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CFP Re-Issue (Radio & Podcast Studies)

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Call for Papers: Radio Studies @25 – celebrating Radio, Audio and Podcasting in the real/reel world A conference organised by MeCCSA Radio Studies Network and the University of Sunderland

Friday October 27th (early evening welcome) and Saturday October 28th, 2023

Join the Radio Studies community for its 2023 conference where a welcoming and active community of (pr)academics, researchers, managers and creatives will meet to discuss their passion for radio, audio and podcasting. This is a re-issue of our original call. Any previously submitted abstracts have been automatically carried over and we will respond to proposers separately.

Our conference theme is the past, present, and future of Radio Studies – celebrating the Radio Studies Network’s 25th anniversary, with a focus on research that reflects the development of Radio Studies, the future of radio, and celebrates current research into programmes, histories, communities, technologies, audiences, and cultures. We especially welcome work which will celebrate and critically examine the conditions under which creative and diverse radio is produced, and can thrive, within different sectors and platforms, including community radio, podcasting, public and commercial radio.

We also note that 2023 marks other key radio anniversaries, in particular: the 65th Anniversary of the broadcast of the first Radio Ballad, the 50th Anniversary of the start of Independent Local Radio, and the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Community Media Association. We would therefore welcome papers and panel proposals on any of these defining moments in UK Radio.

Following the conference, there will be the opportunity for submission to a peer reviewed issue of Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media (TBC)

We now invite proposals for 15-minute presentations from academics, independent researchers, archivists, postgraduate students, and broadcast professionals and practitioners.  We are happy to receive proposed panels comprising no more than 4 papers each but reserve the right to organise these as we think best.

Proposals are invited which focus on, but are not limited to, the following key themes:

  • Perspectives on the history, practices and output of Commercial and Independent Radio 
  • The conditions under which Community Radio can thrive and survive.
  • Social mobility and the broadcast space 
  • The boundaries of Radio, Sound and Podcast Studies
  • Sounding Climate – radio, podcast and sound practices to address and engage audiences in climate action.
  • The history, achievements and future challenges of Radio Studies
  • Teaching radio in a post-broadcast age
  • Critical reflections and studies on broadcaster diversity policies and regulation
  • Post-colonial Radio/Audio/Podcasting practices
  • How to nurture creativity and authenticity in radio, audio and podcasting
  • Methods, approaches and new forms of Oral Storytelling, including unheard/untold stories

Please use the following format for proposals:

Name(s), affiliation, and email + Title of paper or presentation

A 250-word abstract and a 100-word biography of each speaker

Send proposals as a word document/PDF by email to: rsn2023.abstracts@gmail.com before midnight on Monday 10th July 2023