International Conference on
Media and Crises
Stakes and Challenges
14 -15 Dec. 2010
Conference Program
conference Abstracts And
Full papers
Today’s global society is characterized by severe complexities in many facets of every day life. To this effect, lots of crises emerge daily, reflecting different types of intricacies. Therefore, scholars are confronted with identifying, solving, and working on various types of crises.
Indeed, the recent crises include: the contemporary identity crisis, the socio-economic ones, the political, and lately the environmental crisis. Critically, such types of crises have reconfigured the shape of the global society to the extent that individuals and communities lost control of handling those problems. This is typified in many severe issues like: terrorism, the financial crisis, the mass genocide, mass immigration of communities, and the climate crisis.
Hence, crises pave the way for societies to thoroughly consider the strategic solutions in which the collective efforts of all members of the global society help reconfigure a transformational stage of the world.
Arguably, the role of the mass media in this regard can’t be overlooked or denied. Substantially, the mass media play a quasi-dimensional role either by solving or enlarging the scope of the given crisis. Therefore, there is a need for considering the possible alternatives that can be induced by the mass media.
Scholars of communication believe that the mass media, past and present, have an effective impact on the global society. For example, the media serve definite ends in shaping public opinion regarding many issues. Verbally, this is conducted by means of two paradoxical parameters that reflect either the deep analysis or the shallow coverage of the media. In turn, the global audience may be torn between two versions of the story which end in bringing about the crisis.
The core issue comes into existence when the concerned parties address the crisis by either overcoming it or snow balling it to serve definite hidden agendas.
In this regard, communication scholars found some key questions essential to be addressed such as:
1- How far can communication scholars and professionals use the mass media in dealing with the given crisis?
2- Is there a definite media culture that helps media personnel in this regard?
3- How can the mass media be operated during the time of the crisis?
4- Is it the role of professionals or the academicians to solve the crisis?
5- Do the media consider the crisis irrespective of its nature as being: financial, socio-economic, political, cultural, or sport crisis?
6- How can the media approach and direct the crisis?
7- How far is the media role correlated with the current situational conditions?
8- Do traditional and new media cover the crisis equally?
9- Does the crisis affect the professional standard role of the media?
10- How far are the media organized during the time of the crisis?
11- What are the different patterns of media discourse during the crisis?
12- Is media objectivity monitored during the time of the crisis?
Objectives of the Conference
1- To present the different mechanisms of media coverage during the normal and crisis times.
2- To introduce the audience to the basics and strategies of the media crisis.
3- To investigate the different types of professional approaches addressing the field of media crisis.
4- To develop the scientific literature on the relationship between mass media and crises.
5- To study different types and patterns of media coverage during the times of crisis.
6- To study news organizations behavioral patterns during crises.
7- To investigate the journalists’ professional stands and behaviors during crises.
8- To analyze and evaluate the role of public relations in managing the crisis.
9- To describe and examine the role of the new media in dealing with the crisis.
10- To exchange scholarly and professional experiences regarding crisis management.
11- To develop critical thinking about the relationship between the media and crises on the professional, ethical and political levels.
12- To consider the stakes of the mass media during crises to make use of lessons from the past in crisis management.
13- To study the present situation of the media and the crisis in the Emirati, Arab, and Islamic societies.
14- To investigate the major challenges facing media corporations during crises.
Conference Themes
1- Concepts and approaches pertaining to media and crises.
2- Theoretical models and paradigms of the mass media.
3- Traditional media coverage of crises.
4- New journalistic and media patterns of dealing with crises.
5- Media coverage of crises in the Arab and Islamic regions.
6- Media and Wars.
7- Media and financial crises.
8- Media and environmental crises.
9- Media and deadly crises.
10- Media and social crises.
11- Media and terrorism.
12- Media in conflict areas: Palestine, Iraq, Darfur, Afghanistan…etc.
13- The academicians, the professionals and crises: What kind of relations?
14- Media and crisis management: Cases and lessons.
15- Public relations and crisis management.
Important Dates
Venue: University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Dates: Dec. 14th - 16th,2010
Abstract Submission Deadline: June 1st,2010
Full paper due: Oct. 1st,2010
Please send abstracts and full papers to:
College of Communication
University of sharjah,
P.O. Box 27272
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Tel. + 971 6 5050695
Fax + 971 6 5050688
e-mail: communications@sharjah.ac.ae