Midwinter call released

CALL FOR PAPER ABSTRACTS AND PANEL PROPOSALS – 2010 AEJMC MIDWINTER CONFERENCE

March 5-7, 2010
Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Oklahoma
(Link to conference web page through http://www.ou.edu/gaylord)

The AEJMC Midwinter Conference is an annual forum for the presentation of research and debate in areas relevant to the 12 AEJMC groups (divisions, interest groups and commissions) sponsoring the event. It follows a rather informal structure that allows for presentations and extended discussions in a relaxed setting. The upcoming conference is scheduled for March 5-7, 2010 at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication (University of Oklahoma) in Norman, Oklahoma. The location offers participants many winter diversions outside the conference activities, including world-class museums and art galleries.
Questions about paper and panel submissions must be directed to the appropriate midwinter chairs below. General questions about the conference can be sent to Elanie Steyn, Conference Site Host (elanie@ou.edu).
Paper submissions: Authors should submit research paper proposals consisting of a 300 to 500-word abstract by email to the midwinter chair (from the list below) of the group (division/interest group/commission) they wish to submit to. Please keep in mind that you can only submit any given paper abstract to one of the groups participating in the conference – submitting the same paper abstract to several groups is not allowed. Do not submit full papers. The abstracts should give a clear sense of the scope of the research and the method of inquiry. If researchers have completed their projects by the submission deadline, paper abstracts should also include research conclusions. Once their paper abstracts have been accepted, authors must submit complete research papers (not exceeding 30 pages) to the discussant of their session on the program. Discussants should receive full papers at least two weeks before the conference. Keep in mind that papers presented at this conference are also eligible for presentation at the AEJMC national convention. Authors are encouraged to use the midwinter conference as an opportunity to get feedback on their research, improve and finalize it for submission to the national conference.
Panel submissions: Panel organizers should submit proposals to the midwinter chair (from the list below) of the group (division/interest group/commission) they wish to present the panel to. Panel submissions should include the panel title, a description of the session’s focus, the issues to be discussed, and a list of panelists (potential and confirmed), including affiliation.
Format: Identify the paper’s author(s) or panel’s organizer(s) on the title page only and include the mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address of the person to whom inquiries should be addressed. The title should be on the first page of the text and on running heads on each page of text. Include your abstract or proposal as an attachment (saved with your last name as file name) in a standard word-processing format (preferably Word or RTF) and email it to the relevant midwinter chair. Also, ensure that you remove any identifying information from your document (with the exception of the title page).
Deadline: All submissions should reach the appropriate division/interest group/commission’s midwinter paper chair (see below) by December 1, 2009. Midwinter chairs will notify authors of acceptances and rejections by January 6, 2010.
Registration: Details on conference registration, hotel accommodation, and travel information will be available a http://www.ou.edu/gaylord.

Reviewers needed for Mid-Winter, Major conferences

The Religion and Media Interest Group is in need of paper reviewers for both the Mid-Winter Conference, to be held in Oklahoma City in February, and the Annual Conference, to be held in Boston.

Reviewers for the Mid-winter would be asked to read and make recommendations on 3 or 4 extended abstracts in the second week of December. If you can help, please contact Amanda_SturgillATbaylor.edu

Reviewers for the Annual Conference would read 4 full papers in April. For the Annual Conference, the research chair has requested that reviewers must not be also submitting to the conference.

If you are interested in serving, please contact me at chenc@byuh.edu and include the following information:

Name:
School:
Email:
Expertise/Areas of Interest:

New leadership takes lead at annual business meeting

Members of the Religion and Media Interest Group elected new division officers on Thursday, filling the rather large vacancy left by excellent past RMIG head Ralph Frasca.

Taking the two top posts are Jim Trammell of High Point University as Head and Paola Banchero of the University of Alaska as Vice Head.

Congratulations to Jim and Paola and many thanks to Ralph.

Meeting tonight

If you are here at AEJMC, please come to the Religion and Media Interest Group business meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Marriott. In addition to the always entertaining officer elections, there will be a report on the successes of the division in the last year and a chance to give your opinion on issues such as if you would like to do the MidWinter meeting again this year. Plus, Ralph Frasca may sing.

Call for papers

Religion and Media
Interest Group
The Religion and Media Interest Group invites submission of research on any topic related to religion and media. RMIG is interested in papers using any recognized research method and any recognized citation style. Please note that RMIG is interested in research presentations, rather than essays, commentary, or simple literature reviews. Possible areas of focus for the research include but are not limited to studies of religious group members and uses of secular media, exploration of media coverage of religious issues and groups, studies of the audiences for religious news, media strategies of religious organizations, religious advertising, religious and spiritual content in popular culture, and so on. The competition is open to both faculty and students. For more about RMIG and its mission, see http://www.rnasecure.org/aejmc/aejmc.html.
Papers will be considered for presentation in traditional or high density research panels or research poster sessions. Please note the maximum length of 25 pages, excluding endnotes and tables. Presentation: The best papers will be presented at the AEJMC 2008 convention, August 6-9 in Chicago, Ill. At least one author of a selected paper must register and attend. The Religion and Media Interest Group sponsors a Top Paper competition for student papers. The top graduate student paper will be selected from among the refereed papers submitted to the RMIG competition, and the student paper winner will receive $100 and a certificate. In the case of multi-authored papers, all authors must be students to qualify for the Top Student Paper award. The top student paper award will not be given if the selected paper is not presented at the convention. In order to be considered for the Top Paper award, the cover page of the paper must indicate that it is a student submission. RMIG will consider graduate student papers equally with faculty papers in terms of consideration for acceptance; the only difference is the top paper award. Papers submitted not adhering to the Uniform Call will be removed from consideration.
For questions, contact the RMIG Paper Chair: Paola Banchero, at 907-223-5102 or paola@uaa.alaska.edu. Type “RMIG Research Paper” in the subject line if communicating via e-mail.

Come to the MidWinter Meeting

The Religion and Media interest group will be participating in the AEJMC Midwinter Meeting this year. We need you and your research to help make it a success.

Read the call here PAPER CALL

C. S. Lewis Conference

The C.S. Lewis Foundation will be hosting a summer conference next month in San Diego, focusing on the role of Christians in a world of diverse beliefs, and the questions of being proactive in a post-modern culture. As part of this theme, the conference will also emphasize the role of media and the place of the “Christian artist” in today’s culture.

More information can be found on the foundation's web site.

Summer conference

Quentin Schultze at Calvin College is organizing a conference at Calvin called Understanding Evangelical Media Today: From Broadcasts to Blogs, Bible Theme Parks, and Podcasts. The conference is from July 12-14 in Grand Rapids and presenters will focus mostly by medium, including a look at how emerging technologies are changing the way evangelicals communicate. There will be a focus on teaching and a book that is "inexpensive and student-friendly" will result, according to organizers. For more information, see the conference web site here.