Call for papers

ZER. Journal of Communication Studies. (62)

Media Literacy in the Face of Disinformation and the Crisis in Education

- Guest Editors: Javier Marzal-Felici, Full Professor of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising
Roberto Arnau-Roselló, Associate Professor of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising
Jaume I University

- Submission deadline: February 28, 2027.

- This special issue will be published in the number 62 of ZER Journal of Communication (May/June 2027).

- Author guidelines

- Call for papers (PDF)

In recent years, Media and Information Literacy (MIL) has become an increasingly prominent field of research at the intersection of communication and education. The rise of disinformation and fake news, the proliferation of hoaxes, fabricated news and hate speech —further amplified by the emergence of generative artificial intelligence— and the growing influence of digital platforms and social media have attracted considerable attention from both the academic community and a wide range of international institutions and organisations.

For more than four decades, UNESCO has taken a sustained interest in developments across the media landscape and, more specifically, in media education. Since the late 1970s, it has promoted the field through numerous institutional declarations and an extensive body of publications on MIL (Pérez Tornero, 2025). The European Commission and the European Parliament have likewise launched a wide range of initiatives to promote media literacy (Sádaba and Salaverría, 2023), understood as “a proactive strategy for strengthening democracy and fostering social resilience in the face of the challenges posed by digital society” (Sádaba, 2025: 101) and, ultimately, as “a means of safeguarding democracy” (Marta-Lazo, 2025).

Significant developments have also taken place in the measures introduced by audiovisual regulators to promote media literacy, particularly across European public and private media, in implementation of Directive (EU) 2018/1808. Spain’s General Law 13/2022 on Audiovisual Communication, particularly Article 10, established a specific mandate to promote media literacy measures under the supervision of the national audiovisual regulator, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). This remit also extends to regional regulators (CAC, CAA and CACV) and to the competent administrative bodies in other autonomous communities, as reflected in the CNMC’s 2025 report (CNMC, 2025).

In recent years, Alfamed, the research network specialising in educommunication, has played an active role in advancing the field. Its work includes the publication of the new Curriculum Alfamed para docentes (Aguaded, Hernando, de-Casas-Moreno [coord.], 2025), as well as the development of specific public-policy recommendations aimed at strengthening media literacy (Aguaded et al., 2025). At the same time, the emergence of generative artificial intelligence has profoundly reshaped the debate surrounding MIL and prompted renewed critical reflection within the academic community (Gutiérrez, 2025; Martín Gómez, Bexerra and García Matilla, 2025). Media literacy can therefore be regarded as a field of clear strategic importance (Sádaba, 2026).

Yet even a brief review of the major milestones in the development of media education reveals —not without some cause for concern— that national and regional education authorities have not played the role that might reasonably have been expected of them in promoting media education in Spain. This situation has been brought into sharper focus by the publication of the PISA 2025 Report on 8 September 2026 (Ministry of Education, 2026), which has generated considerable debate among political representatives, officials from national and regional education authorities, teachers, families and a significant section of the wider public. As has increasingly been the case in recent years, the discussion has often been shaped less by measured debate than by mutual accusations between political parties and national and regional governments, against a broader backdrop of polarisation.

In our view, however, the latest PISA Report raises a number of issues which, albeit indirectly, point to the need to strengthen media literacy. The OECD draws attention to poor performance in reading comprehension, which the authors of the study associate with the widespread use of mobile devices. The PISA authors themselves also question whether the instruments currently used to assess learning are capable of capturing the full range of students’ skills, some of which may fall outside the scope of existing forms of assessment.

Particularly significant in this respect is the fact that, in early 2026, several months before the publication of the PISA 2025 Report, the OECD announced a new framework for assessing children’s and adolescents’ learning in schools: MAIL, the Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy framework. This initiative highlights the growing need to assess levels of media and artificial intelligence literacy, given their direct relationship with learning in areas such as reading comprehension, mathematics and science (OECD, 2026). Future PISA assessments are therefore likely to undergo significant changes, with information literacy and the use of AI set to be incorporated into the 2029 assessment.

Against this background, ZER. Revista de Estudios en Comunicación invites contributions that critically examine the development of MIL in the context of the current crisis in education. The special issue, entitled “Media Literacy in the Face of Disinformation and the Crisis in Education”, seeks to bring together research on a topic of particular relevance at the present time.

Submissions may address, among others, the following themes:

 Cooperation between national and regional education authorities to advance media literacy.
 Educommunication and the development of critical thinking among citizens.
 Critical theories of mediatisation and media education.
 Education, new technologies and audiovisual literacy.
 The role of the media in advancing educommunication.
 The role of media education in fostering critical and participatory citizenship.
 Media, social media and non-formal education.
 Public service media and Media and Information Literacy.
 Cooperation between education authorities and public and private media in the field of media education, at both national and international levels.
 The impact of artificial intelligence on the practice and teaching of media literacy.
 Adapting media literacy content to different levels of non-university education.
 Challenges in teacher education and professional development in the field of educommunication.
 Media literacy in higher education.
 Innovative approaches and case studies in the implementation of media literacy programmes.

Finally, this special issue of ZER. Revista de Estudios en Comunicación forms part of the activities organised by the RTVE Chair in “Audiovisual Culture and Media Literacy”, directed by Professor Teresa Sorolla Romero, and by the Chair for Audiovisual Analysis and Foresight of the Audiovisual Council of the Valencian Community (APA-CACV UJI), directed by Javier Marzal Felici.

The special issue is also supported by the research project “Media Literacy in Public Service Media: Analysis of Strategies and Collaborative Processes between Media and Educational Institutions in Europe and Spain (AMI-EDUCOM)” (PID2022-13884NB-I00), led by Javier Marzal Felici (PI1) and Roberto Arnau Roselló (PI2). The project runs from 2023 to 2027 and is funded by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI), under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

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ZER. Journal of Communication Studies. (61)

“Public Relations in the Age of Chaos: Professional Reconfigurations, Ethical Dilemmas, and Communication Strategies Amid Global Unrest”

- Guest Editors: Ana Ibáñez-Hernández, Universidad de Alicante; Juan Manuel Corbacho Valencia, Universidad de Vigo y Guillem Marca Francés, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

- Submission deadline: May15, 2026.

- This special issue will be published in the number 61 of ZER Journal of Communication (November/December 2026).

- Author guidelines

The first half of the 21st century has been marred by an unstable environment, which has been called the “Age of Chaos” by international organisations such as the UN. This period is characterised by systemic global crises, disinformation flows that erode public trust, political and social polarisation, and radical transformations in media and technological ecosystems. Moreover, this context poses unprecedented challenges for communication disciplines, especially Public Relations, which are being forced to rethink their epistemological foundations and professional practices. Beyond its operational aspects, Public Relations must become a strategic and critical field of knowledge capable of interpreting complexity, mediating between diverse actors, and contributing to social cohesion.

This special issue is intended as a space for reflection on the role of Public Relations in chaotic periods. Its aim is to explore points of agreement, as well as the tension between theory and practice, and to offer interpretative frameworks that might be useful for academics and professionals. The proposed lines of research reflect the need to carry out the following activities: re-examine the conceptual foundations of the discipline; analyse its response to perilous phenomena; deepen the relationship between social responsibility and activism; explore new communication languages; strengthen the ethical commitment; and finally, reconsider the type of education and training needed in a global scenario defined by uncertainty.

One of the first areas of discussion is related to the epistemological foundations of this discipline. Chaos theory has been used as a metaphor for understanding image management and knowing why it is impossible to achieve absolute control over public perception (Murphy, 1996). In addition, complexity theory provides a framework for addressing the interdependence of digital social networks and the communication flows that arise within them (Valentini, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed that digital platforms have become decisive spaces for constructing shared situational awareness (Shahbazi et al., 2023), and for reopening debates related to audiences, stakeholders, and legitimacy (Míguez-González, 2007). These viewpoints enable a reinterpretation of notions such as identity, reputation, and trust which, in turn, allows these concepts to be adapted to turbulent scenarios where new actors emerge, and where divergent social contexts are shaped by climate emergencies, worldwide political instability, and information disorders. Moreover, these tumultuous situations, which are increasingly influenced and accelerated by technological advances, have real-life consequences for citizens.

At the same time, this discipline faces the challenge of managing perilous phenomena that go beyond traditional response frameworks. Research into strategic communication has shown that decisions made during crises directly influence reputation and public trust (Coombs, 2015; Xifra, 2020). However, corporate social responsibility, which can act as a resource to bolster legitimacy, could also become a risk factor unless it is based on coherence and credibility (Coombs & Holladay, 2020). Given the scenario, the emotional aspect becomes especially relevant, as it shapes the way citizens receive messages and influences the effectiveness of institutional responses (Jin et al., 2012). Recent studies have also highlighted tension in institutional communication in high-risk contexts (Sataoen & Eriksson, 2021), as well as the effects of entropy on organisational crisis management (Martínez Solana & Túñez-López, 2021), and the role of social media in early detection of problems and collective learning (Lozano-Recalde, 2024).

Corporate social responsibility and activism are other key issues. Their potential to foster legitimacy and transparency is undeniable (Costa-Sánchez & Peñafiel-Saiz, 2024), yet they run the risk of becoming instruments for political, ideological, or purely commercial purposes. Practices such as pinkwashing, greenwashing, and woke-washing illustrate how social commitment can become a superficial strategy that undermines public trust (Vredenburg et al., 2020; Pendelton, 2025). Distinguishing between straightforward initiatives and those motivated by short-term profit is essential for understanding the societal role of Public Relations, and for encouraging communication strategies that strengthen cohesion rather than weaken it.

Another area of particular interest is the new communication languages. In an ecosystem saturated with messages, truthfulness has emerged as a key criterion for sustaining long-term relationships with increasingly fragmented audiences (Johansen & Gregersen, 2024; Ashby-King et al., 2025). However, deceptive practices such as astroturfing have proven to erode organisational credibility (Sisson, 2017). By contrast, hybrid narratives, storytelling, transmedia strategies, and brand activism have the potential to make organisations more humane and bring them closer to audiences, who are increasingly discerning with higher expectations (Keith, 2024; Hou, 2025; Costa-Sánchez, 2014; Asenjo McCabe & Del Pino-Romero, 2023).

In other areas, ethical and deontological considerations cannot be left aside. The accelerated speed of communication and the pressure to enhance visibility have generated unprecedented dilemmas. In fact, image-laundering is a growing challenge for organisational credibility (Lyon & Montgomery, 2015; Koch & Denner, 2025), while the obscurity surrounding certain lobbying practices casts doubt on the legitimacy of institutions and companies (Laboutková & Vymětal, 2023). At the same time, the current digital culture has exposed tension regarding the role of influencers, who sometimes exhibit ethically dubious behaviour (Ramírez-García et al., 2022). Moreover, these scenarios underscore the need to update ethical frameworks and strengthen transparency as a cornerstone of the profession.

Finally, both academia and industry face the challenge of adapting to this growing complexity. Public Relations education must integrate strategic skills, systems thinking, ethical awareness, and mediation competence. Recent studies highlight the importance of enhancing business knowledge and creating stronger links with real-life, professional practice as pillars of the future education of communicators (Ragas, 2023). Likewise, international research has emphasised the need to redefine the social impact of this discipline, and to anticipate the skills required for the future (Adi & Stoeckle, 2023). In Spain, analyses aimed at Advertising and Public Relations degrees underscore the urgent need to update curricula and methodologies, and to incorporate creativity and innovation into digital environments (Baladrón-Pazos et al., 2022).

In summary, this special issue is based on the conviction that Public Relations cannot be limited to an instrument for reputation management. Instead, it must be viewed as an essential and strategic field of knowledge capable of offering solid answers in a world defined by uncertainty. Therefore, its objective is twofold: firstly, to contribute to the academic debate on the epistemology of the discipline; secondly, to recommend practical frameworks capable of guiding professional activity in today’s multifaceted context. In the Age of Chaos, Public Relations can and must play a role that is transformative, thereby contributing to legitimacy, cohesion, and resilience in societies with increasing complexity.

Specific Lines of Research Included in the Special Issue

The theoretical and epistemological foundations of Public Relations in chaotic scenarios. New perspectives for understanding emerging communication roles in times of global disruption. Critical revision of classic paradigms from the viewpoints of chaos theory, systems thinking, or post-structuralism.
Professional strategies for managing complex and multi-causal phenomena. The role of Public Relations in managing reputational risk, uncertainty, and global crises. Resilience, forecasting, and the ability to respond using strategic communication skills.
Social responsibility, corporate activism, and mediation in fragmented societies. The contribution of Public Relations to social cohesion amid polarisation, disinformation, and citizen fatigue. Transparency, legitimacy, and building relationships in adverse environments.
Organisational integrity and new communication languages. Innovative formats, narratives, and practices in saturated media ecosystems. New types of influence, credibility, and connection with fragmented audiences.
Professional ethics and deontological challenges in a tumultuous era. Regulation, transparency, and limits of communicative influence in emerging ethical conflicts, including greenwashing, the effect of influencers, gambling, lobbying, and others.
Professional and academic transformation in new scenarios. Novel skills, profiles, and educational approaches for Public Relations professionals in permanently unstable environments. Updating educational curricula, incorporating hybrid methodologies, and creating links with professional settings.

Questions to Use as Guidelines for Submissions

How can we redefine the Public Relations discipline in light of the new scenario, which is turbulent and worldwide?
What is the contribution of Public Relations to critical situations such as armed conflict, natural disasters, migration crises, and information disorders?
What role does strategic communication play in managing risk, uncertainty, and reputational strength?
How does Public Relations contribute to corporate activism and social responsibility?
What new discourses or formats are emerging with the aim of connecting with increasingly fragmented audiences?
How can Public Relations restore its mediating role in confronting polarisation and disinformation?
To what extent is Public Relations becoming an instrument for economic, political, or ideological purposes?
Where are the ethical and deontological limits of communication and social influence in controversial or highly regulated sectors?
What new skills and tools are needed by Public Relations professionals in order to operate on the verge of chaos? How must academic training evolve in this regard?

References

Epistemological Foundations and Strategies for Crisis Management

Baladrón-Pazos, A.-J., Correyero-Ruiz, B., y Manchado-Pérez, B. (2022). La formación universitaria sobre Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas en España tras 50 años de historia: qué y cómo enseñamos. El Profesional de la Información, 31(1), e310113.

Castillo-Esparcia, A., Carretón-Ballester, C., y Pineda-Martínez, P. (2020). Investigación en relaciones públicas en España. El Profesional de la Información, 29(3), e290330.

Míguez-González, M.-I. (2007). Análisis del uso de los conceptos de público, stakeholder y constituent en el marco teórico de las relaciones públicas. ZER. Revista de Estudios de Comunicación, 23, 183-197.

Murphy, P. (1996). Chaos theory as a model for managing issues and crises. Public Relations Review, 22(2), 95–113.

Shahbazi, M., Bunker, D., y Sorrell, T. C. (2023). Communicating shared situational awareness in times of chaos: Social media and the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 74(10), 1185-1202.

Valentini, C. (2021). Complexity theory as a new lens for digital social advocacy. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 101972.

Strategies for Dealing with Perilous Phenomena

Coombs, W. T. (2015). The value of communication during a crisis: Insights from strategic communication research. Business Horizons, 58(2), 141–148.

Coombs, W. T., y Holladay, S. J. (2020). CSR as crisis risk: Expanding how we conceptualize the relationship. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 25(2), 144–162.

Jin, Y., Pang, A., y Cameron, G. T. (2012). Toward a publics-driven, emotion-based typology in crisis communication: Unearthing dominant emotions in multi-staged testing of the ICM model. Journal of Public Relations Research, 24(3), 249–267.

Lozano-Recalde, C. (2024). Seis años de investigaciones de crisis públicas en social media: análisis sistemático y guía de recomendaciones. Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación, 15(2), 253-274.

Martínez Solana, M. Y., y Túñez-López, J. M. (2021). La gestión de la comunicación de crisis en las organizaciones: Efectos de la entropía en el caso BBVA-Villarejo. ZER. Revista de Estudios de Comunicación, 26(50), 151-169.

Sataoen, H. L., y Eriksson, M. (2021). “Striking the right balance”: Tensions in municipal risk-communication management for preparedness. Journal of Communication Management, 27(4), 601-606.

Xifra, J. (2020). Comunicación corporativa, relaciones públicas y gestión del riesgo reputacional en tiempos del Covid-19. El Profesional de la Información, 29(2), e290220.

Social Responsibility, Corporate Activism, and Social Cohesion

Carretón-Ballester, C., Quiles-Soler, C., y Lorenzo-Solá, F. (2023). Social responsibility of Spanish universities for sustainable relationships. El Profesional de la Información, 32(6), e320602.

Cordelier, B., Santillana Butrón, M. C., y Gabino-Campos, M. A. (2023). Responsabilidad social empresarial y la teoría del actor-red: Caso Conga. Revista Internacional de Relaciones Públicas, 13(26), 195-210.

Costa-Sánchez, C., y Peñafiel-Saiz, C. (2024). Comunicación del compromiso social y para la sostenibilidad: análisis multifocal y tendencias. El Profesional de la Información, 33(3), e330301.

González-Bailón, S., y Lelkes, Y. (2023). Do social media undermine social cohesion? A critical review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 17(1), e12091.

Pendelton, S. M. (2025). Friend or faux: Testing the perceived authenticity of corporate socio-political activism messages on Instagram through the lens of Black Lives Matter. Public Relations Review, 51, 102558.

Vredenburg, J., Kapitan, S., Spry, A., y Kemper, J. A. (2020). Brands taking a stand: Authentic brand activism or woke-washing? Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(4), 444–460.

Organizational Integrity and New Communication Languages

Asenjo McCabe, S., y Del Pino-Romero, C. (2023). El activismo de marca desde la óptica del sector académico, profesional y consultor. Index.Comunicación, 13(1), 295-319.

Ashby-King, D. T., Truban, O., y Lee, S. Y. (2025). Examining public relations practitioners’ perceptions of authentic organizational social responsibility and advocacy communication. Public Relations Review, 51(4), 102603.

Carral-Seara, R., y Tuñón-Navarro, A. (2020). Estrategia de comunicación organizacional en redes sociales: análisis de la campaña electoral gallega de 2020. El Profesional de la Información, 29(4), e290417.

Costa-Sánchez, C. (2014). La narrativa transmedia como aliada de la comunicación corporativa: estudio del caso #Dropped by Heineken. Comunicación y Sociedad, 27(3), 127-150.

Hou, J. Z. (2025). Storytelling as methodology: Intersecting multicultural voices to decolonise public relations. Public Relations Inquiry, 14(3), 265-286.

Johansen, T. S., y Gregersen, M. K. (2024). The authenticity of organizational-level visual identity in the context of strategic communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 18(5), 404–423.

Keith, A. (2024). The power of storytelling in public relations. Journal of Public Relations, 2, 50-61.

Sisson, D. C. (2017). Inauthentic communication, organization-public relationships, and trust: A content analysis of online astroturfing. Public Relations Review, 43(4), 788-795.

Professional Ethics and Deontological Challenges

Jiménez-Sánchez, Á., de Frutos Torres, B., y Margalina, V.-M. (2023). Los efectos limitados del greenwashing en la actitud hacia las marcas. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 81, 23-43.

Koch, T., y Denner, N. (2025). Different shades of green deception: Greenwashing’s adverse effects on corporate image and credibility. Public Relations Review, 51, 102521.

Laboutková, Š., y Vymětal, P. (2023). A black-box assessment of institutional quality: The challenge of evaluating lobbying transparency. Policy Studies, 44(3), 336–355.

Lyon, T. P., y Montgomery, A. W. (2015). The means and end of greenwash. Organization & Environment, 28(2), 223–249.

Mas-Manchón, L., y Fernández-Cavia, J. (2024). Differences across generations in the perception of ethical, social, environmental, and labour responsibilities of the most reputed Spanish organisations. El Profesional de la Información, 33(3), e330302.

Ramírez-García, A., Gutiérrez-Arenas, M.-P., y Gómez-Moreno, M. (2022). Maquiavelismo y deseo de querer ser youtuber y/o influencer en las generaciones Z y Alfa. El Profesional de la Información, 31(2), e310214.

Professional and Academic Transformation

Adi, A., y Stoeckle, T. (2023). The future of PR/Comms and their social impact: Results of an international Delphi-method study. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 28(4), 512–532.

Ragas, M. W. (2023). Developing business literacy in the classroom and the workplace: A Delphi study of corporate communication leaders. Journal of Public Relations Education, 9(1), 82–116.

Roth-Cohen, O., y Ruth, A. (2022). A decade of social media in public relations research: A systematic review of published articles in 2010–2020. Public Relations Review, 48(1), 102154.

Rubio-Romero, P., y Del Pozo-García, L. (2021). La competencia creativa entre el alumnado de los grados en Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas en España. Revista ICONO 14. Revista científica de Comunicación y Tecnologías emergentes, 19(2), 66–92.

Brief CVs of the Editors

Ana Ibáñez-Hernández holds a PhD from the University of Alicante, and is a professor in the Department of Communication and Social Psychology at the same institution. She also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Complutense University of Madrid, and a Master’s in Digital Marketing and Communication as well (ESUMA). Her research focuses on responsible health communication, media literacy against disinformation, the digital divide, and Public Relations from the standpoint of social commitment and sustainability. Professor Ibáñez-Hernández is also a member of the research group known as Responsible Communication at the University of Alicante, in addition to being part of the R+D+i project called USinRED 2, and she is linked to the Artefactos Lab as well. Moreover, she has participated as a researcher on the initiative known as European MSCA visuAAL, and as Chair of the Generational Digital Divide at the University of Alicante.

She has accumulated three full decades of professional experience in project management related to Communications and Public Relations, in addition to Journalism. She currently serves as Vice President of the Journalistic Association of Alicante Province.

Guillem Marca holds a PhD in Communication from Rovira i Virgili University, and is a senior lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts (UB), a BA in Advertising and Public Relations (URL), and a Master’s Degree in Communication Management (EAE–UPC). In addition, he was one of the top directors of the communication agency known as Ala Oeste, where he managed accounts for institutions such as the Tarragona Provincial Council, the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR), Fundación Respira, and the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (semFYC), among others. Professor Marca also served as Principal Investigator on a national R+D+i project funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), which focused on communication and the experiences of patients. Moreover, he has taken part in several national and European projects. His current research focuses on the evaluation of communication, as well as communication related to health, artificial intelligence, and sustainability.

Juan-Manuel Corbacho-Valencia is a senior lecturer in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising (X14) at the University of Vigo. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Public Relations, and a second BA in Translation and Interpretation from the same institution. He completed his PhD in Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations, also at UV, with a dissertation on communication strategies and advertising translation in Spanish and German for women’s fashion magazines. His main lines of research are consistent with his teaching duties on the Faculty of Social Science and Communication, including Public Relations Techniques, International Advertising, and Public Relations and Protocol. He is the author of numerous book chapters and articles in indexed journals, and he has completed a six-year research term. Professor Corbacho-Valencia belongs to the SEPCOM research group, which stands for Communication Research for Public Service. He has participated in both national and international research, in addition to projects related to teaching innovation, and is part of the Academ-IA Teaching Innovation Group on Artificial Intelligence in Education. He has served as both Dean and Vice Dean on the Faculty of Social Science and Communication, and as Vice-Rector of the Pontevedra Campus.

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