CFP: Convergence: Special themed issue Vol 22, no 3 (August 2016) Connected Viewing: Multi-Platform Media in the Digital Era Guest Editors: Jennifer Holt and Karen Petruska This special issue aims to bring together researchers from film, television, internet, and game studies to examine evolving trends in connected viewing, an evolution in how screen media is created, circulated, and consumed. Specifically referring to a multi-platform entertainment experience, connected viewing also relates to a larger trend across the media industries to integrate digital technology and socially networked communication with traditional screen media practices. This special issue will explore connected viewing as a crucial frame through which we can understand contemporary media in the digital era. Connected viewing is more than digital distribution, for it encapsulates the broader ecosystem in which digital distribution is rendered possible and new forms of user engagement take shape. Connected viewing is as much about the aesthetic and social experience of second-screen media as it is about the intermediaries that deliver content to mobile devices and the gatekeepers that regulate access. It also extends to those firms and individuals operating “outside” of the mainstream who are looking to create innovative connections to the digital, global, and mobile audience. This call for papers invites contributions that focus on the evolving economics, technologies, regulations, texts, and audience practices of connected viewing. Possible topics may include digital distribution technologies and platforms; global markets and audiences; the economics of connected viewing; web series and transmedia content; data collection and privacy; cloud technologies and internet infrastructure; network neutrality, internet governance, and other regulatory issues; audience engagement and fandom. Contributions on the following questions are welcome, but we are open to any substantive inquiry: **What are the historical continuities that limit or expand the landscape for digital media innovations? **Legacy companies today compete not only with each other but also with new entrants like Netflix and Amazon. How is the struggle between these companies transforming traditional media practices? **What innovations has connected viewing brought to the production and circulation of content, especially across platforms? How has this affected creative labor? **What are the emerging business models driving connected viewing, and how might these impact audience practices and priorities (i.e. in terms of digital divides, affordable content, privacy protections, etc.)? **What are the most dynamic connected viewing developments in Latin American, Asian, European, or emerging economic markets? **Do “independent” companies have a competitive advantage in the connected viewing market for either film, TV, or games? **What audiences have the advances of connected viewing left behind, particularly considering racial, gender, class, and age differences? Alternatively, how have audiences pushed connected viewing practices forward in ways media companies have not? **How is connected viewing transforming ideals of the public sphere and community life? Research articles will be in the range of 6,000-8,000 words and all submissions should be formatted in the SAGE Harvard reference style. We are also interested in publishing interviews of 3,000-5,000 words with connected viewing creators, intermediaries, distributors, etc. If you are interested in conducting an interview for this issue, please email the editors with a brief description to determine suitability. Please send submissions of full papers to the editors by 31 July 2015. All correspondence and submissions to Karen Petruska (k.petruska@gmail.com). You can read more about Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies here: http://con.sagepub.com/. -- Karen Petruska, Ph.D. Project Lead, Connected Viewing Initiative Media Industries Project, Carsey-Wolf Center 4439 Social Sciences & Media Studies Bldg (SSMS) University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4020 Ph: 805-893-2631 petruska@carseywolf.ucsb.edu http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu