Media, Communication and Sport Section - Call for Proposals 2025

The Media, Communication and Sport (MCS) Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of abstracts for IAMCR 2025, which will be held in Singapore from 13 to 17 July 2025, hosted by the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University.

The deadline for submission is 7 February 2025, at 23h59 UTC.

See the list of all sections and working groups and their remits
See the CfPs of all sections and working groups

IAMCR conferences address many diverse topics defined by our 37 thematic sections and working groups. We also propose a single central theme to be explored throughout the conference with the aim of generating and exploring multiple perspectives. This is accomplished through plenary and special sessions, as well as in many of the sessions of the sections and working groups. The 2025 central theme is Communicating Environmental Justice: Many Voices, One Planet.

Consult a detailed description of the main theme

The Media, Communication and Sport Section has traditionally been a platform for inter/trans/multi-disciplinary inspired work and we encourage such papers again. We invite submissions from all theoretical and methodological perspectives. In 2025, we particularly welcome contributions that bridge the study of media, communication and sport and the conference’s central theme “Communicating Environmental Justice: Many Voices, One Planet.”

Authors should consider any of the ideas listed below as relevant to the Media, Communication and Sport Section. This list does not exhaust the potential categories of submissions. Some of the topics that may be addressed are:

  • Sport, sustainability, and the communication of environmental issues
  • Diversity, inclusiveness, and respect in sports communication: Gender, media and sport, Sporting masculinities/femininities, Race and ethnicity portrayals in media, Minority sports, Disability sport, Sexual diversity, Sport and social inclusion
  • Sporting mega-events: politics, production, representation, and consumption
  • Media, sport, and cultural citizenship
  • Evolution of the sports media rights market in the age of media portals
  • The role of emerging technologies in sport communication: digital and mobile media, eSports, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, and beyond
  • Social networking sites and their use by athletes, fans, media, and professional sports organizations
  • New trends and challenges in the global sport media ecosystem
  • Ethics and accountability in sports journalism
  • Innovations and developments in sports journalism
  • Crisis communication and image repair in sport
  • Media, communication, and sport in Southeast Asia

All papers, from the full range of perspectives on the study of Media, Communication and Sport will be considered.

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts must be submitted to the Media, Communication and Sport section exclusively through IAMCR’s submission system from 3 December 2024 through 7 February 2025, at 23.59 UTC.

Abstract should be between 800 and 1000 words. It is expected that each person will submit only one abstract. However, no author’s name should appear on more than two abstracts, either individually or as part of any group of authors and authors should not submit more than one abstract to any single section or working group.

Evaluation criteria

Submitted abstracts will generally be evaluated on the basis of:

  • Technical merit
  • Readability
  • Originality and/or significance
  • Use of or contribution to theory
  • Relevance to the section and current trends or controversies in its field
  • Depth of knowledge of the research, theory and/or literature related to the proposed topic as evidenced in the submission
  • Acceptance of proposals may also be conditioned by programme diversity and balance criteria

Statement on use of AI tools

IAMCR does not encourage or condone the use of generative AI tools to create abstracts submitted for consideration for our conferences. IAMCR values originality, integrity, and transparency in academic work, and believes that human-authored contributions best support rigorous and innovative scholarship in media and communication research. Should an author choose to use a generative AI tool in the preparation of an abstract, we require that they include a clear statement within their submission disclosing the tool's use. This statement must specify: (1) the name of any AI tool used; (2) how the tool was used in preparing the abstract, and; (3) the reason for using the tool. Failure to disclose the use of generative AI in accordance with these guidelines may impact the evaluation and acceptance of the submission.

Languages

The Media, Communication and Sport section only accepts and programmes sessions in English.

Deadlines and key dates

The deadline to submit abstracts is 7 February 2025, at 23.59 UTC. For other key dates see https://iamcr.org/singapore2025/keydates. Dates are subject to change.

Contacts

For further information about the Media, Communication and Sport Section, its themes and submissions please contact the section management:

Co-chair: Peter English, PhD
School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
PEnglish@usc.edu.au

Co-chair: Xavier Ramon, PhD
Department of Communication, Pompeu Fabra University, Spain
xavier.ramon@upf.edu

Vice Chair: Veronika Macková, PhD
Department of Journalism, Charles University, Czech Republic
veronika.mackova@fsv.cuni.cz

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