Call for Book Chapters Edited Volume “Cyber Events. Journalism, Narratives and Technocriticism” Editors: Dr. Philip Di Salvo (Universität St. Gallen) and Dr. Paolo Bory (Politecnico di Milano) Under contract in the “Frontiers in Journalism Studies”, published by Peter Lang Book rationale: Journalism has been central to shaping public understanding of the economic, political, and cultural impacts of digital technologies. It has also served as a key arena where competing visions of emerging technologies are negotiated. Media narratives often oscillate from early utopian or dystopian excitement to more grounded critique as technologies become embedded in society. The edited volume will examine journalism’s role in key moments and controversies in the recent history of digital technologies, exploring both how it has shaped and disseminated narratives and how it has been influenced by these events. The newsworthiness of certain events and technologies has at times pushed journalism toward speculative or sensational accounts, drawing on unreliable sources or projecting the future impact of emerging technologies. Such narratives, as shown by scholarship in media and journalism studies, have the capacity to influence technological trajectories by shaping perceptions among a broad audience, including readers, stakeholders, institutions, and tech companies. In other cases, particularly over the past two decades, journalism has actively contributed to shaping narratives through scoops and revelations. Events such as the Snowden disclosures or the Cambridge Analytica scandal, while centered on technological issues, carried broader social, political, and ethical implications. By reporting on these events, journalists have elevated critical topics, such as surveillance, data justice, and the datafication of citizens and media users, into the public sphere, reaching audiences that were previously limited to experts, academics, or activists. Overall, the volume aims to provide a comprehensive overview of journalism’s dual role in both reflecting and influencing the development, perception, and societal impact of digital technologies, highlighting its power to shape public understanding and the course of technological change. To join the dots of these narratives and debates and address the impact they have had on our contemporary societies, this volume aims at bringing together the critical view of scholars on some key events in the recent history of digitization and on how journalism has played a part in reporting them to the public. More importantly, it will broaden the focus on these events from addressing their coverage to also reflect on how journalism actively played a part in the shaping these events and how, wherever possible, journalism was also influenced by these events. Cyber events refer to media events of international significance that put the role and socio-historical changes that a given technology, or a specific interaction with it, can bring about at the centre of public discourse. The concept of the /cyber event/ serves here as a theoretical anchor to identify those moments when the status quo of the socio-technical landscape has been challenged. A number of contributions have already been allocated, and we are now seeking up to seven chapters that address, but are not limited to, the following themes: the launch of ChatGPT-3; the Snowden case a decade later; the rise and implications of “the Techlash”; the Pegasus spyware scandal; the development and impact of the AI Act; and Gamergate. Proposals that approach these themes from interdisciplinary perspectives are especially encouraged. The book is not intended to be limited to content, framing, or discourse analysis. While such approaches may certainly be incorporated within individual chapters, the overarching aim is to engage with broader meta-discourses, critically examining how journalism has interpreted and made sense of these cyber events, how it has been shaped by them, and how it has, in turn, been affected or transformed by their occurrence. We particularly welcome contributions that widen the geographical, methodological, and conceptual scope of the volume. As we are committed to assembling a diverse and inclusive authorship, we strongly encourage submissions from scholars of varied gender identities, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and especially from researchers based outside Europe and the United States. Interested authors are invited to submit an abstract of maximum 500 words by January 11th. The abstract should clearly outline the scope of the chapter, its methodological approach, and the main narrative or argument. Please include a brief author bio with your submission. Abstracts should be sent via email to: philip.disalvo@unisg.ch<mailto:philip.disalvo@unisg.ch> and paolo.bory@polimi.it<mailto:paolo.bory@polimi.it> Selected authors will be notified by January 31st, and the deadline for full chapters (maximum 6,500 words) is May 31st. For any questions about the edited volume, please reach out to the editors. Paolo & Philip