Radio and new participatory journalisms around the World:
Understanding Convergence in News Cultures
Special issue of
Telematics and Informatics
Edited by Dr. Last Moyo
Senior lecturer, Media Studies, University of Witwatersrand, P Bag 3, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa. E-mail: last.moyo@wits.ac.za
INTRODUCTION
The Internet and mobile phones are changing the face of radio. Their appropriation by private, public and community radio is transforming radio as a medium thus making it at least in principle more accessible through multiple platforms such as webcasting, mobile streaming, and podcasts. In most cases, these technologies have had a profound impact on radio’s institutional cultures and practices especially with regards to the way it produces and disseminates news and current affairs programming. They have a direct impact on journalistic practices in terms of the gathering, manufacturing, and subsequent dissemination of news to audiences. The use of digital media is also influencing the audiences which are seen as becoming much more actively involved in the production and consumption of news as radio changes from a mass medium to a more interactive, individualised, and participatory medium. Hence, this Special Issue aims to conduct a critical study of new media uses by the public, private and community radio stations and their audiences and the potential impact such uses have in democratizing citizen participation in radio news. Specific areas of investigation will include, among others, how radio stations and audiences use mobile phones in terms of voice calls, SMS (texting), MMS, mobile radio, podcasts, audio streaming, blogs, electronic mail, and discussion forums to construct and mediate reality in the medium of news. By new participatory journalisms, we seek to refer to what has been controversially dubbed as citizen journalism. This is a kind of journalism that is not only embedded on people’s everyday experiences, but is also driven people themselves. While these new forms of participatory journalisms have been appropriated by radio, they also find independent expression through digital media channels. While giving special attention to the confluences that exist between citizen journalism and radio journalism, this Special Issue also takes a keen interest in the general use of mobile phones and the Internet by radio and their audience
OVERALL OBJECTIVES
Contributors to this Special Issue are encouraged to provide theoretically sound and methodologically rigorous case study-based analysis of the uses of the Internet and mobile phones by radio journalists and their audiences in the production and dissemination of news. Therefore, contributions that reflect historically-grounded theorization of the Internet and mobile phone uses by radio journalists would be most welcome.
RECOMMENDED THEMES
Contributions must focus on, among other related issues, the following themes:
· Confluences of radio journalism and citizen journalism
· Internet, mobile phones and the changing news room cultures on radio
· Community radio and citizen participation in the digital age
· Radio news and public service broadcasting in the digital age
· Digital media political economy, radio audiences and the digital divide.
· ICTs, gender and newsroom policies
· Radio, convergence and fragmentation of audiences
Send abstracts to:
Dr. Last Moyo
Senior Lecturer
Department of Media Studies
University of Witwatersrand
Tel: + 27 11 717 4241
Email: last.moyo@wits.ac.za
Submit full articles online at