Deadline EXTENDED: December 5, 2022

Research Symposium co-Chairs:

Travis Dixon, University of Illinois; tldixon@illinois.edu
Dana Mastro, University of California-Santa Barbara; mastro@comm.ucsb.edu 

The demographics of both the United States and the world continue to shift and diversify, with people of color and other traditionally marginalized groups increasingly becoming the majority in many regions. These changes have profound implications for media production and consumption, as historically these populations have either been ignored by the mainstream media or negatively stereotyped and maligned by dominant group representations. Alongside these longstanding norms in mass-produced media, social media has emerged as a forum with the potential to reinforce or challenge these patterns. This environment is further complicated by the rise of extremism and repression that relies on media dissemination but also may be disrupted by the use of social media for organization against such oppression. These remain ripe topics for media scholars. Given this backdrop, the goal of this symposium is to fully illuminate the role of diversity in media representation, dissemination and effects across various platforms, including social media.

The symposium welcomes quantitative social scientific research from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Potential contributions can include, but are not limited to:

• Media stereotyping in various contexts including news and entertainment
• Counter-stereotyping efforts deploying various social media tools
• Understanding how misinformation proliferates using social group identity (e.g., race/ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality, and ability)
• The relationship between political communication, social group identity, and media
• Critical media effects across platforms
• Media diversity and threats to democracy
• Media trust and social group identity
• Understanding how media and diversity influence health campaigns
• The role of media and diversity in supporting democracy
• The role of diversity and media in creating and sustaining community

Submissions to this research symposium can be: (1) full research papers, which typically run between 5,000-7,000 words, excluding references, tables and appendices; and (2) extended abstracts, which typically run 1,500-2,000 words and include a clear presentation of the study’s theoretical foundation, hypotheses, methods, and (potential) results. Extended abstracts must note the (actual/anticipated) dates of data collection. Feasibility of project completion will be considered in evaluations of extended abstracts. All submissions will be peer-reviewed and, if accepted, will be considered for inclusion in Routledge’s Electronic Media Research Book Series. In addition, the 2023 BEA Research Symposium will sponsor a paper competition for which faculty and students are eligible.

Paper Submission Process:
BEA Members will be able to upload papers to the BEA2023 All Academic site with their BEA membership login and password. If you know your BEA login information login to your All Academic account. If you forgot your BEA membership password, click here to reset. If you ARE NOT a BEA member, create an All Academic account by clicking here. Once you login with your BEA membership login and password, follow the steps below:
1. Submit a paper… Click on the link for “Submit or Edit a Paper or Program Proposal.” 2. Select 2023 Research Symposium – Diversity and Media
3. Submit the title & abstract… Follow the guidelines to add a title and abstract
4. Adding co-authors… At the prompt, add any co-authors to the paper. Note: If your coauthor(s) aren’t BEA members, have them create All Academic accounts first so you can easily search and link them to the paper.
5. Review & Upload… Review your information and upload your paper or extended abstract by using the “Upload Paper” link. Editing Abilities… You can edit and/or re-submit papers up until the deadline at 11:59 pm ET on December 1, 2022. Length & Style… Papers normally do not exceed 4,000 words excluding references, tables and appendices. Use APA style.

The Research Symposium paper competition is BLINDLY REVIEWED. Do NOT include a cover page with author and contact information and remove ALL author information from internal pages. Judges need to blindly review your papers. Your paper information will be directly linked to your profile. Authors will be notified about decisions by January 15, 2023.

Research Submission Information:
1. Please indicate the author(s) status: (faculty, graduate student, undergraduate student), and virtual or in-person preference.
2. You may submit different papers; however, conference organizers reserve the right to select papers to ensure greater representation in published proceedings.
3. Papers must be written using APA Style.
4. Papers accepted and presented are eligible for publication in the BEA Routledge book series, contingent on standard revision procedures.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT.