Journalism today operates in an increasingly complex environment. Political polarisation, armed conflicts, environmental crises, and global uncertainty have increased the public’s need for trustworthy information and meaningful context. At the same time, journalism itself faces mounting pressures. Economic precarity, technological disruption, and shifting audience behaviors challenge traditional professional roles, business models, and notions of journalistic authority. Amid these shifting conditions, the profession is being reshaped through adaptation, innovation, and ongoing negotiation over what journalism is and should be.
This special issue of Journalistica seeks to capture this dynamic moment by publishing research presented at the 2025 NordMedia conference that addresses journalism’s evolving roles and contexts. We welcome contributions addressing a broad range of topics, including but not limited to: developments in professional practices, norms, and roles; emerging forms of journalism by non-professional or hybrid actors; questions of trust, accountability, and verification in digital environments; social media, audience engagement, and participatory journalism; AI, algorithms, and automation in news production and distribution; data journalism, visual storytelling, and infographics; journalism education and training; innovations in journalism content, formats, and business models; as well as comparative or interdisciplinary perspectives that locate journalism in the broader media landscape.
Submission process:
We invite submissions of papers presented at the NordMedia 2025 conference, across all divisions as well as the pre-conference for doctoral students, provided the topic aligns with the focus of this special issue.
The deadline for submission of extended abstracts is September 15, 2025. Abstracts should be no more than 1,000 words (excluding references) and may be submitted in English, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. Please send your abstract to: lymo@sam.sdu.dk
Authors whose abstracts are selected will be invited to submit a full manuscript (6,000 to 8,000 words) by December 15, 2025. We will send out invitations in early October. Early submissions of full papers following abstract acceptance are welcome. All manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review, and accepted manuscripts will be published online-first directly after acceptance. The full special issue will be published in fall 2026.
Journalistica is a Nordic, open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes academic research articles on journalism as an interdisciplinary field. You can read more about Journalistica and its submission guidelines here: https://tidsskrift.dk/journalistica/about/
For questions about the special issue and the selection and submission process, you are welcome to contact one of the special issue editors Maarit Jaakkola (maarit.jaakkola@gu.se), Lynge Asbjørn Møller (lymo@sam.sdu.dk), and Carina Tenor (carina.tenor@kau.se).
For questions about the journal’s profile, policies and general submission and review process, you are also welcome to contact editor-in-chief Eva Mayerhöffer (evamay@ruc.dk).