Call for Papers:

The Turn to Podcasts as a Mass Campaign Medium
Special Issue of The Journal of Radio and Audio Media
Dr. Arthur D. Soto-Vásquez, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Prof. Kim Fox, American University in Cairo

Dr. Aram Sinnreich, American University

The Journal of Radio and Audio Media (JRAM), the world’s premier radio research journal, is published semi-annually by the Broadcast Education Association. JRAM is dedicated to radio research and the new technology redefining radio’s traditional use.

As of December 2024, U.S. President Donald Trump’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience had over 50 million views on YouTube. His appearance on the most popular podcast in the world capped off a campaign that was part of the “podcast election” where both candidates reached voters through podcasts (Edison Research, 2024). With this amount of reach, it's clear that some high-profile podcasts have reached the status of a mass medium (Bonini, 2015; Loviglio, 2024). Other political figures across the world have embraced podcasts, aural media, and YouTube. For example, former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his successor Claudia Sheinbaum regularly use mañaneras, where they speak for over two hours in a hybrid press conference and morning show that would often veer into personal musings and confrontations with journalists (Higuera, 2024). Broadcast on television, they are also simulcast on radio and YouTube. 

As political leaders embrace podcasts and other aural media several issues may emerge.

By circumventing traditional media, politicians may appear on friendly podcasts to avoid the adversarial nature of journalistic interviews and real-time fact-checks. The informal style of podcast discussions is often discussed as a benefit of the medium for both politicians and audiences (McClung & Johnson, 2010; Schlütz & Hedder, 2022). Yet, this informality may further blur the lines between celebrity and public figure, policy and personality. These issues point to podcasts' incomplete promise as a public sphere (Sienkiewicz & Jaramillo, 2019).

To fully consider this turn, we invite papers engaging with this issue in the topics of, but not limited to:

Historicizing the Turn to Podcasts in Campaigning

The 2024 U.S. Election on Podcasts

The Role of Podcasts in Shaping Public Opinion and Electoral Outcomes

The Impact and Influence of the Manosphere on Politics and Culture

Humor and Parasociality

Ethics and Journalistic Norms

Cases in the Global South

Populism and Podcasting

Democracy and Podcasting

Podcasting as a Counterpublic

Narrative Podcasts as Platforms for Social Commentary and Critique

Religious Podcasts as a Site for Spiritual and Ideological Discourse

Investigative Journalism Podcasts and Their Influence on Public Opinion

Submission Instructions
Contributions should be no longer than 7,000 words, inclusive of tables and references. Only original manuscripts will be accepted, and all submissions will undergo a blind peer review, per the journal’s policies. Invitations to submit full papers will be issued shortly after the deadline for extended abstracts, and all final papers will undergo a peer-reviewed process for final publication. For specific information about the journal’s requirements and the submission process, please see the “Instructions for Authors” page on the JRAM site. 

Manuscripts should be submitted through the Manuscript Central link on https://www.beaweb.org/wp/?page_id=571 or https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/hjrs 

Documents prepared in Microsoft Word are preferred and should use APA 7th for style and citation. Manuscripts should not exceed 7000 words and should include an abstract of no more than 150 words. In addition to the manuscript with no reference to the author(s), the author(s) should include a separate attachment with contact information. Please fill in the manuscript information as directed on the site.

Submission Deadlines
Scholars interested in submitting an article for the special issue should send an extended abstract of 1500 words to Dr. Arthur D. Soto-Vásquez at arthur.sotovasquez@unlv.edu for a review by April 5, 2025, 11:59 PM PT. Feedback and an invitation to submit will be provided by May 1, 2025. All final papers will undergo a peer-reviewed process for final publication and must be submitted to JRAM by August 1, 2025, 11:59 PM PT.

Extended abstracts due: April 5, 2025, 11:59 PM PT
Final paper due: August 1, 2025, 11:59 PM PT
The special issue is scheduled for publication in Spring 2026

Contact
If you have any questions about the CFP, please send an email to Dr. Arthur D. Soto-Vásquez at arthur.sotovasquez@unlv.edu Subject line: JRAM Podcast Elections

References

Bonini, T. (2015). The ‘second age’ of podcasting: Reframing podcasting as a new digital mass medium. Quaderns del CAC, 41, 23-33.

Edison Research. (2024, November 14). In the “Podcast Election,” Trump talked to vastly more people. Edison Research. https://www.edisonresearch.com/in-the-podcast-election-trump-talked-to-vastly-more-people/

Higuera, S. (2024, March 20). Las mañaneras de López Obrador en México, una forma única de comunicación señalada por ataques a la prensa. LatAm Journalism Review. https://latamjournalismreview.org/es/articles/las-mananeras-de-lopez-obrador-en-mexico-una-forma-unica-de-comunicacion-marcada-por-ataques-a-la-prensa/

Loviglio, J. (2024). From Radio to Podcasting: Intimacy and Massification. The Velvet Light Trap, 93(1), 52-54. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/921538

McClung, S., & Johnson, K. (2010). Examining the motives of podcast users. Journal of radio & audio media, 17(1), 82-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376521003719391

Sienkiewicz, M., & Jaramillo, D. L. (2019). Podcasting, the intimate self, and the public sphere. Popular Communication, 17(4), 268-272. https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2019.1667997

Schlütz, D., & Hedder, I. (2022). Aural parasocial relations: Host–listener relationships in podcasts. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 29(2), 457-474. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2020.1870467