News

We are delighted to announce that ECREA 2020 in Braga has received the highest number of submissions ever for the European Communication Conference.

In total, 2020 submissions have been received  - 1770 individual submissions and 50 panels (each with five participants) to Sections, Temporary working groups and Networks.

These numbers are proof of ECREA’s growing relevance for both European and International Communication scholars (Prague, in 2016, had attracted 1986 submissions and Lugano, in 2018, had reached 1913 submissions).

Speaking for the Local Organizing Committee, Helena Sousa said: “we are very pleased with the number of submissions and we are working very hard to make this an exceptional academic event in October”.

The proposals will now be reviewed and authors will be notified until March, 25th. The participation confirmation deadline is April, 15th.

For more information please follow:

Conference website:  http://www.ecrea2020braga.eu/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecrea2020braga/ 
Twitter: @ecrea2020braga

ECREA is opening a call for proposals for the hosting and organisation of the 2022 edition of the European Communication Conference. The first European Communication Conference took place in Amsterdam in 2005; the second in Barcelona in 2008; the third in Hamburg in 2010; the fourth in Istanbul in 2012; the fifth in Lisbon in 2014; the sixth in Prague 2016, the seventh in Lugano 2018 and the 8th will be held in Braga in 2020.

These conferences are major opportunities to show the know-how and the activities of the organising institution(s) and to foster the energy and creativity of the organisers around a large international project. The Executive Board of ECREA has developed a framework document – Terms of Reference (please see below) to define the format and give guidelines for the organisation of such a conference.

Interested members or institutions are asked to submit proposals for hosting the 2022 European Communication Conference. The institution hosting the Conference has to be active in the field of communication research and/or education and have sufficient experience and sufficient capacity (staff and support) to prepare and run the event.

The proposal for hosting the 2020 European Communication Conference must take the form of a document where candidate host institutions will:

1. Describe their general vision of the event (including the location, timing, duration and their organisational capacity).
2. Explicitly engage themselves to meet ECREA's requirements described in the Terms of Reference for Organising ECREA’s 9th European Communication Conference 2022 and provide the basic information regarding the way their proposal will meet ECREA's requirements.
3. Propose a draft financial plan.
4. Sketch out the strengths and weaknesses associated with the proposal.

Please note that more than one institution can join forces and present a conjoint proposal, as long as they are in the same geographical area.

Deadline and submission

Proposals must be submitted by 30 April 2020. The proposals must be sent by e-mail (attachment in MS Word or .pdf format) to ECREA's General Secretary Irena Reifová (generalsecretary@ecrea.eu).

The ECREA Executive Board will then select one institution to act as local host, and possibly one runner-up to step in, in case the selected host encounters unforeseen difficulties.

Timeline

ECC conferences are normally held in October-November (unless the local host argues otherwise). The selection of the host for the conference will be decided upon at least two years prior to the event.

The timetable will be as follows:

• 2 December 2019: the call for applications is open. Each candidate-host turns in a summary project describing how they see the event, where, how, etc.
• 30 April 2020: the call is closed. The Board considers applications and selects one which complies with all criteria, including the strategic priorities of the Board. Contacts are made with candidates for further information where necessary.
• 15 June 2020: The Board announces the selected host institution to all institutional members that have applied. The selected institution is asked to develop a full organisational plan in close cooperation with ECREA’s Board. The full plan is to be ready by end of June 2020. If the plan is approved, the announcement is made public. If not, organisers are given one more month to fine-tune the proposal (with assistance of the Executive Board). If appropriate, the Board also selects a runner-up institution to host the conference should the selected institution be unable to deliver.
• 2 – 5 October, 2020: the ECC2022 conference host is announced at ECC2020 in Braga.
• October – November, 2022: ECC2022 takes place.

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR ORGANISING ECREA’S 9th EUROPEAN COMMUNICATION CONFERENCE 2022

1. OBJECTIVE

The European Communication Conference aims to become the major European conference for communication scholars. It is also a major opportunity for members to meet, gather and socialise. The conference is to combine three crucial qualities:

• Top-level scholarly work
• Impeccable organisation, facilities and logistics
• Memorable events and occasions within and around the conference

The conference is a moment of prestige and conviviality combined with scholarly excellence.

The conference is a key benefit for ECREA members. It is also a major driver for many other activities of the association (publications, thematic sections, networks, working groups).

2. FORMAT

The ECC is expected to be a 4-day event, where the first day is reserved to the registration of participants and welcome pleanary session. The conference will thus start with a prestigious keynote speaker or panel during first plenary session. Other plenary sessions are organised during the second or third day of the conference.

The rest of the conference is organised in simultaneous parallel thematic panels in the break-up rooms (see article 4). Sufficient time should be provided between sessions for proper coffee breaks as well as for lunch in order to facilitate contacts and exchange among participants.

While the thematic panels and keynotes should take place at the conference site, a limited number of sessions and events can be organised in another site or location if absolutely necessary or if relevant. The conference should nevertheless include on- and off-site “side events” (a social and cultural programme). These activities are to emphasise the host institution and the host region, the civil society, and the region’s culture. They are also designed to foster social contacts and exchange among attendees.

3. LOCATION

The institution hosting the Conference has to be active in the field of communication research and/or education and have sufficient experience and sufficient capacity (staff and support) to prepare and run the event.

The conference will be held in a city with suitable access (easy access from various parts of Europe at a reasonable price) and accommodation (hotels and conference site).

The conference site will be a university, a congress centre or other similar facility with sufficient capacity. The venue requirements are as follows:

•  a large plenary room for at least 800 participants
• at least 26 break-out rooms with a minimum capacity of 40 people each
• 1 room (suitable space) for upload centre
• 1 room with a minimum capacity of 20 people as ECREA office, (LOC is strongly advised to include one more room of appropriate size as LOC office as well),
• catering area(s)
• poster area for 100 – 150 posters

The level of comfort and equipment will meet the expected standards for such an event (e.g. data-projection in all rooms, free Wi-Fi for all participants, air-conditioning where necessary).

The conference site will be located near the city centre and close to a varied choice of accommodation (hotels) with sufficient capacity for all participants and accompanying parties. The area will also be easy to reach by public transport (including air travel). Special attention will be given to environmental sustainability of the event.

4. PROGRAMME

The programme is composed of four components:

• Pleanary sessions, consisting of keynote presentations or panels by prestigious personalities and alternative pleanary formats such as ECREA Interventions
• Thematic parallel sessions of ECREA Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups and special panels proposed by ECREA and local host
• ECREA General Assembly
• Special events on or off the main conference site

The Organising Committee will deal with the selection of keynote speakers and/or keynote panels, the organisation of special invited panels and additional events (such as civil society panels or a film program), and the final structuring of the programme.

The selection of programme for Thematic parallel sessions will be undertaken by the ECREA Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups, which will each appoint one programme chair (SPC). The ECREA Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups programme chairs (SPC) will recruit the necessary number of reviewers and supervise the review process. All proposals will be anonymised and the evaluation will be done using scores on a predefined set of criteria. The allocation of the number of slots to Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups will be done by ECREA S/N/TWG co-ordinator while allocation of presentations into the final programme is the task of Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Group programme chairs.

The programme will be scheduled in a way that ensures sufficient time for each presentation, for discussion and for transition from one session to the next. Within the parallel sessions, at least 15 minutes will be allocated to each presentation (presentation and Q/A), on the basis of 5 presentations per 90-minute session.

Thematic parallel sessions will therefore consist of the following program units:

• presentations of thematic Sections
• presentations of Networks and Temporary Working Groups (at least one session for each of the Networks, one session for each of TWGs in their first term, and two sessions for each of TWGs in their second term)
• special panels, including panels organized by ICA, IAMCR, CSA or other strategic partners (proposed by ECREA and local host) 
• posters

The host institution might consider organising a pre-conference(s) aimed at a restricted group of participants, possibly participants from that region or country and/or on a specific thematic that could not be covered in the larger conference.

5. LANGUAGE

The working language of the conference is English. ECREA supports language diversity and wants to encourage participation of individuals with little or no proficiency in English. Therefore, the Organising Committee is encouraged to consider activities in languages other than English, but in a way that promotes and values diversity and exchange, not segregation. Therefore, sessions or contributions in languages other than English must always provide means of translation. This necessity does not apply to pre- or post-conferences that the local organisers would like to set up before or after ECC and that are strictly targeted at one language community only.

6. MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

A management team is brought together to compose the “ECC2022 Organising Committee”. It is composed of members designated by the host institution (LOC) and ECREA equally and chaired by a member from the host institution. ECREA reserves the right to veto a decision if it sees it as potentially damaging to its image or interests. Representative of ECREA’s PCO (C-IN) will be added to the ECC2022 Organising Committee for clearer communication, allocattion and coordination of tasks. The domain of PCO representative will be limited to technical aspects of event organisation and budgeting.

The ECC2022 Organising Committee draws and updates regularly a timetable of the entire project. LOC in collaboration with ECREA and ECREA’s PCO drafts a full budget plan of the conference. The ECC2022 Organising Committee controls the budget, which will be kept up to date and accessible in full detail to the ECREA representatives at any point in time. The same transparency and real time updating will also prevail for the actual accounts of the conference.

The host institution will form a Local Organising Committee, consisting of at least Chair, Vice-Chair and General Co-Ordinator of the conference. To facilitate contacts between ECREA and the host institution, most communication will be achieved between the General Co-ordinator of the conference and a contact person designated by ECREA. ECREA will not be involved in day-to-day operations and decisions.

7. DISTRIBUTION OF TASKS

The host institution is entrusted with the organisation of the event and is given sufficient autonomy to give the conference a characteristic tone and focus that reflects the local identity and areas of expertise. Yet, because the conference commits ECREA’s image and overall credibility, ECREA has to remain closely associated, in a supervising and supportive role, with the preparation and the carrying out of the conference.

For organisation of ECC conferences, ECREA relies on its selected PCO C-IN and host institution is required to work with C-IN to provide a number of basic services specified below. Services which are not included in this basic package (such as catering, sponsorships, or acommodation booking) must also be provided by a PCO. Although a local PCO can be contracted for these services, host institution is strongly encouraged to use C-IN services.

The tasks required to organise the conference are thus to be distributed into five groupings:

• Tasks taken on by the ECREA PCO
• Tasks taken on by LOC
• Tasks taken on by ECREA
• Tasks taken on jointly by ECREA and LOC
• Tasks taken on by a local PCO (optional)

The tasks will be distributed over the above described categories as follows:

Tasks taken by ECREA PCO:

• Sumbission platform management (see also article 9)
• Abstracts handling (submission, technical coordination of evaluation, notifications)
• Registration and fee payment (off-site and on-site)
• Mobile application provision and management
• Upload centre provision, staffing and management
• AV equipment management
• Venue management (e.g. rooms equipment, catering and refreshments supervision)
• Signage and banners
• Conference bags
• Programme book and book of abstracts
• Tasks taken on by LOC
• Call for papers
• Website
• Design
• Communication and event promotion
• Invitation and communication with keynotes
• Pre-conferences
• Finding sponsors
• Social/cultural programme

Tasks taken on jointly by ECREA and LOC

• Pleanary panels (keynotes and other formats)
• Special panels
• Communication and event promotion
• Protocol (off-site and on-site)
• Approving sponsors (ECREA reserves the right to refuse the sponsorship of a particular funder that would be found incompatible with the aims and the image of ECREA.)

Tasks taken on by ECREA

• Communication and event promotion via ECREA channels
• Protocol
• Production of scientific programme of the conference

Tasks taken on by the local PCO (in articulation with the LOC) or ECREA PCO

• Accomodation management
• Transport management
• Social/cultural programme
• Exhibition and sponshorship
• Food and beverages

8. COMMUNICATION

A line of visual material (posters, website etc.) is designed to reflect the conference and the host institution and region. ECREA will assist in disseminating the promotional material.

Each edition of the conference is named after the following model:

ECREA 2022

9th European Communication Conference

[City], [Country]

Hosted by [the host institution]

ECREA will promote the event among its members, its community and beyond to give the largest possible publicity to the event. The host institution will also their resources to promote the event.

9. ECREA CONFERENCE SYSTEM

The conference is run on the platform of the ECREA conference system. Following tasks must be managed via ECREA conference system:

• submission of abstracts
• evaluation of abstracts
• creation of the scientific programme
• centralised upload and distribution of presentations
• on-line registration
• fee payment
• on-site registration (including production of badges and attendance certificates)
• production of programme book and book of abstracts

Please note that there is a flat rate for the use and operation of the ECREA conference system (subject of contract between host institution and ECREA PCO). The candidates should send the inquiry to the ECREA General Secretary Irena Reifová (generalsecretary@ecrea.eu) about the estimated costs of the use of the conference system.

10. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Given the magnitude of the conference and the corresponding overall budget, there is a financial risk associated with organising the European Communication Conference. ECREA is an international not-for-profit association with no capital and with no significant treasury. This implies that ECREA has no financial responsibility or liability for the ECC2022.

In order to reduce the risk and keep the financial situation under careful control, a detailed budget plan will be established early in the conference planning based on firm offers and estimates. The budget will be drafted by LOC in collaboration with ECREA and ECREA’s PCO. Given that it is difficult to predict with any accuracy the number of participants, the budget must include different scenarios corresponding to different figures of attendance. To this end, ECREA and ECREA’s PCO will provide relevant figures from past conferences to LOC. This budget is to be updated as often as necessary to incorporate any changes.

The amounts charged to participants for registration and for the various activities will have to be safely determined by the time of the opening of registration. The registration fee for ECREA members must be substantially lower than that of non-ECREA members. Discounted fee must also be available for ECREA members who are also students (PhD or otherwise), and also for soft-currency countries. (The conference will use the same list of soft-currency countries that is applied by ECREA to its membership fees). Early registration should be encouraged by offering a discount for participants registering and paying before a set date.

The highest registration fee (most likely for non-members of ECREA that do not register early) will not exceed eight (8) times the amount of the ECREA individual membership fee for that year (within the fee structure of 2019, this maximum amount is 640 EUR). The standard fee for ECREA members will not exceed six (6) times the amount of the ECREA individual membership fee for that year (within the fee structure of 2019, this maximum amount is 480 EUR).

The detailed accounts of the conference will be kept up to date (books and documents) and accessible to the Organising Committee. The financial report will be approved by the Organising Committee no later than 6 (six) months after the closing of the conference.

If the conference organiser, through the submission of a detailed and convincing financial report, can prove after the conference that there was a loss then NO financial transfer will have to be made to ECREA.

If the final balance of the accounts shows a profit, ECREA will receive 50% of the profit, and the remaining profit will benefit to the host institution.

If the conference organiser, through the submission of a detailed and convincing financial report, can prove after the conference that there was a loss then no financial transfer will have to be made to ECREA.

Regardless of the financial result of the ECC2020, the host institution will either fund or immediately refund travel and accommodation costs of the members of the Organising Committee. Travel and accommodation costs of the members of the Organising Committee during the preparation phase and travel and accommodation costs of the Organising Committee traveling for the Conference will be maximum EUR 10 000 (in words: ten thousand) in total. Finally, the registration fee for all ECREA Board members and 20 ECREA Guests will be waived by the organisers.

The Series Editors Ilija Tomanic Trivundza, Christina Holtz-Bacha and Galina Miazhevich invite the submission of book proposals for the Routledge Studies in European Communication Research and Education Series.

The Book Series aims to provide a diverse overview of the work of ECREA members and working groups, showcasing

- diversity of topics and areas within the field of contemporary media and communication research, and

- addressing this diversity from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, and

- promoting collaborative research of our members, either within or between ECREA Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups (S/N/TWGs).

WHAT are we seeking?

ECREA Book Series Publications need to have a clear theme or focus. Authors are strongly advised to outline the focus of the book and its framework in the abstract of the introductory chapter (see our submission form). The structure of the book (division of sections and chapters) should be in line with the proposed framework. Although the series is open to a wide diversity of disciplines and subjects, editors will consider the potential audience of a proposed book and previous publications on the topic within the Book Series.

ECREA Book Series Publications aim to promote European media and communication research. We are, therefore, seeking proposals, which have a strong European dimension either by virtue of inclusion of regionally and ethnically diverse voices and cases, or by virtue of comparative research. Proposals should attempt to bridge the divides between regional and linguistic academic communities and strive to secure regional (East/West/North/South) balance of contributors or analysed cases. Proposals can include a limited number of authors who are not ECREA members provide insights beyond European perspective (see details below).

ECREA Book Series Publications aim to promote collaborative research. The series publishes edited volumes, single author monographs or monographs from a limited number of authors or authors based at the same institution will not be considered for publication. Proposals resulting from work within ECREA S/N/TWGs as well as those resulting from collaboration between ECREA S/N/TWGs are particularly encouraged. Proposals resulting from S/N/TWGs events or international projects are welcomed if thematic coherence and European dimension of the topic are implemented. Proposals where the work comes from members of one institution or predominantly form one national academic community are not considered for publication.

We are seeking original, previously unpublished work. Inclusion of previously published work is accepted under condition that the work has previously not been published in English or was published in now mainly inaccessible outlets. In such cases, editors of accepted proposals will be required to acquire permissions to translate or republish the work (without any extra costs to the Book Series).

WHO is invited to submit?

The book series primarily promotes the work of ECREA members although a degree of openness towards non-ECREA members is also considered to add value to the Book Series.

At least 50% of the chapters need to originate from ECREA members (individual members, or members through an institutional membership). At least one of the editors needs to be an ECREA member. These conditions need to be met at the latest when the proposal is accepted.

Please note that ECREA Executive Board members cannot be editors of the books in ECREA book series, but can serve as authors of the chapters. The Book Series editors cannot contribute to the content of the books in the ECREA book series in any way.

What is the DEADLINE for submissions?

Proposals are to be sent to the series editors by email to info@ecrea.eu by 20 February 2020.

HOW to submit the proposal?

Proposals are submitted using Book Series form. Only this form can be used for submitting a book proposal; applications that do not use this form will not be considered. Please note that the proposal should include a detailed abstract of each chapter including introductory and potential closing chapters.

Download the form here.

QUESTIONS and queries?

Should you have any further questions concerning the Book Series call, please email Wave 17 Series Editor Galina Miazhevich at info@ecrea.eu.

Please check the free chapter preview of recently published volumes in the series before submitting the proposal: https://www.routledge.com/collections/13080?utm_source=Routledge&utm_medium=cms&utm_campaign=180112828

If you have problems accessing the documents, please email us at info@ecrea.eu.

In 2019, three ECREA Temporary Working Groups (TWGs) ceased to exist:

Advertising Research
Communication and the European Public Sphere
Media and Religion

ECREA would like to thank members of Management Teams of former TWGs for their voluntary work for ECREA and for the field. Despite the limited period of time of the existence of Temporary Working Groups, the efforts of their members and Management Teams are very important for the Association. The TWGs help to set the new agenda for the field and develop discussion beyond the limits of the already existing Sections.

All members of the former Temporary Working Groups are encouraged to join other Sections, Networks and Temporary Working Groups by ticking a box in their member profiles on the ECREA Intranet. This will mean that members will receive all communication about forthcoming conferences, publications and so on. The updated list of all ECREA entities can be found here.

ECREA is happy to announce that two new Sections were established in October 2019.

The Children, Youth and Media Temporary Working Group and Visual Cultures Temporary Working Group have received permanent status.  

ECREA currently has 24 permanent thematic Sections, 3 permanent Networks and 4 Temporary Working Groups.

All members are invited to update their profiles and to join the recently established Temporary Working Group (Communication and Sport) or Sections (Children, Youth and Media; Media, Cities and Space; and Visual cultures) by ticking a box on ECREA Intranet in order to receive all important information sent by the Management Teams.

ECREA in partnership with the University of Minho call for papers to be presented at the 8th European Communication Conference, to be held in Braga, Portugal, from 2 October to 5 October 2020.

The Conference has chosen the key theme 'Communication and trust: building safe, sustainable and promising futures'. Organisers call for proposals addressing (but not limited to) the main conference theme and relating to ECREA Sections, Networks or Temporary Working Groups.

Proposals for individual papers, panels, and posters can be submitted to one of ECREA Sections, Temporary Working Groups and Networks through the ECREA 2020 submission platform until 15 January 2020. 

For more information please visit the conference website www.ecrea2020braga.eu.

ECREA is happy to announce that a new Temporary Working Group and new Section were established. 

The Media & the City Temporary Working Group has received permanent status and has become the next ECREA thematic Section called Media, Cities and Space. 

Th new Temporary Working Group, Communication and Sport, was established with the aim to foster European scholarly understanding of the complex relations between communication and sport.

Check ECREA Newsletter articles for more information about the Media, Cities and Space Section and for more information about the Communication and Sport TWG.

We are happy to announce that new book from ECREA series just came out. Media Accountability in the Era of Post-Truth Politics maps the current state of media accountability in Europe and provides fresh perspectives for future developments in media and communication fields.

More info can be found here.

You can also read the interview with editors of the book Tobias Eberwein, Susanne Fengler, Matthias Karmasin here.

ECREA members can get 20% off and free shipping - more info can be found on ECREA intranet.

Purchase here.

We are happy to present ECREA special panel at IAMCR 2019 that will take place on 7 - 11 July 2019 in Madrid. 

Panel title: Rethinking journalism under conditions of post-truth epistemology (OCS number 23797)

Panel chairs: Ilija Tomanic Trivundza and John Downey

Recent electoral and plebiscitary gains of politicians and parties claiming to represent the unrepresented, and election-backed consolidation of regimes with autocratic tendencies have (re)ignited the debate on the democratic project’s “backsliding” into illiberal models of governance. Within Europe and beyond, this narrative of democratic backsliding, articulated through a set of keywords, such as populism, post-truth, fake news, illiberal democracy, has been portrayed as a consequence of manipulation of gullible publics and electorate in and through a dramatically altered information ecology. This panel, however, places focus not on gullible publics and illiberal politicians but on gullible journalism. Institutionalised journalism has largely failed to adequately respond to the post-truth strategies and illiberal tactics of political actors, leading to widening of the epistemological gaps between the post truth politics and the dominant liberal conception of journalism. If journalism is to no longer be a gullible party, it needs to reconsider its basic paradigmatic and epistemological principles in response to post truth politics. The panel, drawing on a variety of case studies from Europe, offers tentative suggestions for such renegotiation.

Risto Kunelius (University of Helsinki): Critical moments of journalism 

The gullibility of journalism has a history where professional journalism was made based on three interrelated ideas. First, at the level of reporting practice, a structural dependency of “legitimate sources” was camouflaged with a detached and critical style, a performative version of autonomy. Second, at the level of institutional relations, journalism leaned (in the last instance) on the epistemological, cultural and moral authority of a differentiated modern institutional order and its capacity to tackle social problems. Third, at the level technology journalism relied on the practical necessity of mass media (technology) for constructing attention and translating it to political (social) power. Post-truth politics hits journalism on all these three fronts, simultaneously. It effectively plays norms of reporting against journalism, exposing the independence of journalism as a front for elite power. It abandons the logic of differentiation and the idea of expertise and replaces bargaining and compromise with loyalty, revelation and charisma. It rejects the need for legitimation of policy in imagined public sphere, embraces the techniques of attention control, and weaponizes small group communication lessons into mobilization of a political base. This multi-layered attack is powerful because it takes advantage of real weaknesses and contradictions of the inherited political communication. After outlining this diagnoses, this presentation considers briefly two interrelated strategies of supporting more truth-oriented, rational and deliberative political communication: 1) differentiated responses to the three broken moments and 2) a (wicked) problem-centered orientation to developing new practices.

Susana Salgado (Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa): The populism-journalism puzzle

All politicians need visibility to achieve their goals. The interplay between media and politics has been central to this, first with legacy media, now with both legacy and social media (Chadwick’s hybrid media system). Much has already been written about this interplay and about the role of journalists in democracy, in framing and shaping democratic principles and behaviors. Schudson (1995), for example, emphasizes how journalists de-construct complex issues and thus help citizens to make sense of reality. Journalism’s part in the spread of populism has been receiving increased attention, but as yet there are still more questions than answers. This presentation aims to discuss whether and how journalism fits in the current populism puzzle and introduces the Portuguese case, where mainstream journalists have been stonewalling some populist actors and ideas, notably those linked to a radical/extreme right wing positioning. Could this be somehow related with the (up to now) lack of electoral success of populist parties in Portugal? Should journalists act as firm gatekeepers or should they simply provide reports without any interpretation of reality? Drawing on extant research about the role of journalism in democracy and introducing the Portuguese case, this presentation discusses the role(s) that journalists play in the spread of current forms of populism.

John Downey (Loughborough University): What do you do about Tommy? Mainstream media, social media, and the ‘far right’ in the United Kingdom 

Tommy Robinson, ex-leader of the English Defence League, is currently according to You Gov opinion pollsters the ninth most popular ‘other UK public figure’ and the 11th most famous. Sixty-one percent of people in the UK have heard of Robinson, 13% of people have a positive opinion of him. This is partly the result of Robinson’s extensive use of social media such as Facebook and YouTube. It is also partly the consequence of reporting by mainstream media. Have they contributed wittingly or unwittingly to Robinson’s popularity?

Cinzia Padovani (University of Southern Illinois, Marie S. Curie Experienced Researcher University of Loughborough): Mainstream media and the ultra-right: Focus on Italy

In this presentation, part of a larger inquiry into the contemporary developments and comparative history of the relationship between mainstream media and ultra-right political actors in the UK and Italy, I will focus on the latter as a case study. After highlighting some of the conditions that have characterized the relationship between professional journalism and the political party system in Italy (Mancini 2009; Habermas 2006; Padovani 2005), this study will underline some of the differences between the so-called “social right” (a euphemism used to indicate the re-emergence of the neo-fascist right, a movement that surfaced out of the shadows of Berlusconesimo in the early 2000s and that is still active today) and the so-called “populist far-right” of more recent history; and then interrogate the ways in which mainstream media have historically reacted to and interacted with these different political actors.

Ilija Tomanic Trivundza (University of Ljubljana) and Igor Vobic (University of Ljubljana): Reconsidering gullibility of professional journalism in post-truth: Lesions from Slovenia 

While the Enlightenment principles of reasoning have lost its dominance as means of social integration and political action, the post-truth epistemological coordinates rely on vagueness enabling construction of alternate political and cultural realities with unclear boundaries between knowledge and justification. In this context, professional journalism remains loyal to the ideal of objectivity as it has re-articulated in the last century or so and therefore appears gullible and devoid of proper answers in post-truth—not only as a critical link in public life based on facts and reasoned arguments, but also as a builder of community and collective sense-making. This case study explores how professional journalism in Slovenia reacts to fake news tactics of political power holders and elaborates how journalistic responses have deepened the paradigmatic gap between vague epistemology of post-truth and the dominant principles of professional journalism – not by dismantling the post-truth, but by effectively feeding into it. On this basis, the paper argues that the post-objectivity paradigm of journalism needs to be invented and practiced if we want to continue to meaningfully engage with matters of social relevance.

The 2019 ordinary General Assembly of ECREA will open on Monday 20 May (6:45 CEST) and will close on Friday 24 May (23:45 CEST) 2019. We invite all the members, who are eligible to vote, to participate and cast their votes online.

The Assembly deals with a number of important issues, such as Approval of ECREA Executive Board Report for 2018 and the Budget Plan for 2019.

WHO CAN VOTE

Please note that only individual members and institutional coordinators are entitled to vote. If you are a member through an institution, you do not have the right to vote but need to communicate to your institutional coordinator. If you do not know who your institutional coordinator is, please ask ECREA’s Administrator at info@ecrea.eu. In line with ECREA Statutes, each individual member has one vote and each coordinator of an institutional member holds five votes.

All members, who are eligible to vote will receive a separate email with voting credentials and a link to dedicated online area when the General Assembly opens on 20 May 2019.