ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

Convergence (special issue)

Deadline: April 4, 2025

Edited by: Hanne Bruun, Catherine Johnson, Tim Raats and Vilde Schanke Sundet

Over the past decade, the growth of global platforms has led to the rise of ‘platformisation’: the ‘penetration of infrastructures, economic processes and governmental frameworks of digital platforms in different economic sectors and spheres of life, as well as the reorganisation of cultural practices and imaginations around these platforms’ (Poell et al. 2019:1). This has specific implications for public service media (PSM), which now operate within a platform ecosystem in which a small number of largely US platforms determine the rules of the game (van Dijck et al., 2018). Platformisation has created the conditions for the emergence of global streaming services, such as Netflix, Disney+, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video, with which PSM compete for audiences, revenue and talent. These new forms of on-demand, data-driven video streaming services challenge the dominance that many PSM organisations once had as the principal providers of domestic audiovisual culture. For PSM organisations this is a double bind: as they have lost audiences to streaming services and platforms, they have also had to develop new on-demand services and online content that can only be delivered through the infrastructures owned by global platforms. Yet the way in which these challenges play out for PSM are context specific. Despite large-scale studies focused on comparing systemic political and economic factors, there are relatively few comparative studies of the organisational practices and cultural outputs of PSM organisations. This is a significant omission because a growing body of work argues that it is precisely in the areas of organisational practice and cultural output that the impact of platformisation on PSM is most keenly felt (see, for example, D’Arma et al., 2021; Iordache et al., 2024; Lassen, 2025).

In response, this special issue asks: How might a comparative approach help us to better understand PSM in the age of platforms? Comparison here could be across different ‘levels of influence’ (Havens and Lotz, 2016) within the media industries, such as comparing policy/regulation and organisational practices, or comparing organisational practices with cultural outputs. In this sense, we particularly welcome articles that take a mixed method approach, combining (for example) document analysis, interviews and/or analysis of texts. Or it could be comparison across different platforms and/or contexts. We particularly welcome studies that compare across more than two contexts and studies that look beyond the Western contexts that have dominated studies of PSM.

Indicative topics include, but are not restricted to:

• Comparative analysis of the changing organisational cultures of PSM
  
• Comparative analysis of PSM commissioning, publishing and/or distribution practices
  
• Comparative analysis of PSM programming/content
  
• Novel methodological approaches to studying PSM in a comparative context
  
• Comparative analysis of the values underpinning PSM organisations
  
• Mixed method approaches that compare across policy, production and/or texts
  
• Theoretical approaches to comparative media systems analysis
  

Please submit a 500-750 word abstract that includes a short statement outlining how your proposed article aligns with the special issue’s aims to PSMspecialissue@leeds.ac.uk email by 4 April 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be circulated by 5 May 2025, with full length articles to be submitted by 22 September 2025.

June 11, 2025

University of Denver, Colorado, USA

Deadline: February 1, 2025

Two weeks left to submit an abstract to the ICA 2025 Pre-conference – Frames of Transition: Visual Communication in Times of Social Change

Date: Wednesday 11 June 2025, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. 

Location: University of Denver, Colorado, USA

Abstracts due: February 1, 2025: https://bit.ly/4fdwT68

Notifications: March 11, 2025

In a world marked by rapid technological advances and sociopolitical upheavals, visual communication plays a vital role in documenting and influencing these changes. By emphasizing the theme of transition and change, this pre-conference organized by ICA Visual Communication Studies Division seeks to contribute to academic scholarship and practical applications, demonstrating how visual communication can help navigate and make sense of change. It also aims to provide a platform for cross-divisional and interdisciplinary networking between emerging and senior scholars dealing with visual communication research, inviting extended abstracts with a focus on three perspectives:

Phenomena-oriented perspective: From this perspective, we seek contributions examining events, movements, and trends represented visually, offering insights into the ways visual communication shapes and is shaped by transitional moments. We also aim to explore the impact of emerging visual production or editing technologies, such as generative AI, that contribute to new issues (e.g., AI-generated visual disinformation, deepfakes, creative expression, etc.).

Actor/agent (action)-oriented perspective: This perspective invites visual communication research with a focus on individuals, groups, and organizations involved in creating, editing, disseminating, and engaging with visual content during transitional periods. We also aim to explore how visual communication is used as a tool to address existing issues (e.g., through visual storytelling, photojournalism, novel forms of visual expression, etc.).

Method-oriented perspective: Submissions from this perspective will delve into the methodologies and techniques used to study visual representation and meaning-making during periods of change. We also aim to provide a forum for collaborative learning about innovative approaches and tools for analyzing visual communication.

How to Participate:

Send us an extended abstract for one of the following formats by 1 February 2025:

• Traditional research (1,000 words): These abstracts should be anonymized for a review committee made up of senior Division members.
  
• Research escalator (500 words): The session applications will be reviewed by potential mentors, and where matches are possible, mentees will be paired with a mentor.

Full CfP: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.icahdq.org/resource/resmgr/conference/2025/pc-cfp-frames-transition.pdf

Registration: we are planning with a fee of $50 (includes lunch and refreshments on the day). No fees to submit an abstract.

For any queries, please contact 

Dr. Nataliia Laba - n.laba@rug.nl 

Dr. Kareem el Damanhoury - kareem.eldamanhoury@du.edu

The Journal of Radio and Audio Media (JRAM)

Deadline: April 5, 2025

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

Contact Information: Dr. Arthur D. Soto-Vásquez 

Contact Email: arthur.sotovasquez@unlv.edu

 September 8th-9th, 2025 

Università di Bologna, Dipartimento delle Arti – DAMSLab

Deadline: March 31, 2025

ECREA Film Studies and Television Studies Sections 2025 Conference

Organised by Luca Barra, Marco Cucco (Università di Bologna, Italy), Cathrin Bengesser (Aarhus University, Denmark), Deborah Castro (University of Groningen, Netherlands), Miguel Fernández Labayen (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain), Jono Van Belle (Örebro University, Sweden).

The development and rapid diffusion of audiovisual streaming platforms has undoubtedly been one of the most important events that happened in the film and television landscape over the last thirty years. Specialized companies such as Netflix have emerged, becoming leaders in the market and establishing practices and models soon adopted by other players. Digital retailers like Amazon started producing and distributing film and television products as part of their multifaceted activity. Production companies, film distributors and broadcasters that have long operated in the sector have been forced to rethink both their long-term strategies and their daily operations. Viewers have grown accustomed to different modes of domestic consumption, including lower access prices, the easy availability of a supposedly large choice of content, the accessibility to films and shows anytime and anywhere, and the possibility of binge-viewing to overcome the limits of television schedules and theatrical distribution. All these changes, often presented as revolutionary, have received great attention from film and television scholars around the world, including Europe, stimulating rich and diversified research in many areas: attention has been given to national and global markets, to business models, to changes in production practices and in distribution patterns, to varied audience habits and engagement, to regulatory policies, and so on. As a result, the evolutions in digital screen media have been widely studied at their local, transnational and international levels.

While the evolving markets, industries, technologies and audiences have been at the center of the analysis on audiovisual platforms, the cultural and textual dimensions have sometimes been overlooked. Therefore, this year two ECREA Sections, Film Studies and Television Studies, exceptionally join forces to organize this conference. It aims to stimulate research contributions on the lesser explored impact that digital audiovisual platforms have had, and still have, on films, on television series, on television shows, and on other screen content (e.g., documentaries, or video-based digital media) through their on-demand logic, catalogues and interfaces. Key questions we ask are: How are new forms of distribution and viewing practices impacting the ways film and television content is created, written, developed, and produced? In which ways are the industrial, regulatory and technological developments changing the aesthetics and textuality of film and television? 

We encourage submissions covering diverse topics, approaches and methodologies, including:

-       the impact of streaming platforms on the format of film and/or television texts;

-       recurrent aesthetic traits tied to, or even fostered by, digital distribution;

-       changes in narrative structures, characters and storylines;

-       the redefinition of genres, and the establishment of new, specific sub-genres;

-       the consequences of changing viewing practices on film and television development;

-       the different value of film, television series and television shows in digital libraries;

-       emerging labels, or the redefinition of previous ones (i.e. quality and prestige content, straight-to-video and made-for-TV movies, serial documentaries and reality television, …);

-       changing production models and changing distribution practices;

-       how the redefinition of policies for the digital market influences film and television texts;

-       the historical development of streaming texts, and possible antecedents in film and TV history;

-       the negotiations between global trends and local specificities;

-       transnational and trans-European case histories in film and television;

-       theoretical frameworks and methodological tools to study change at both textual and contextual level.

Abstracts should be up to 300 words, plus key references. Proposals should add a short biographical note of the author (max. 150 words). Evaluation will focus on relevance to the conference topic, selection of research objects and clarity in the use of methodology. Only one abstract per author can be submitted. 

The conference will be in person, with no option for remote presentation. Submission should be made to both email addresses: filmstudiesecrea@gmail.com and ecreaTVstudies@gmail.com, by March 31st, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent by April 28th, 2025.

Moreover, the conference lobby will host a posters exhibition devoted to international research projects funded by national and/or international institutions and other funding bodies. Projects need to involve at least two universities from different countries. Poster proposals should include: project title, name of the funding body, list of partners, project summary (up to 300 words), short bio of the PI/project leader and/or the researchers attending the conference (max 150 words).

ECREA membership is not required to participate in the conference. A registration fee will be requested upon acceptance (approximately €100) and will include coffee breaks and two lunches. 

The call for papers is available on the ECREA website: https://ecrea.eu/event-6025195.

Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague

The Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Charles University in Prague calls for candidates for the following PhD projects (each supported by a scholarship), for its English-language PhD programme in Media and Communication Studies: 

1. Post-structuralist Communication Studies 

Post-structuralism has slowly entered the field of Communication and Media Studies, offering a series of relevant theoretical frameworks for the theoretical and empirical study of communication. This PhD position is for PhD students who focus on one of the many post-structuralist frameworks, e.g., Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory or Foucauldian discourse theory, to support the research into a particular communication assemblage or into particular representational practices. 

While in this PhD position the theoretical framework needs to be post-structuralism, the object of study can be freely chosen. 

Proposed supervisor: Nico Carpentier, nico.carpentier@fsv.cuni.cz 

2. Analyzing the Impact of Strategic Communication on Public Health in the Czech Republic: A Mixed-Methods Approach 

This PhD position aims to investigate the effectiveness of strategic communication in influencing public health behavior in the Czech Republic. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods, the research will examine contemporary communication strategies used in public health campaigns. The project will include a comprehensive survey to quantify public awareness and behavioral changes in response to these campaigns. In-depth interviews and focus groups will qualitatively explore individual perceptions and attitudes towards these communications. Special attention will be given to the role of digital media in disseminating health information. This project, requiring prior consultation with the proposed PhD supervisor, seeks to provide valuable insights into how strategic communication can be optimized for public health promotion in the Czech context. Proficient knowledge of both Czech and English language is a condition for this research project due to the study of local language materials. 

Proposed supervisor: Denisa Hejlová, denisa.hejlova@fsv.cuni.cz 

3. Marketing communication and tobacco control 

The Department of Marketing Communication and Public Relations welcomes Czech or international scholars focusing on primary research in tobacco control from the standpoint of marketing and strategic communication (e.g. research of new strategies and tactics employed by tobacco companies, targeting customers, online and social media marketing, stealth marketing, lobbying, public affairs, influencer marketing, etc.). Our goal is to analyze and present marketing and communication strategies and tactics by the tobacco industry which prevent consumers from tobacco or nicotine cessation and undermine public health. We especially focus on campaigns or tools aimed at adolescents and youth, incl. new forms of tobacco or nicotine products (HTP, pouches, vapes, etc.). Close cooperation with the Addictology Dept. of 1st Medical Faculty, Charles University, is needed. 

Proposed supervisor: Denisa Hejlová, denisa.hejlova@fsv.cuni.cz 

4. The Para-Social Relationships and Experiences of Youth with the Online Engagement in these: Post-Humanist Perspective 

Traditional human relationships in the experiences of children and young people experienced during their childhoods, such as youth-adult relationships, have been also complemented by the 'Para-Social Relationships with the media figures. Traditionally, public figures from the media environment (TV, Film, Newspapers) or imaginary figures from books, cartoons and films provided developmental functions for children and young people, such as role-modelling. Recently, the rise of new technologies (ChatGPT) and social media that allow active participation of media users, created a space for a new form of relationships - digital relationships in the online environment, mediated e.g. via the 'digital empathy' (Unay-Gerhard et al., 2022). Participation in the digital interactions, dynamics and functions of digital relationships and types of these being formed with humans as well as with machines (e.g. chatbots = ChatGPT, social robots) with a focus on current young people (11-18 years) will be the subject of exploration of the PhD. the study, contributing to the emergent line of the research in media the post-humanist perspective. 

Proposed supervisor: Tereza Javornícky Brumovská, 93330901@fsv.cuni.cz 

5. Constructing history on social media 

The aim of this PhD position is to explore how history is constructed by communication on social media. Examples could be narratives about historical facts or events (also anniversaries of historical events), how they are constructed by different social groups and for which purpose different imaginaries of history are constructed. The research should focus on critical inquiry of online communication from an interdisciplinary perspective. Connected topics, such as how historical places that might have turned to museums or places of remembrance use social media to promote their messages, will also be considered. 

Proposed supervisor: Christine Trültzsch-Wijnen, christine.trultzsch-wijnen@fsv.cuni.cz 

6. Domestication of artificial intelligence (AI) 

The aim of this PhD position is to explore how people integrate artificial intelligence services in their daily lives. The focus of the research can be on social entities as for example families or on specific age groups like children, adolescents, young adults, elderly people etc. Besides the question of how artificial intelligence is domesticated, this project should also look into whether and how artificial intelligence services are recognised as such and how people understand and address them (e.g. algorithms, issues of privacy etc.). Research should be interdisciplinary in nature and might be grounded in domestication theory, theories of (media) socialization, cultural studies, and beyond. 

Proposed supervisor: Christine Trültzsch-Wijnen, christine.trultzsch-wijnen@fsv.cuni.cz 

7. Media genres in the late modern media environment 

The evolution of the different genres of actualities in electronic media, since the first radio news broadcast to a contemporary online documentary on a streaming platform, reflects the dynamic adaptation to the continuously changing media environment. In the analogue context, genres were interpreted and categorized “within the boundaries of a single medium” (McQuail, 2014, 374) but because of the recent changes in the media environment, the boundaries of genres are merging and genres may be recognized as multi-platform genres, transcending the boundaries of a single medium. This topic is focused on changes of genres in the converged media environment and its impact on genres in online video journalism and the field of documentary media. We invite applications from candidates interested in researching the evaluation of collective identity of genres in the late modern media environment, examining the boundaries between genres of actualities at film, television and online platforms. The study will deploy methodologies of media content analysis. 

Proposed supervisor: Györgyi Rétfalvi, gyorgyi.retfalvi@fsv.cuni.cz 

++++ 

Interested candidates should submit their applications, using the online application system, which will be open from 1st January to 30th April 2025. Interest in a particular PhD project should be mentioned in the motivation letter, together with a more developed proposal on the PhD project. 

All relevant information, including the link to the online application system, can be found at here:https://fsv.cuni.cz/en/admissions/phd-programmes/media-and-communication-studies 

Please download the form for filling your dissertation project proposal:  https://iksz.fsv.cuni.cz/en/admissions/phd-programme-media-and-communication-studies/how-apply 

For general questions, please contact the Centre of PhD Studies, at cds.iksz@fsv.cuni.cz. 

For questions about particular projects, please contact the proposed supervisors. 

The Open Doors Day for PhD Study in Media and Communication Studies Studies will take place on 26 February 2025 at 12:30 PM CET. It will be organised online. If you wish to participate, please email the Centre of PhD Studies, at cds.iksz@fsv.cuni.cz, asap. 

September 18-19, 2025

Brussels, Belgium

Deadline: March 15, 2025

The “Communication Law and Policy” Section of the European Communications Research and Education Association (ECREA) invites abstracts for theoretical and empirical papers to be presented at its next workshop Media Freedom and Pluralism in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Platforms: A New Era for Media Policy/Regulation? This two-day workshop will be a unique opportunity to bring together those researchers investigating the processes of regulating media sectors under the influence of online platforms in Europe and beyond. The workshop will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 18-19 September 2025. It is hosted by the imec-SMIT research centre and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).

The workshop invites contributions dealing with media and communication law and policy, and its implementation. This includes submissions from political economy, policy and govern-ance studies, media and communication law, among others. We welcome theoretical, methodological and empirical submissions, case studies and comparative work. Innovative use of methods, and in particular interdisciplinary approaches, are encouraged. See the full call for papers here: https://smit.research.vub.be/en/ecrea-communication-law-and-policy-conference-at-vub-brussels-on-18-19-september-2025

Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted for blind peer review in DOCX or ODT directly to the organizers of the conference by March 15th, 2025 at the following e-mail address CLPBrussels2025@vub.be.

May 2-3, 2025

Grand Hotel & Gamla Rådhuset, Jönköping

Deadline: January 27, 2025

Organisers: Annette Hill (MKV, Jönköping University) and Hario Priambodho (MKV, Lund University)

Media atmospheres are under pressure. There are scientific and metaphorical meanings of atmospheres as related to both climate and infrastructures and emotions and experiences. From the political economic forces applied to media industries, the representation of different climates in film and media, to the feeling of atmospheres surrounding political and cultural engagement, it is timely to question the generation of atmospheres by media technologies and institutions, texts and artefacts, and citizens and audiences.

How can we forge links between established and new theories and methods for media and the environment? We use the concept of ‘media atmospheres’ to promote engagement on this crucial set of topics. For example, media devices, infrastructures and systems impact on atmospheres, including the forces applied to the financing, regulation, production and distribution of media in society and the detrimental impact of media on the climate and environment. How various media create atmospheres is also of significance, from the mood of certain genres in film, TV, podcasts and streaming media, to the political and emotional climate of social media, campaigns and activism.

This multidisciplinary symposium addresses the role of media in generating various atmospheres, both positive and negative, material and symbolic. We invite international researchers to critically examine the theme of media atmospheres through empirical and theoretical research across media and communications, critical infrastructures and technologies, climate and the environment, culture and society.

Core questions for this symposium include 1) What different kinds of atmospheres are generated in media and communications, culture and society? 2) How do media atmospheres generate power and social (in)equalities? 3) Which methodologies and methods can be applied to critically analyse media atmospheres?

The symposium addresses a range of areas, including:

• Phenomenology of atmospheres and media, communication and cultural studies;
  
• Atmospheres and critical infrastructures studies, critical data studies and science and technology studies;
  
• Atmospheres in audience studies, fan studies, and film and reception studies;
  
• Atmospheres and eco media studies, environmental communication and sustainable society;
  
• Creating atmospheres in arts, film, radio, television, social media and web series;
  
• Atmospheres and organisations, work, and labour relations;
  
• Political atmospheres in news, documentary, information, disinformation and
  
• polarization, and campaigns;
  
•  
  
• Atmospheres in live events, social media, drama, film, radio, podcasting and television studies;
  
• Atmospheres in mobility, transnational communication and transportation of goods and services, humans and non humans.
  

The programme for the symposium across two days includes three keynote panels with invited speakers and open parallel panels. There will be a dedicated website, video and podcasts of keynote panels, and selected papers from the symposium will be edited in an international academic publication. The senior editors at Intellect Press and Routledge will be present, chairing an interactive roundtable on academic publishing for scientific books and journals.

International invited speakers include Julia Brockley (Intellect Press), Simon Dawes (Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France), Natalie Foster (Routledge), Christine Geraghty (Glasgow University, UK), Joke Hermes (InHolland University, Netherlands), Annette Hill (Jönköping University, Sweden), Peter Lunt (Leicester University, UK), and Dylan Mulvin (LSE, UK), Hario Priambodho (Lund University, Sweden). 

Please submit an abstract of 300 words in English by extended deadline January 27, 2025 to Hario Priambodho (hario.priambodho@kom.lu.se). For further information please consult our website https://ju.se/Media%20Atmospheres%20international%20symposium

There is a registration fee of 2800 SEK. The fee covers lunches, beverages and snacks over two days, and a grand three course meal at the end of symposium at Grand Hotel.

October 23-24, 2025

Sandstraße 4/5, Bremen, Haus der Wissenschaft, ZeMKI, University of Bremen

Deadline: March 15, 2025

20th Anniversary Conference

Media and communication research has traditionally focused on the present, often asking: What are the consequences of each “new” medium? How do digital media and their infrastructures impact contemporary cultures and societies? With this conference, however, we aim to shift the perspective—from analyzing present-day impacts to envisioning future possibilities. What can we learn from the current mediatization and datafication of society to imagine possible futures? What roles might media discourses, technologies, and practices play in ongoing and future societal transformations?

In raising these foundational questions, the conference is broadly situated within the fields of media, communication and information research. Topics may include:

• the role of media discourses, technologies, and practices in narrating and shaping the future;
  
• the importance of media policy and governance in building better futures;
  
• recent technological developments such as communicative AI and their potential role for future media environments;
  
• ways in which our narratives of the past, media history, and archeology shape our imaginaries of the future;
  
• digital gaming and emerging forms of entertainment;
  
• future media-related challenges for future sustainability and quality of life;
  
• and methodologies in media and communication research that address emerging media-related developments from a forward-looking perspective.
  

With discussion topics like these, the ZeMKI’s 20th anniversary conference is not about speculative forecasting but is grounded in media and communication research. We aim to explore long-term trends emerging from today’s media-related transformations and reflect on our visions of the future.

We invite those who have previously engaged with us—our cooperation partners, ZeMKI fellows, guests, and friends—and those interested in starting new conversations. Presentations may cover any area of media and communication research, provided they also address the question of where a mediatized and datafied society might be heading.

Abstracts of up to 500 words can be submitted by March 15th, 2025 via this online submission form.

Participation is free of charge.

Download the call as a PDF file.

Travel

Public Transport

Bremen Central Station is centrally located in the city center and is connected to the public transport network (BSAG) by bus and streetcar. The journey time to the university is 20 minutes (streetcar 6 in the direction of “Universität” to the stop “Bremen Universität/Zentralbereich”).

Car or Intercity Bus

The central bus station is located in the center of Bremen, right next to Bremen Central Station.

The University of Bremen is located on the A27. Coming from the A1 highway, change to the A27 at Bremer Kreuz in the direction of Bremen-Bremerhaven, leave the A27 at the Universität/Horn-Lehe exit and drive in the direction of Centrum/Universität.

Sufficient parking spaces are available on the campus and in the University Technology Park, but these are subject to a charge.

via the Airport

City Airport is well connected by the BSAG streetcar line 6. The journey to the city center takes 11 minutes, to the university it takes 36 minutes (streetcar 6 in the direction of “Universität” to the stop “Bremen Universität/Zentralbereich”).

Accomodation

Bremen has a wide range of accommodation options near the main train station and the airport – Bremen has almost 30 hotels in the city center alone. You can find an overview here.

Radisson Blu Hotel Bremen

Böttcherstr. 2

28195 Bremen

Book Now

H+ Hotel Bremen

Wachtstraße 27-29

28195 Bremen

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B&B Hotel Bremen-City

Findorffstraße 28-32

28215 Bremen

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Hotel Ibis Budget (at Main Station)

Bahnhofsplatz 41B

28195 Bremen

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Universität Bremen

Open to unconventional approaches in research and teaching, the University of Bremen has retained its character as a place for closely connecting people and ideas since its foundation in 1971. We combine exceptional performance and innovative potential in a broad spectrum of subjects. As an ambitious research university, we stand for research-based learning approaches and a pronounced interdisciplinary orientation. We actively pursue international scientific cooperation in a spirit of global partnership.

Today, around 23,000 people learn, teach, research and work on our international campus. In research and teaching, administration and operations, we are strongly committed to the goals of sustainability, climate justice and climate neutrality. Our Bremen spirit is expressed in the courage to explore new things in cooperation, respect and appreciation for each other. With our study and research profile as well as with our cooperation within the European YUFE network, we assume social responsibility in the region, in Europe and in the world.

The University of Bremen is seeking to fill a professorship in Communication and Media Studies in Faculty 9 Cultural Studies as soon as possible with the following profile:

Tenure-Track-Professor (f/m/x) with tenure-track after W2

(Salary Level W1)

for the subject area

Media, Society and the Good Life

– Reference number: JP902/25 –

The professorship is initially offered for a fixed term of three years. Following an interim evaluation of an orienting nature, it will be extended for an additional three years. If the final evaluation after six years is positive, the position will be converted into a permanent W2 lifetime professorship as a civil servant. To support the academic establishment of tenure-track professors, a phased introduction to teaching is guaranteed.

Applicants should be early-career researchers with demonstrated national and international visibility in the field of empirical research on media, communication, and data practices within their social contexts. Solid expertise in qualitative methods of research on digital communication is required.

The existing research profile of the University of Bremen, particularly the Center for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI, www.zemki.uni-bremen.de), offers excellent opportunities for your own academic development as professor, with the aim of establishing a unique research and training profile on media, society, and the good life as a key aspect of sustainability. The ZeMKI provides a highly stimulating research environment, addressing questions surrounding the digital transformation of media and communication. Key research areas include datafication and communicative AI, as well as digital gaming. As a candidate, you should show interest in contributing to one of these two areas. Additionally, a willingness to acquire third-party funding, participate in collaborative research, and engage in the structured doctoral training of the ZeMKI is expected.

The responsibilities of the professorship include teaching in the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in communication and media studies, in accordance with the teaching obligations and teaching certificate regulations (LVNV) of the University of Bremen. You are expected to offer courses in both German and English; if proficiency in one of these languages is lacking, it should be acquired within three years, with support provided by the university. Additionally, you should have an interest in “research-based teaching and learning”, in exploring new technologies for teaching and learning, and in pursuing further training in higher education didactics.

In addition to fulfilling the general appointment requirements under civil service law, the prerequisites for employment include a relevant academic university or college degree, subject-relevant degree and a particular aptitude for scientific work, proven by a relevant high-ranking doctorate in the subject area. We expect pedagogical aptitude and didactic commitment as well as a willingness to undergo further training in higher education didactics. Experience in academic self-administration is desirable.

Tenure-track professors are relieved of some of their teaching duties at the beginning of their employment in order to be able to develop their academic profile. The appointment is based on §§ 18, 18a BremHG and § 117 BremBG. According to these, the doctoral and employment phases together should not have lasted more than six years. Applicants who have already completed their doctorate in Bremen must have changed universities after completing their doctorate or have worked outside the University of Bremen for at least two years.

The university is committed to increasing the proportion of women in science and strongly encourages female scientists to apply. The university has been awarded the title “Excellence in Gender Equality” within the framework of the female professors’ program of the federal and state governments. Applications from scientists with a migration background as well as international applications are expressly welcomed. In case of substantially equal professional and personal qualifications, candidates with severe disabilities will be given preferential consideration.

For further information, please contact the spokesperson of the Center for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI), Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp (andreas.hepp@uni-bremen.de). Applications with the usual documents (letter of motivation, curriculum vitae with publication list, teaching and research statements, copies of academic degree certificates, etc.) must be sent by February 6th, 2025, referencing the reference number JP902/25, as a PDF file by unencrypted electronic mail to the Dean, Prof. Dr. Dagmar Borchers (bewerbungen.fb9@vw.uni-bremen.de) or by post to:

Dekanin des Fachbereichs 9 – Kulturwissenschaften

Frau Prof. Dr. Dagmar Borchers

Universität Bremen

Postfach 330 440

28334 Bremen

www.fb9.uni-bremen.de

The University of Bremen provides detailed information on the appointment procedure and negotiations at https://www.uni-bremen.de/berufungsverfahren.

Download the job advertisement

Universität Bremen

(CALL CLOSES ON JANUARY 31, 2025, 23:59 CET)

Come and work with us!

Our Fellowship Program invites international researchers to Bremen for four weeks to deepen and connect their research in the transformation of media, communication, and information. We are looking for established scholars who want to enjoy the thriving interdisciplinary research environment at ZeMKI. Disciplines include media and communication studies, computer science, film studies, educational science, studies in religion, and history. Since mid-2017, ZeMKI has regularly hosted colleagues from all over the world.

What we expect:

The duration of the fellowship is one month. Applicants should demonstrate experience in their respective field of research and a strong interest in working jointly with principal investigators at ZeMKI to develop new ideas together. The main focus of the ZeMKI Visiting Research Fellowship is to pursue a joint project with at least two ZeMKI Labs (find all descriptions here: https://zemki.uni-bremen.de/en/research/labs/). The joint project can take various forms and should aim to have an impact on academic and public debates in their respective area of scholarly focus.

The following outputs are expected:

• a research paper submitted to the peer-reviewed ZeMKI Working Paper Series
  
• a public presentation in the ZeMKI Research Seminar
  

For a successful application it is highly recommended to inform oneself thoroughly about current activities in the ZeMKI Labs of interest and the work of principal investigators at ZeMKI.

What we offer:

• Research Resources: Fellows are welcome and encouraged to make use of and connect with ZeMKI’s research resources in the context of their collaboration with ZeMKI labs, including the research studios, IT pools/technical equipment, cooperatives, and initiatives.
  
• Access to the State and University Library Bremen: All fellows will be provided with access to the central academic library of the University of Bremen.
  
• Courses: Fellows are eligible to participate as listeners or guest lecturers in courses in the diverse media study programmes at ZeMKI. They have to individually ask for permission directly from the professor or lecturer.
  
• A honorarium of 3,000 euros plus a budget for research-related expenses of up to 1,500 euros
  

Please fill out all fields of the application form and submit it in order to apply by January 31, 2025 (23:59 CET).