc.) at an advanced level. ICA requires that papers be no longer than 8,000 words maximum, not including references, tables, figures, charts, etc. Work already published or accepted for publication, or work already submitted to or presented at another conference, may not be submitted to ICA.
Paper authors are expected to conceal their identity from reviewers (e.g., no names on title page, no names in file properties, and appropriate concealment in the text). Submissions not appropriately anonymized for blind review may be rejected. If citing your own work, be sure to use the third person to keep the paper anonymous, or, where necessary, replace paper author names with “AUTHOR” in the text and in the reference list.
Only if ALL the authors are students should the paper be designated as student paper in the submission process, which will be eligible for the student paper awards. The division recognizes three Top Papers and three Top Student Papers.
Full papers that are accepted to the conference might also be programmed for the poster session.
2. Panel proposals
The Division also accepts panel proposals, but because few panel proposals can be accepted they must provide exceptional added value. Besides topicality and substance, international composition is crucial for a successful panel submission. Panels should feature gender balance, and should not include more than one presenter from a single faculty, department or school. Consider, too, the number of panelists you propose to include. It is difficult to have a successful panel with more than five participants or presentations or to justify a panel with three or fewer participants. Panel proposals must provide all the information required by the online submission system, including a rationale for the panel and individual abstracts from each participant. Panel proposals require a 75-word description of the panel for the conference program; a 400-word rationale, providing justification for the panel and the participating panelists; and a 150-word abstract from each panel participant.
3. Extended abstracts of works in progress
The division also accepts extended abstracts addressing works in progress (introduced at the 2019 Washington conference). Consider these important points before submitting an extended abstract:
A. Extended abstracts should be no more than 1,500 words in length, excluding references.
B. Extended abstracts should describe a study that, in terms of its timing and progression, would actually benefit from feedback at the conference. As such, these abstracts represent discrete studies or broader project areas that have been designed but not yet fully executed, and which are likely to be in progress at the time of the conference, thus maximizing the opportunity for feedback.
C. Extended abstracts should clearly set forth the study purpose, conceptual framework, and research questions, as well as provide sufficient methodological detail by which to evaluate the study’s design and its likely findings. If applicable, abstracts may also include preliminary findings.
D. Accepted extended abstracts will be presented in sessions clearly labeled “Works in Progress,” and authors will present in an abbreviated format (e.g., 6-8 minutes per abstract, to be determined by the number of presenters) so as to facilitate ample space for discussion and feedback.
E. When submitting in this format, authors must include the words “Extended Abstract” at the start of their paper title (e.g., “Extended Abstract: [Your paper title]”). Authors should clearly indicate the same on the title page of their submission. Submissions that are not appropriately labeled may be rejected.
As with full papers, extended abstracts accepted to the conference might also be programmed for the poster session.
Reviewing Expectation
All paper submitters must review for the division. We want to maintain the JSD-standard of providing every paper with three reviews, and we can only accomplish this with the collective support of our division’s members and submitters, so thank you very much for signing up as a reviewer.
Some Reminders
When submitting, make sure that a) you have anonymised your PDF file before uploading—you can check the metadata to ensure you have done so (if you’re using a PDF reader, go to File > Properties and check whether anyone is listed as an Author); and b) you have actually uploaded a PDF file (some had clicked submit without uploading a PDF file). Also, many of our reviewers may be used to a particular format. If unsure, you can always use the most recent APA style for citation and formatting. For example, reviewers usually expect Times New Roman 12, with double spacing, for accessible reading.
If you have any questions concerning these formats or general inquiries regarding your individual submission, please contact Vice Chair Eugenia Mitchelstein at emitchelstein@udesa.edu.ar.
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