18,887 MEA: April 2024 Newsletter

April 2024Another year of Explorations . . . This month’s issue of the newsletter contains information about upcoming MEA deadlines as well as member activities at the International Communication Association. In this issue . . . 25th Annual Convention of the MEA: Deadlines for submitting competitive papers and early registration May, 1stMEA at the International Communication Association Convention in Gold Coast, Australia, June 20-24Invitations to follow MEA on Social Media and Contribute Content to In Media Res!

The 25th Annual Media Ecology Association Convention

June 6–9, 2024
Daemen University, Amherst, NY

“Cultivating Community: A Celebration of MEA’s 25th Anniversary”

THE MEDIA ECOLOGY ASSOCIATION reminds all members that May 1st is the final day to submit competitive papers, complete early bird registration (with a discounted price), and apply for on campus housing for the duration of the convention.

The convention will take place June 6–9, 2024 at Daemen University in Amherst, New York. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2024.

In recognition of the Media Ecology’s 25th anniversary and convention setting, the theme of the 2024 conference is community. The conference will take place on the Daemen University campus in Amherst, NY. Amherst is consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in America due to a community focus and investment in outlets for cultivating “relationally modern” young adults who are able to withstand and navigate intricacies of contemporary life in a digital landscape (Singer, 2014). The Daemen campus is just minutes from Buffalo, colloquially referred to as The City of Good Neighbors — a moniker evidenced by citizen responses to public tragedy and remarkable weather events.

Media ecology has roots in, borrows from, and advances notions pertinent to the intersection of community, democracy, culture, and the nature of cities. Many principal figures in the tradition of media ecology scholarship have worked closely in these areas, from Mumford’s attention to life in urban environments, to Carey’s concerns about democratic participation, as well as Gumpert and Drucker’s many talks and publications dealing with the intersection of said themes.

The annual meeting of the MEA provides an opportunity for our community of scholars, educators, professionals, artists, and practitioners to exchange experiences and ideas in a friendly environment. Participants at MEA conventions address a wide diversity of topics in our program. We encourage submissions that explore media ecological approaches from any number of different disciplines and fields of knowledge and social practice. We are interested in papers, thematic panels, roundtable discussion panels, creative projects, performance sessions, and other proposals of interest to media ecologists.

While we are open to explorations on any topic of interest to media ecologists, we also include a convention theme with the aim of generating further discussion and probes involving multiple perspectives. Submissions do not have to address the theme, but are invited to do so.

Completed papers must be submitted, in English, by May 1, 2024 to MEA2024@daemen.edu in order to be considered for Top Paper and Top Student Paper awards. 

Please stay tuned for more information. Questions? Contact us

What to expect from MEA at ICA in Gold Coast, Australia

---

Panel for the 74th Annual International Communication Association Conference

Submitted by the Media Ecology Association, an affiliate organization of the ICA

Panel Title: Media Ecology and Human Rights (and Wrongs)

Chair: Thom Gencarelli, Manhattan College, USA – thom.gencarelli@manhattan.edu

Presenters:

“When Push Feels Like Pull: Early Adolescent Dependence on YouTube Recommendation Algorithms”

Scott Haden Church, Brigham Young University, USA – scott_church@byu.edu

Abstract: Algorithms are the new “power brokers in society” (Diakopoulos, 2013, para. 4) because they influence how users navigate the overabundance of media content.  While extant literature on algorithms has been largely theoretical, this study contributes empirical data to the discussion by exploring how early adolescents (ages 10-13) select their entertainment on YouTube.  In this quantitative study, the researchers analyzed surveys from 406 students in elementary and middle schools about their viewing choices on YouTube.  Using the YouTube Algorithm Dependence (YAD) scale, the data revealed that those students who have the lowest dependency on the YouTube algorithm receive more YouTube video recommendations from parents and guardians than from the YouTube recommendation algorithm.  In addition to introducing the YouTube Algorithm Dependence scale, the present study proposes a theoretical contribution in the form of articulating the convergent phenomenon called “negotiated technological choice,” a unique mode of engagement between the user and the screen.  When users select media content, there is a negotiated experience that oscillates between user preference (pull) and algorithmic recommendation (push; Negroponte, 1996).  This concept may be used by media scholars to explore the tension between human agency and algorithmic recommendation.  More importantly, this study offers insights into the impact of algorithms on early adolescent consumers of media.

“Human Rights and Technology: An Approach to the Impact of Media on Society”

Fernando Huerta-Galindo, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico – fhuerta@up.edu.mx

Ricardo Meneses-Trujillo, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico –  rmenesest@up.edu.mx

Laura Trujillo-Liñán, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico –  ltrujill@up.edu.mx

Abstract: Human nature endows human beings with inalienable rights that lead them to appropriately perform their role in the world, and which allow them to know their obligations and the care they should have for themselves and their relationships with others.  Individuals and societies should know, respect, and pursue these human rights.  In this way, it is possible to understand the scope and limitations that exist in daily social interaction.  Nowadays, interaction between individuals very often occurs through new technologies: social networks, text messages, memes, etc. However, the way they work, the algorithms, and the science behind personalization are hidden from users, and this compromises their appropriate use for societies, families, and individuals. This work aims to show these media’s effects on society and how they have led to a decline in verbal communication and personal relationships.

“Mennipean Satire, or What Does a Name Mean?  The Meaning and Demeaning of Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media 60 Years On”

Thom Gencarelli, Manhattan College, USA – thom.gencarelli@manhattan.edu

Abstract: Menippean satire is a form of satire that, rather than pick on people and things, takes on ideas, attitudes, values, and the like.  And while some scholars define Marshall McLuhan’s work and contributions as a form of mennipean satire, and while his son Eric perhaps contributed to this strain of scholarship with his dissertation, later published as a book, Cynic Satire, the idea that some of McLuhan’s writing is not understood because it was never intended to be understood remains contested, and just one more source of scholarly disdain for this seminal figure in the field of media studies.  This essay examines McLuhan’s legacy – some 60 years on from the publication of his most influential work, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man – and addresses why the respect and disrespect for his legacy is beside the point and largely irrelevant.

“Semantic Ecology and Media Ecology”

Lance Strate, Fordham University, USA – strate@fordham.edu

Abstract: Media ecology is a field or approach defined as the study of media as environments.  Defining media is a much broader way than elsewhere, three major categories of environments or media have been identified: the biophysical, technological, and symbolic.  Media ecology scholarship also includes references to the media environment, and similar terms that have been used, including information environment, and semantic environment.  The term semantic environment was introduced by Wendell Johnson, based on Alfred Korzybski’s terms neuro-semantic environment and neuro-linguistic environment, and Neil Postman followed Johnson in discussing the concept of the semantic environment.  While the idea of a semantic environment seems mostly closely related to the category of symbolic environment, it is arguably a broader concept that considers all of the ways in which organisms relate to and evaluate their environment, make meaning out of their world, and construct their reality.  It follows that the designation semantic ecology could be used to refer to the study of semantic environments, and serve as a substitute for the term general semantics, a discipline that is considered part of the field of media ecology.

---

Stay in Touch w/ the MEA via on Social Media and Email!Historically, the MEA’s email discussion list has provided online conversation for members and friends of the Media Ecology Association. Subscribers use the list to share views, exchange information, and learn about interesting events related to media ecology. And don’t forget to follow MEA on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter)

Subscribe Today!

Are you interested in media ecology and have some questions about it? Are you working on a study related to media ecology and searching for advice? Are you an instructor looking for a media ecology expert to invite as a virtual guest speaker to one of your classes? Get in touch with us! We are happy to schedule a “virtual coffee” appointment with you. Simply fill out the form below to set up a short call or virtual meeting with a scholar from the MEA. The format is open to all. We especially encourage students and early-career scholars interested in media ecology to get in touch with us. Do you have a background in media ecology and would like to volunteer for virtual coffee meetings with those looking to learn more about it? Send an email to Julia M. Hildebrand.Arrange a Virtual Coffee appointment on our website.

Book Reviewers Wanted!Have you read a good book with connections to Media Ecology?  Please consider submitting a review for publication in Explorations in Media Ecology.  Are you reading a new book for use in an upcoming class?  Please consider submitting a review and helping out other scholars looking for new texts.  Do you just like writing book reviews? Consider writing one for EME!!  🙂  Contact jbogaczyk@gmail.com for more information and to get a format template.  Reviews should be between 1000 and 2000 words.

Back Issues of EMEPedagogy Sections Include Online TeachingAccess all back issues of Explorations in Media Ecology in the Members Area on the MEA website. These back issues include pedagogy sections that contain information about teaching, including teaching online.

MEA Membership Renewal ReminderIt is not too late to renew your membership by paying your dues.  Please log into the website at www.media-ecology.org, and then log in using your email ID and password and follow the directions. You may pay online via PayPal or pay by check made payable to the Media Ecology Association and mailed to our treasurer, Paul Soukup, S.J., at the Communication Department; Santa Clara University; 500 El Camino Real; Santa Clara, CA  95053 USA. For those outside the U.S., you may also pay by Western Union money order sent to psoukup@scu.edu.  If you wish to change your membership, please drop Paul Soukup a note. *Please note: The Media Ecology Association Executive Board decided that the newsletter will be available online to all interested readers. However, only members can be featured in the newsletter itself. If you are a MEA member, please fill out this form (include a call to submit material+ link).