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Indeed, there are some three dozen English-language journals now that deal with one or another or multiple aspects of the field of media and (mass) communication. Would another journal not be redundant? We think not. Media and Communication, henceforth shortened to MaC, will possess a specific combination of attributes that are not replicated elsewhere and together result in the unique position of the journal.

AbstractMedia and communication studies is a comparatively young academic discipline in Sweden. The subject's establishment began with the 1960s—a time when the expansion of mass media led to a bigger demand for analysis, education and critical reflection. Along with that, political and commercial interests in more knowledge led to commissioned research, another considerable factor in the subject's development and institutionalization. The field was brought forth by humanistic and social-scientific strands, and some actors conveniently travel between these two since the demarcation lines are less pronounced in the North. Currently, roughly around 250 scholars are active in the field, with about 200 of them organized in DGPuK's Nordic sister organization FSMK. Media and communication research in Sweden is also greatly oriented towards the broader Nordic context, institutionalized for instance through the Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research (Nordicom). For scholars, the labour market is comparatively open, not only for other Nordic academics but also for entries from countries outside Scandinavia. For students, the field provides a rich smorgasbord of general and highly specialized programmes or stand-alone courses of variable length offered in both Swedish and English. This article aims to inform about the history and the contemporary conditions of Swedish media and communication studies, with a personal note based on own experiences.

The article provides a synopsis of the issues discussed in the 6th international scientific conference Visuality 2021: Media and Communication. The background for the discussions was the tranformations of ways to communicate, also incrusted with the up-todate reflection on the influence of lockdown under COVID-19. The effects of the novel mediated communication on politics, education and art were discussed from different angles. Some presenters focused on the opening of new oppurtunities, others were worried about the disapperance of reality and authenticity. The possibility of visuality to communicate the most abstract scientific and philosophical ideas was also discussed, and visuality proved to be a merging point of many streams of human being in the world. In addition to most up-to-date challenges, the discussion also encompassed a broad historical perspective, down to the Rennaissance.

The essay argues that even though mobile may soon become less distinctive as a niche form of communication, Mobile Media and Communication will remain relevant through a focus on "mobile" from both the historical and user perspective. These stances encourage reflection. Keeping a critical stance and focusing on users in our work is absolutely essential.

After a general mapping of the different understandings of affect, this article focuses on two aspects of a Deleuze-Guattarian understanding of affect which are of particular relevance for media and communication studies. The first is understanding affect as potential. It is through the forces of encounter that bodies are affected and that these affections then can be turned into action, into their capacity to affect. The second is understanding the perpetual becoming that takes place through continual encounters between bodies; with each encounter, the body changes, however slightly and subtly. The concept of assemblage that allows one to grasp these dynamics and complexities is discussed as an approach towards a much more complex theoretical grounding for processes of agency and power. Working with affect in media and communication studies, a three-fold strategy will be presented: to analyse how media generate affects and capitalise on them; to analyse what media do - in the sense of mobilizing potential; to analyse phenomena of mediated communication as assemblages. The article ends with challenges and new paths for conducting research on affect.

Abstract
This article critically examines the use of elite interviews in media and communications policy research. It addresses the fit between various analytical frameworks and elite interviews as a primary source of data, interviewee selection, access, the conduct of interviews and data analysis. It is argued that there is a lack of methodological explanation and reflection in our field of study. Partly, this is determined by the preferences of publishers and space constrains but also a widespread reluctance to engage with methodological issues. This contributes to the diminishing relevance of large amounts of scholarship for policy-makers who tend to privilege studies based on narrowly defined and soundly elaborated empirical methods. Clear and concise methodological rigour, systematization and ethnographic reflexivity, thus, play an incredibly important role.

This editorial introduces the thematic issue of "Media and Communication between the Local and the Global". It does so first by presenting the origin of this thematic issue: the
Media, Globalization and Social Change division at the NordMedia 2017 conference. The thematic issue is then anchored theoretically through discussion of the widely conceived notion of mediation as a technological, symbolic and ethical process - highlighting the interest in how media actors and communication technologies, practices and artefacts mediate between global phenomena and local contexts, which is what unites the contributions to this thematic issue. Last, the final section of this editorial introduces the articles, which coalesce around three broad themes: migration, marginalised communities, and consumption.