Anthropology has long had a complex relationship with news media. In many ways, increasing collaboration between anthropologists and print, broadcast or online journalists offers great potential for making our research more accessible and theoretical perspectives more mainstream, in addition to boosting public understanding of and engagement with anthropological research findings. However, journalistic anthropology and anthropological journalism also pose several key challenges for practitioners in both fields. Among these challenges are the often-cited (but rarely critically engaged) difficulties in balancing the goals, priorities, timelines and communication styles of journalism and anthropology. Less frequently examined, though also important, are the distinct methodological, ethical, theoretical and expository traditions of both fields, which necessarily encounter one another in collaborative work.

With these concerns in mind, we invite submissions for an April Anthropology News issue on anthropology and journalism. We welcome proposals for In Focus commentaries, Teaching Strategies pieces, Field Notes articles, photo essays, news stories and interviews that address the relationship between anthropology and journalism in a variety of ways. For example, why are some anthropological fields (such as archaeology) more frequently included in news media than others? Is it an issue of public interest, awareness or accessibility? How might one relate the investigative methods of anthropologists and journalists? What strategies have anthropologists successfully adopted in pursuing work in print, radio, television and digital news media? Will the increasing popularity of applied anthropology impact our relationship with journalism? Proposals on additional topics are welcome from anthropologists, journalists, publishers, producers and others engaged in these fields.

Guidelines

To participate, email a 300-word abstract and 50-100 word author biosketch to Anthropology News editor Dinah Winnick. Proposals for photo essays should also include five high resolution photographs (submitted as tiffs or jpgs), each with a caption and credit. Selected authors will be asked to submit commentaries of 1000-1400 words or shorter pieces for other article types.

Proposal submission deadline: December 18, 2009

Early proposals are encouraged.