The proliferation of technology has been made possible by the consumption of resources including energy and raw materials. As technology plays an even more important role in society, the related depletion of resources has led to an increasing emphasis on minimizing environmental impacts and energy use through the adoption of sustainable processes and technologies. At the same time, journalism is facing its own challenges, with many questioning whether traditional journalistic models can be sustained in an environment that includes new competitors, user-generated content, and social media. The purpose of this conference is to explore sustainability in all its forms as it relates to media uses and practices, especially to journalism. This conference provides a forum for the presentation of essays, research, and demonstrations related to any area exploring the intersections of media practices and content, sustainability, and convergent journalism.

Abstracts, completed papers, and panel proposals for this conference should deal with the primary conference themes or related issues.

Faculty and graduate students are invited to submit in one or more of three categories:

1. Completed papers
2. Proposals or abstracts of papers in progress
3. Proposals for panels

Submissions may address practical, theoretical, phenomenological, critical and/or empirical approaches to any of the subjects listed above. All submissions will be reviewed by a jury that will consider: 1) relevance to the conference theme, 2) the quality of the contribution, and 3) overall contribution to the field.

The conference is sponsored by the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies and Newsplex, an advanced micro-newsroom training and research facility dedicated to news presentation techniques emerging from the convergence of print, broadcast and online media.

Papers, proposals, abstracts, and panel proposals should be addressed to:

Dr. Augie Grant, Conference Chair
College of Mass Communications and Information Studies
Carolina Coliseum
Columbia, SC 29208
e-mail: grantae2@mailbox.sc.edu

Submission guidelines:

• Electronic submissions (Word or RTF attachments) are preferred (send to augie@sc.edu).

• A separate "cover page" file should be included with the title of the paper or panel and authors’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses.

• Submission deadline (postmark) is June 15, 2011. All submissions will be jury-reviewed with notification to authors and organizers on or before July 31, 2011.