[Air-L] Deadline approaching - ICA Postconference "News Industries: Funding Innovations and Futures"

[Agata Stepnik]

A reminder, and apologies for cross-posting.
News Industries: Funding Innovations and Futures Call for Abstracts

*Deadline for abstracts 1 February.*

*News Industries: Funding innovations and Futures* is a one-day ICA 2024
postconference event that will bring together the research community and
stakeholders from the news industry to have an open dialogue about what has
worked and what hasn’t in developing funding models in the online news
environment.

*Date:* Tuesday 25 June 2024, 9:00am-4:00pm.

*Location:* Kurrawa Surf Club, Gold Coast. Please note there will be a
dinner on the evening of 24 June at Kurrawa Surf Club (included in the
registration fee).

*Topics*
The goal of this event is to bring together academics, industry and HDR
students to share and learn about innovative funding approaches in
journalism through a global comparative lens. We hope to generate a
constructive dialogue about solutions to the funding challenges facing the
news and media industries locally and internationally.

We have invited leading academics and industry professionals from news
organisations, start-ups, and digital platforms, to ask big questions about
the shifting economic and social value of news, including:

   - Are paid subscriptions a viable model for general news?
   - Should digital platforms be involved in funding news?
   - Are governments playing an increasing role in supporting news?
   - Do we need blue sky approaches to the financial sustainability of news?

There are three main areas we would like to address:

   - Business models and innovations – e.g. advertising, micropayments,
   freemium models and subscription
   - Government subsidies, philanthropy and not-for-profits
   - Regulating digital platforms and financial support from platforms

We would also like to encourage blue sky thinking. Have we been tinkering
around the edges of a system that is failing? Should we throw out old
funding approaches and start again? What type of news environment do
capitalist democracies really want?

*Format of the Day*
The event will consist of a series of panels, presentations, keynotes and
conversations.

*Submission Process*
Please submit an abstract for a 5–7-minute lightning talk. The abstract
should be no more than 200 words plus a 50-word bio for each author. Please
submit one file either in MSWord or PDF. Submit through this form
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/WpJeCBNqjlCDq3RrvizUhJl?domain=forms.gle> no
later than 1 February 2024.

The committee is looking for presentations that demonstrate originality,
relevance to themes, and innovation.

Contributors will be selected by peer-review and notified of the decision
on or before 1 March 2024. At least one author is expected to attend the
postconference and present in person.

We will explore the potential of an edited volume of postconference
materials as a report for industry and a valuable resource for academics
researching in this space.

*Registration and Fees*
Registration will open on 1 March 2024. All participants must register for
the postconference. Registration costs will be $AUD 88 (waged) and $AUD 35
(student/part-time or casual) which covers coffee breaks and lunch on the
25th June and the dinner on the 24th June.

*Key Dates*
1 Feb 2024: Deadline for abstract submission
1 March 2024: Corresponding authors notified of decision
20-24 June 2024: Main ICA conference
25 June 2024: Postconference event

*Endorsed* by the following ICA Divisions: Media Industry Studies Interest
Group; Journalism Studies Division

*Organising Committee*
Professor Sora Park, U of Canberra
Associate Professor Caroline Fisher, U of Canberra
Professor Terry Flew, U of Sydney
Dr Aljosha Karim Schapals, Queensland U of Technology
Dr Janet Fulton, U of Canberra
Dr Agata Stepnik, U of Sydney

*Sponsors*
We would like to thank our sponsors:

   - The News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra
   - Discipline of Media and Communication, The University of Sydney
   - Australian Community Media

The funding from these organisations is from three Australian Research
Council grants: LP220100121 Heartbeat of Australia Linkage Project
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/upTwCD1vlpTopQJzXu5d6UA?domain=acm.media>;
DP210100157 The Rise of Mistrust Discovery Project
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/pNrsCE8wmrtlyK02BTpfMq0?domain=canberra.edu.au>;
DP220100589 The Value of News Discovery Project
<https://mediated-trust-arts.sydney.edu.au/valuing-news/>.

For any enquiries, please contact the committee on:
newsfuturespostconf at gmail.com.

*Acknowledgement*
This postconference aims to continue the discussions that were sparked at
the ICA 2023 Postconference ‘Novel Directions in Media Innovation and
Funding’ hosted by Mary Lynn Young and Alfred Hermida, which was held in
Toronto in May 2023.



Kind regards,

Dr Agata Stepnik



THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Postdoctoral Researcher
Discipline of Media and Communications,

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences





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