The world is experiencing one of the most severe health crises in recent history—the Coronavirus, which has claimed over 3.6 million lives and affects almost every society. In containing and coping with the pandemic, communication and media environments play a central role. COVID-19-related messages dominate private and public communication and will probably continue to do so in the months to come. More than ever, we also come to realize the global and networked nature of our communication environments. Like the virus itself, information spreads globally from various sources with the potential to reach millions of people instantly. The level of uncertainty is high, fear or anger is real ; people’s mental states affect how they process incoming information and how they react to it. Uncertainty also challenges communicators in political, social, and economic organizations caught between social responsibility, strategic interests, and moral obligations.
Against this backdrop, the three ICA affiliate Journals, namely Studies in Communication and Media (Germany), Communication & Society (Hong Kong), and Revue Française des Sciences de l’Information et de la Communication (France) are pleased to issue this joint call for papers on the role of communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. We welcome a broad spectrum of COVID-19-related contributions from every subfield of communication studies including research on (1) communicators, (2) messages, (3) media/message use, reception or processing, and (4) effects. Papers may deal with theoretical, empirical, methodological, and ethical issues.
How to submit
Authors should submit their full paper to only one of the three affiliate journals. Submissions can be either in English (for all three journals) or in the journal-specific national language and will undergo a double-blind review process according to the guidelines of the respective journal ; submissions should adhere to all specific guidelines and structures of the respective journal. To submit, visit the website and follow the journal-specific instructions and guidelines :
- Studies in Communication and Media (Germany) :https://www.scm.nomos.de/en/
- Communication & Society (Hong Kong) : http://www.cschinese.com/
- Revue Française des Sciences de l’Information et de la Communication (France) : https://journals.openedition.org/rfsic/?lang=en
The deadline for all submissions is December 1, 2021. Authors will be notified of acceptance by March 30, 2022. Final publication of articles is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2022. Moreover, all authors will be given the opportunity to present their papers in the Affiliate Journal Session during the upcoming ICA annual conference in Paris in May 2022 (in case of limited slots, the journal editors reserve the right to select specific papers).
Dr. Matthias Hastall, Dr. Merja Marth, Dr. Andreas Scheu, Dr. Kerstin Thummes, Dr. Thomas Zerback, Studies in Communication and Media (Germany)
Dr. Ven-hwei, Lo, Communication & Society (Hong Kong)
Dr. Mélanie Bourdaa, Revue Française des Sciences de l’Information et de la Communication (France)
Keywords
- Mots-clés
- Covid-19