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Conference Inclusion and Accessibility

CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPERS

Mass Communication Division

Mark Boukes, Vice Chair
Associate Professor, Department of Communication Science / ASCoR
U of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Email: m.boukes@uva.nl

The Mass Communication Division welcomes (1) full paper submissions and (2) panel proposals on a broad range of topics that exemplify the societal importance and impact of mass communication in all its various forms. Although it has increasingly become difficult to define “Mass Communication”, one could understand this as the process of creating, sending, receiving, and analyzing messages to large audiences via various forms of media, such as television, radio, newspapers, and the internet. Mass communication aims to disseminate information, entertain, or influence public opinion on a wide scale; generally, it therefore does not include one-on-one messages or interpersonal (online) communication.

Topics of interest range from the content and psychological effects of media messages to interactions among media systems and political economy to comparative and international media concerns. Innovative research on factors that redefine the nature of mass communication and its changing role in society, international and comparative work, and integrative theoretical pieces are especially encouraged. Purely theory-based works in the realm of Mass Communication also are welcome. The division is committed to a range of theoretical and methodological approaches and welcomes proposals using quantitative, qualitative, or interpretative approaches.

In light of ICA’s 75th anniversary, submissions are especially encouraged that reflect on the past, the present, and the future of mass communication; for example, as a research subject, as a sub-field, or as an academic community.

Important general guidelines before submitting:

(1) Submitted papers should be original work and pertinent to the field of Mass Communication. Research that is currently under revision or accepted for publication for a journal, or has previously been presented at an international conference is ineligible for consideration and, hence, should not be submitted. Moreover, each paper may be submitted to only one division, interest group, or theme session. Submission of the same paper to more than one section is not permitted, and will disqualify the paper from acceptance and presentation in all divisions.

(2) The Mass Communication division does not accept extended abstracts.

(3) Only one first-authored submission will be accepted for presentation in this division. If you submit more than one first-authored submission that receives high reviewer scores, the paper that has the best fit with the division’s conference program will be selected.

(4) All individuals with papers submitted to the Mass Communication division will be required to review for the Mass Communication division (2-to-4 papers), and thus to sign up as a reviewer in the online system. It is expected that reviewers will provide both quantitative scores and qualitative feedback in their review. In cases where paper authors fail to register and/or to complete their assigned reviews, submissions by that author will not be accepted. No conference program can be constructed without the help of reviewers; thus, we need submitters to also function as reviewers to facilitate this process. Therefore, please register to be a reviewer, which one can do on the ICA submission website. To sign up for reviewing, follow these steps:

(a) All reviewers must be registered with the ScholarOne paper submission website to be able to review and rate submissions. If you have not previously registered on the ScholarOne website (which is different from the icahdq.org website), you will be asked to create an account.

(b) Make sure to use the same account/e-mail address for your submission as for your review assignment. If you had a profile from ICA’s previous submission websites, then please use the same profile/login (and modify if necessary).

(c) Within the ICA’s paper management system (where you submit papers), you can sign up to review by clicking on your name in the top panel, and then select “Profile & Reviewer Sign-Up”. This can all be done before you submit your paper(s) and should be done promptly (A.S.A.P) to ensure that your own submission is not rejected because of a failure to review.

(d) As part of the registration process, you will have an option to volunteer to be a reviewer (please check “Yes”), and then to select the Division(s) or Interest Group(s) for which you would like to review with which set of keywords.

(e) Select at least three keywords from the “Mass Communication:” list provided on the webpage (for each click “Add Expertise”). Pick the keywords that best represent your area of expertise, because these will be used to match you with the most relevant submissions. Please select at least one “Methods” keyword.

(f) Click “Save changes / Next section” and continue with the next sections (Contact Information; Roles; User ID & Password, Privacy) until the last page, where you select “Yes” and “Save Changes”.

(g) Set aside appropriate time for reviewing papers and proposals between Friday, 8 November and Friday, 6 December (the review window), 2024. Also, make sure to check your SPAM-folder or the ICA submission site, in case you don’t receive a notification about this.

(5) Attendance Requirement: All presenters who submitted their work are expected to attend the conference in-person if their work is accepted. Any submission, thus, comes with the professional expectation that you will present that work as a registered attendee at the conference if it is accepted by the Division. The Mass Communication division will not accept remote submissions independently; more info about potential hybrid options will be communicated through the ICA headquarters.

Full Papers:

Full-length scholarly papers should be completed papers with a minimum of 5,000 words and a maximum of 6,500 words (excluding title, abstract, tables, figures, references, and appendices). Please make sure to follow the guidelines below:

• Include (a) the title, (b) 150-word abstract, and (c) word count on the first page of the PDF (and no author names);
• Delete all identifying information before submitting the paper; for instructions, see here: https://osf.io/tdrca/?view_only=a0ec88399aa8424499d02d926ec4fb2c. Please also double-check the meta-data of your submission when uploading, such that no identifying information is included there;
• Upload only 1 PDF that includes an abstract, main text, all tables, graphs, pictures and necessary appendices. Thus, all files associated with the submission must be included with the main text in a single anonymous document;
• Manuscripts should be prepared in APA-7 style with standard 1 inch/2.54 cm margins and 12-point Times New Roman font
• If the first-author and the presenting author is a PhD candidate (defense of their dissertation had not taken place yet), then the work can be designated as “student paper” in the system. Thereby, the work will be deemed eligible for the student paper award competition.

Please do not identify your paper as a student paper within the body of the paper itself. Rather, designate it as a student paper when submitting it using the conference online submission system;

• All submissions must be completed online using the ScholarOne system and following ICA guidelines and deadline. There, you will be asked to select a primary and two additional keywords from the Mass Communication Division’s keywords list. It is VERY important that you select keywords that best identify your work in terms of content, theory and methodology. Keep in mind that general keywords will not be helpful in delineating your work from others. The more specific you can be, the better the match between reviewer and submission. Therefore, please select at least one method keyword (unless it is a purely theoretical paper);
• When submitting the paper, you have the option to put a request or note in the system. The notes sections should be used to inform about any scheduling/religious conflicts or accessibility needs; so that, if accepted, your paper can be scheduled appropriately. Those reviewing your paper will not see the comments you enter in the notes section; they are only seen by the planner (post-review) and ICA headquarters.
• Sign up as a reviewer for the Mass Communication Division in the ScholarOne system to fulfil the required reviews (carefully follow the instructions above). Submissions of authors who fail to register as a reviewer for the Mass Communication division and/or fail to complete their assigned reviews, will not be accepted.

Please note: Papers submitted for consideration in the traditional sessions will also be considered for the conference-wide ICA Interactive Poster Display Session.

Panel Proposals:

The Mass Communication division encourages proposals for panels that bring together a group of scholars and experts for a structured discussion or presentation session to share knowledge, insights, and perspectives on a specific topic or theme that is relevant to the division. This interactive format allows for the exchange of ideas and diverse viewpoints, which offers participants and attendees a new understanding of the subject matter from multiple angles. Only a few panel proposals can be accepted; therefore, it is important to clearly articulate the added value of the proposed panel. Panel proposals should include the following information:

• a clear and descriptive title;
• a description that can be included in the program (max. 75 words);
• a rationale for the overall panel (max. 400 words);
• names and affiliations of all presenters and the chair/organizer;
• abstracts of each participant’s contribution (max. 150 words each).
• Per ICA’s guidelines, panel proposals should include contributions from at least two different countries, feature gender balance, and include not more than one contributor from a single faculty, department, or school.

Session Chairs

Scholars interested in chairing sessions, please email the Mass Communication program planner: m.boukes@uva.nl. Preference will be given to those who indicate they will attend the conference regardless of paper status.

If you have any questions concerning these formats or general inquiries regarding your individual submission, please contact Vice Chair Mark Boukes ( m.boukes@uva.nl ).

List of Mass Communication division keywords can be found at the bottom of this page.

The 2025 Mass Communication Innovation Award: Innovation in Methods

Call for Nominations

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: 31 January 2025

At the 2016 ICA annual meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, the Mass Communication Division membership approved the creation of a new award: the ICA MCD Innovation Award. This award honors mass communication theory innovations in even numbered years and method innovations in odd numbered years.

Nominations for the 2025 Mass Communication Innovation Award in Methods are invited this year. Innovation in method could reflect the creation of new analytical tools and/or procedures, the offering of an improved design to address a long-standing mass communication phenomenon, the creation of novel stimuli to address a mass communication question, the presentation of an advancement in comparative research methodology, or the use of mixed methods in a novel, but productive manner.

An innovation is often defined as something “new”, but we all know that our theory and method advancements build on the work of others. Nevertheless, there are instances when a particular work signals not just a step, but a leap forward that is worthy of being defined as an “innovation”. It is those works that represent a unique advancement that the division is seeking to identify for this award.

All nominations will focus on a single work of innovation, whether it be a peer-reviewed journal article, invited journal article, book chapter, or book. Both self-nominations and nominations by others are welcome. Only those individuals who are current members of the International Communication Association (ICA) can put forward a nomination or offer a letter of support. A nominated work can be by one or more author(s) and published anytime within fifteen years prior to the nomination deadline. For the 2025 award, this would include works published from January 2010 to December 2024.

A nomination packet will include the following:

1. a primary nomination letter arguing why this piece of research represents a true theoretical innovation and a summary of the scope and impact of the innovation on mass communication research;
2. a copy of the peer-reviewed journal article, invited journal article, book chapter, or up to two chapters of the book being nominated;
3. the Curriculum Vitae of the sole- or lead-author of the work being considered for the award.

All nomination materials should be included in a single PDF attachment sent before the deadline of 31 January 2025 to the Chair of the ICA Mass Communication Division, Professor Dana Mastro via email, at mastro@comm.ucsb.edu. An award committee consisting of three to five members who represent diverse methodological backgrounds, ranks, institutions, and nationalities will review the materials.