A CALL FOR PAPERS

The colloquium on “Modelling Economic and Business News for Scientific Inquiry” brings together scholars and researchers from broad backgrounds to discuss perspectives of researching empirical questions using economic news data. We address theoretical and epistemological foundations of both macroeconomics and journalism/media studies, providing a unique platform for researchers and scholars from the two fields to comprehensively deal with the critical quintessential question: what value for news content? We will also pay close attention to deepening theoretical and conceptual approaches to enrich and highlight South-South perspectives with a view to broadening the current debate on ‘decolonising’ social science research. In so doing, we will focus on operationalising concepts and research methods to our own South nuances and sensitivities.

The colloquium welcomes researchers and groups of researchers with a wide range of methodologies, including empirical approaches, theoretical interventions, qualitative approaches, and meta-reviews that contribute to a systematic understanding of economic news content, applied media content analytics, empirical economics research methodologies, and the broad use of media content as primary data in the study of economic and socioeconomic issues.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to the following:

• Empirical economic modelling using media content data.
• AI- and ML-enabled analytics tools and metrics and society.
• The micro- and macro- impact of policy uncertainty on the economy
• Central banking communication and its effects
• Empirical and qualitative studies utilising media content data.

Expression of interest and paper submission
Individual researchers and groups of researchers are requested to submit the title and abstract
(250 words) of their paper by 24 June 2024.
The submissions are welcome via email to: africolloq@gmail.com.

The colloquium includes a session for PhD student presentations. PhDs are cordially invited to submit proposals from their doctoral or other research. Topics related to the broad colloquium theme are especially welcome. Selected papers will be presented at a session running concurrently with the main session. The student participants and the session moderator will return to the main session and present the deliberations from their break away session. A special issue of DHET accredited journal or a substantive textbook are being considered as the primary output for selected papers presented at the colloquium.

The Colloquium will take place on:
4 September 2024
Ubuntu Chambers, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus, University of Johannesburg

Researchers and authors interested in submitting their work are encouraged
to send questions to:
Dr Magdalene Kasyoka Wilson (mwilson@uj.ac.za)
Dr Arnold Segawa (arnold.segawa@wits.ac.za), or
Prof Nixon Kariithi (nixon@tangaza.net)