We put out a call a while back but haven't received many manuscripts. We're now way late, but still eager to see this special issue happen. If you have something of yours or a student's that you'd like to see published in this collection, please email it immediately (by Friday!!) to me and to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mcas Thanks so much! Mass Communication & Society Special Symposium > > DOCUMENTARY FILM: > FORMS, FUNCTIONS, AND IMPACTS > > > Mathew C. Nisbet & Patricia Aufderheide, Guest Editors > School of Communication > American University > > **Manuscripts due no later than January 12, 2009** > > Recent films such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Supersize Me, An Inconvenient > Truth, and Expelled have generated attention to how documentaries > can shape debates over social issues and policy questions. > Documentaries are no longer conventionally perceived as a passive > experience meant solely for informal learning or entertainment. > Instead, with ever increasing frequency, these films are considered > part of a larger effort to spark debate, mold public opinion, shape > policy, and build activist networks. > > In addition to these new forms and uses, more traditional public > media genres such as Frontline, Bill Moyers, or POV continue to be > leading outlets for public affairs journalism and perspective. At > the same time, documentaries are becoming an ever-more-valued > commercial enterprise at for-profit cable television networks and a > wildly popular amateur genre on Youtube. > > These quickly changing trends in documentary content, distribution, > and reach generate a range of questions for media scholars to > examine. In this special issue of Mass Communication & Society, we > seek theoretically-driven and empirically-grounded manuscripts that > investigate the forms, functions, and impacts of documentary film. > We especially seek submissions that explore the subject in one or > several of the following ways: > > Cultural production questions. What is the economic, social, and > cultural context for documentary film? For example, how do changing > structural and economic factors shape the content, goals, and reach > of a documentary? In what ways do different sub-genres vary by > convention, style, forms, and tone? > Normative and ethical questions. Relative to society, how do > different kinds of documentary filmmakers and producers identify > their roles—for instance, as journalists, artists, storytellers, > historians, satirists, or entertainers? How do publics and > stakeholders perceive the authority, intentions, or objectivity of > these film producers? Connected to these perceived professional > norms and roles, what sort of ethical considerations and > professional standards guide the production, content, and strategic > use of a film? > Influence and impact questions. How does media theory help us > understand or measure the social impact of a documentary's release— > not only in terms of direct audience effects but also for publics > beyond those who actually watch the film? For example, what is the > agenda-building and frame-building influence of a film on news > coverage and/or policy decisions? For audiences, what influence can > a film have on informal learning about a complex policy topic? From > an evaluation standpoint, how can research in this area inform the > design, distribution, and marketing of a film? What kind of metrics > can be defined and observed? > Civil society and democracy questions. How and when do > documentaries function as vehicles to engage people not only as > viewers but as members of affected publics and participants in the > public sphere? In what ways can a film be used as a tool to sponsor > or facilitate public deliberation? As documentaries become a highly > valued commercial genre and/or a new form of campaign strategy, > does their perceived and/or actual role shift? > Edited by Matthew C. Nisbet and Patricia Aufderheide, both of > American University's School of Communication, the special issue > will appear at the end of 2009. > > Submitted papers should be no longer than 30 pages including tables > and figure. For additional guidelines, go to http://aejmc.net/mcs/ > submission.php. > Pat Aufderheide, Professor and Director Center for Social Media, School of Communication American University 3201 New Mexico Av. NW, #330 Washington, DC 20016-8080 www.centerforsocialmedia.org [log in to unmask] 202-885-2069 "You know, I'm an eternal optimist. That doesn't mean I'm a sap." --President Barack Obama