ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

mediastudies.press

Deadline: July 31, 2026

mediastudies.press, the scholar-led and nonprofit OA publisher, is happy to announce our annual proposal window from 1 June to 31 July, 2026. During this date window, authors are encouraged to submit a proposal for review.

mediastudies.press welcomes submissions from scholars across media, communication, and film studies. We currently publish in five series:

• Media Manifold series — monographs and other book-length works of contemporary media scholarship
  
• Public Domain series — reprints of neglected classics, in new critical editions anchored by framing introductions
  
• Open Reader series — themed collections of openly licensed, public domain, and linked materials curated and introduced by leading experts
  
• History of Media Studies series — monographs and other original scholarly works centered on history of media, communication, and film studies
  
• Goffman in the Open series — public domain texts, monographs, translations, and other original scholarly works centered on the Canadian-American sociologist Erving Goffman
  

We are small and artisanal by mission, and aim to publish just five books a year. Given the volume of proposals that we receive—and with our production schedule in mind—we maintain an annual proposal window (1 June to 31 July), for the review of manuscripts slated for publication in the following calendar year. You are welcome to send informal queries outside these dates, but our general practice is to only consider proposals within the annual window. Each year, we review proposals with an initial reply by August 30, with the aim to conduct peer review of proposals of expressed interest by the end of October.

mediastudies.press is an open-access publisher for the media and communication studies fields. The press is nonprofit and scholar-led. We publish living works, with iterative updates stitched into our process. And we encourage multi-modal submissions that reflect the mediated environments our authors study. 

Publishing with mediastudies.press is free on principle. Our aim is to demonstrate, on a small scale, an open-access publishing model supported by libraries rather than author fees, via the Open Book Collective. Open access for readers, we believe, should not be traded for new barriers to authorship. 

All our published works are rigorously peer-reviewed, and receive unusual editorial attention. We prioritize discoverability through careful metadata, library records, and directory listings. As a scholar-run operation, our publicity outreach is uncommonly informed by the fields’ intellectual contours. 

We kindly ask that proposals be submitted as a single PDF. Proposals should include the following elements, in addition to at least one draft chapter:

• Proposed title and subtitle
  
• A 500- to 1000-word narrative description of the book
  
• Short bios of author(s) and/or editor(s)
  
• Proposed series (see above)
  
• Tentative table of contents, preferably annotated
  
• Estimated word count
  
• Multi-modal components, if any
  
• Status of the book (i.e., expectation of completion date, the portion now complete)
  
• At least one draft chapter
  

To submit your work to mediastudies.press please follow our submission link. 

If you have any questions at all about the proposal process for books, please contact us at press@mediastudies.press

Dave Park, co-director of mediastudies.press

Jeff Pooley, co-director of mediastudies.press

October 15-16, 2026

Krakow, Poland, Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication at Jagiellonian University 

Deadline: June 14, 2026

Dear ECREA members,

We cordially invite you to participate in the 7th Conference of the series "Knowledge – Communication – Action. Forecasting the Future: Between Media, Technology and Society",which will take place on 15–16 October 2026 at the Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. This year's edition is, for the first time, international in scope.

Registration via the online form is now open and will remain available until 12 July 2026.

Panel proposals should be submitted by 14 June 2026 via e-mail to: idmiksuj@uj.edu.pl. Following panel submission, each participant is required to register individually through the online form.

Further details about the conference can be found on our website: https://idmiksuj.edu.pl/en 

We look forward to seeing you in October and encourage you to register!

On behalf of the Organizing Committee

Roksana Gloc, Patrycja Hewelt, Paweł Nowak

January 12-13, 2027

City St George’s, University of London (in-person)

Deadline for abstracts (max 250 words): September 7, 2026

Joint annual conference of the Political Studies Association’s Media and Politics Group (MPG) and Technology, Internet, and Policy (TIP) Group

You are warmly invited to submit papers for presentation at the joint annual conference of the Political Studies Association’s Media and Politics Group & Technology, Information and Policy Group. This year’s conference theme, “Dis(mis)information and the Public Sphere in the Age of AI,” will explore how Information Communication Technologies (ICT) are impacting the public sphere and whether social media facilitates an electronic agora. For advocates of a digital democracy, the abundance of unfiltered information streams, platforms and podcasts could enable ‘net’ citizens (or ‘Netizens’) to connect on a many-to-many or peer-to-peer basis. Such viral engagements can enhance grassroots political causes, social movements and direct-action campaigns. Conversely, critical theorists argue that social media has created societal, economic and political dislocations which have eroded rational debates into ideological polarisations. Further, through such political communication networks and nodes, normative editorial and journalist practices are under threat, impacting trust and accuracy of information and eventually leading to dis(mis)information. This conference seeks to critically examine the opportunities and risks ICTs present to the public sphere.

The conference can be attended in person only and will be held in City, St George’s, University of London (Clerkenwell Campus, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK), on 12-13 January 2027. 

The conference will include three keynote presentations:

• Steven Barnett, University of Westminster

• Jennifer Birks, University of Nottingham

• Jean Seaton, University of Westminster

Additionally, two panels will bookend the conference:

- Public Service Media (PSM) and information technologies. Two of our keynotes, Steven and Jean, will be providing a detailed commentary with their expert insider-based analyses.

- Artificial Intelligence, Communications Policy, Regulation and Popular Cultural content Panellists:  Ali-Abbas Ali (Ofcom officer), Pete Johnson (CEO, British Screen Forum), James Peatty (Lecturer and filmmaker, Richmond University), Paul MacDonald (King's College London, TBC). Format: roundtable.

We welcome paper submissions that address any of the following topics:

* Do ICTs and digital platforms impact citizen engagement, connection and political participation, thus democratising the public sphere?

* What role do deepfake and AI-generated images play in shaping the modern online public sphere?

* What is the role of ICTs and digital platforms in political campaigning? Are they reshaping campaign strategies, political marketing, civic and voter engagement?

* How do social media algorithms impact political discussion in the public sphere?

* Do ICTs and online platforms provide reliable information or do they misinform citizens?

* What are the ethical implications of dis(mis)information and what is the impact of dis(mis)information on the rational public sphere?

* Are digital platforms providing spaces for democratic movements, especially in regimes that oppress freedom of expression?

* What regulatory and policy developments should be initiated to make digital platforms trustworthy and accountable?

* Can the 2022 landmark EU regulations Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) as well as the 2023 UK Online Safety Act ensure a safer and fairer digital space?

We encourage submissions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to political science, media studies, communication, sociology, law, and technology studies. Submissions are welcomed from scholars at all career stages, including PhD candidates and early-career researchers, as well as practitioners engaged in media, politics or related fields.

While the main theme of this conference is “Dis(mis)information and the Public Sphere in the Age of AI”, the MPG and TIP operate an open and inclusive policy, and papers dealing with any aspect of media, technology and politics are welcome. Papers may focus on areas from political communication and journalism to data, artificial intelligence, social media and tech policy; but also include a broader view of the political sphere within such areas as television, cinema and media arts, both factual and fictional. In addition to academic research, the conference will also welcome practice-based work in art, film and performance related to the area of media and politics.

Key dates

• Monday 7th Sept 2026. Deadline for paper submission outlining the title, synopsis, and chair details, as well as the abstracts for each contributor (no more than 250 words each).
  
• Monday 28th Sept 2026. Paper proposers notified of the decision by the conference committee. Conference registration opens.
  
• Friday 11th December 2026. Extended abstract deadline for James Thomas Memorial Prize applicants.
  
• 12-13 January 2027. Conference held in City St George’s, University of London.
  

Submitting proposals

We welcome both paper and panel proposals for this conference. Paper proposals should be for 15-minute presentations. Submitted abstracts should be no more than 250 words (excluding references). 

If you wish to submit a panel proposal, please note the following stipulations: 

* Panel proposals should include a panel overview (max. 300 words), outlining the title, synopsis, and chair details, as well as the abstracts for each contributor (no more than 250 words each).

* Panels usually consist of three to four papers and a chair.

* Panels should aim to reflect the diversity of the profession.

Please submit all proposals to Petros Iosifidis: p.iosifidis@city.ac.uk and Mark Wheeler: m.wheeler@londonmet.ac.uk / mbdoctormark@gmail.com 

Potential outputs

The Journal of Digital Media and Policy (https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-digital-media-policy), which Petros edits, will publish a special edition. The theme and call for papers will be outlined closer to the conference time and will be featured on the journal’s website.

Book launch

We will be having the launch of the De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Political Communication that Mark and Petros have edited. The book will be published shortly. See https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isbn/9783111386034/html?srsltid=AfmBOop0qVVIU4nfp3HrNIz6OPrwpC43_pqu3vUjCpMancYWahFkr_WP

Registration fees

* Full-time delegate conference fee (PSA member): £150

* Full-time delegate conference fee (non-PSA member): £180

* PG doctoral candidate, retired or unwaged fee (Member/Non-Member): £95/£125 

This covers lunches, coffee breaks, a drinks reception and the annual dinner.

We will be seeking to establish an appropriate set of hotel/hostel deals for those colleagues who will be visiting London. 

Financial support

The PSA offers a limited number of travel subsidies (up to the value of £100) to support postgraduate student participation in this event. Postgraduate students interested in applying for these subsidies should please note this when submitting. 

James Thomas Memorial Prize 

Extended abstracts of a maximum of 2000 words submitted by postgraduate students will be entered into the James Thomas Memorial Prize. This annual award is presented to the most outstanding paper by a postgraduate student at the Media & Politics Group Annual Conference. Postgraduate students wishing to be considered for the prize should send extended abstracts to Petros Iosifidis: p.iosifidis@city.ac.uk and Mark Wheeler: m.wheeler@londonmet.ac.uk / mbdoctormark@gmail.com by Friday, 11th December 2026.

About the PSA

The Political Studies Association (https://www.psa.ac.uk/) is the UK’s leading association in the study and research of politics. The Media and Politics Group and Technology, Information and Policy Groups are welcoming and inclusive. The conference welcomes contributions both from members and non-members of the Political Studies Association.

Organising team

* Petros Iosifidis. City St George’s, University of London https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/about/people/academics/petros-iosifidis 

* Mark Wheeler. London Metropolitan University https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/profiles/staff/mark-wheeler

Steering committee

Charles Lees. City St George’s, University of London

Stephanie Baker. City St George’s, University of London

Chris Rojek. City St George’s, University of London

Jean Chalaby. City St George’s, University of London

Wendy Stokes. London Metropolitan University

Liam McLoughlin. Edge Hill University

Università della Svizzera italiana

The Institute of Media and Journalism at the Università della Svizzera italiana, located in Lugano, Switzerland, is seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate.

The position will be supervised by Prof. Colin Porlezza (http://usi.to/dvg), Head of the Institute, who leads research on digital journalism, journalism innovation and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, as well as media accountability. The PhD candidate is expected to contribute to the chair’s main research areas. In addition, he or she will collaborate to the development of the institute’s research agenda. 

What we offer

• A fully funded PhD position for four years starting in September 2026.

• Enrolment in the doctoral educational programme of the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society.

• An international and multidisciplinary team of scholars that adopts multiple perspectives and methods and promotes a culture of cooperation and mutual support to generate new knowledge and societal impact. 

• Excellent opportunities for national and international networking. 

• The opportunity to present papers at scientific conferences, publish in high-ranking scientific journals, acquire further academic qualifications, and contribute to academic service within the Institute.

Candidates’ profile

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent title) in journalism, media studies, communication sciences, or a related discipline.

• A strong personal interest in digital journalism and artificial intelligence, journalism innovation. Interest in journalism ethics, journalism epistemology and authority, or accountability is an advantage.

• Knowledge of qualitative and ethnographic research methodologies is an advantage, quantitative methods.

• Proficiency in English is mandatory, excellent oral and writing skills in German and/or Italian are an advantage.

• Good organisational skills; intellectual independence and the ability to work in a team and engage in scientific dialogue with colleagues and other members of the Institute.

• Interest in teaching and tutoring students.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online. Applications received before 26 June 2026, will be given priority. The entire call as well as the application link can be found here: https://content.usi.ch/sites/default/files/storage/attachments/imeg/imeg-phd-digital-journalism-2026.pdf 

Requests for further information can be sent to the Head of the Institute of Media and Journalism, Prof. Colin Porlezza (colin.porlezza@usi.ch).

June 14-16, 2027

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain

Deadline: September 14, 2026

Hosted by the Department of Communication, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in conjunction with the Audiovisual Diversity research group, and the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King’s College London. 

Paper, panel, roundtable and workshop proposals are now invited for the 2027 ‘Media Industries’ conference (‘MI2027’).

Following the 2018 and 2024 editions, the ‘Media Industries’ conference returns in 2027. Continuing the rationale established with the previous conferences, MI2027 provides a meeting ground for all forms of media industries research. Proposals for papers, panels, and workshops are invited for research from across the full breadth of the media industries. To energize interdisciplinary discussions, we welcome proposals presenting research from all intellectual and methodological traditions. Additionally, to recognize the full scope and diversity of media industries, proposals may address industries in contemporary or historical contexts, and at global, transnational, national, or sub-national levels of analysis.

Proposals are welcomed in three categories (see full details below):

• open call papers
  
• pre-constituted panels
  
• pre-constituted workshops 
  

*PLEASE NOTE*: 

MI2027 will take place in-person only and we are unable to accommodate requests for virtual presentations

The conference will take place exclusively in English and all proposals should be submitted in this language

PARTNERS

MI2027 aims to bring together scholars researching media industries from across multiple professional associations and their relevant sub-groups or sections. We are therefore very pleased to be organizing ‘MI2027’ in partnership with:

• Asian Media Industries Research Network
  
• British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS) - Screen Industries Special Interest Group
  
• European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) - Media Industries and Cultural Production Section
  
• European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS) - Screen Industries Work Group
  
• Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft (GFM) - AG Medienindustrien
  
• Global Media and China journal
  
• Media Industries journal
  
• Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) - Media Industries Scholarly Interest Group 

CONFERENCE DIRECTORS

Christopher Meir

Paul McDonald

HOST COMMITTEE

Vicente Rodríguez Ortega, Concepción Cascajosa Virino, and Juan Ignacio Gallego Pérez.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Luca Barra, Sarah Bashir, Neha Bhatia, Hanne Bruun, Pedro Gallo Buenaga, Orçun Can, Ruby Cheung, Pei Sze Chow, David Craig, Virginia Crisp, Tamsyn Dent, Kay Dickinson, Courtney Brannon Donoghue, Susanne Eichner, Elizabeth Evans, Tom Evens, Siao Yuong Fong, Kate Fortmueller, Tim Havens, Jennifer Hessler, Dianlin Huang, Daphne Idiz, Catalina Iordache, Deqiang Ji, Derek Johnson, Nessa Keddo, Joe F. Khalil, Pete Kunze, Wing-Fai Leung, Eva Cheuk Yin Li, Skadi Loist, Alfred L. Martin Jr., Jade Miller, Tanner Mirrlees, Alisa Perren, Jennifer Porst, Rizqi Prasya, Steve Presence, Eva Novrup Redvell, Willemien Sanders, Kevin Sanson, Andrew Spicer, Jeanette Steemers, Greg Steirer, Vilde Schanke Sundet, Petr Szczepanik, Christa van Raalte, Yannis Tzioumakis, Lies van Roessel, Jaap Verheul, Patrick Vonderau, Kristen Warner, Andrew White, Natalie Wreyford, Shuhuan Zhou, and Anna Zoellner. 

REGISTRATION

All delegates will need to register for the conference. 

Registration for the conference will go live in November 2026, and fees will be structured on the basis of full (academics, waged) and reduced (students, unwaged) status, but also tiered according to the delegate’s country of residence using the World Bank’s country classifications by Gross National Income per capita.

SUBMISSIONS

The system for submitting proposals is NOW OPEN.

Deadline for submissions is 23.00hrs Pacific Daylight Time (PDT = UTC -7) on Monday 14 September 2026

Proposals are welcomed in three categories and should be submitted through the following links.

1. OPEN CALL PAPERS (submission form.jotform.com/261425199160356)

Format: 20mins solo or co-presented research papers. These will later be combined by the conference programme team into thematically organised panels. Requirements:

• paper title
  
• abstract (max. 400 words)
  
• 2 keywords from pre-populated list
  
• 3 free-text keywords
  
• 3-5 sources relevant to the paper
  
• presenter(s) - name, institutional affiliation (if any), contact e-mail address, 100 word professional biography

2. PRE-CONSTITUTED PANELS (submission form.jotform.com/261424223130340)

Format: 90mins panel of 3 x 20mins OR 4 x 15mins thematically linked solo or co-presented research papers followed by questions. Requirements: 

• panel title 
  
• panel rationale (max. 400 words)
  
• chair(s) - name, institutional affiliation (if any), contact e-mail address, 100 word professional biography
  
• speaker(s) - name, institutional affiliation (if any), contact e-mail address, 100 word professional biography
  
• nominated chair (either one of the presenters or another delegate)
  
• individual proposals (presenter/co-presenter details, title, 400 word abstract, 3 keywords, 3-5 sources) for 3 x 20mins OR 4 x 15mins research papers 

3. PRE-CONSTITUTED WORKSHOPS (submission form.jotform.com/261424030570344)

Format: 90mins interactive session involving a team of 3-5 participants, including a nominated leader, focused on a particular issue, problem or practice arising from researching or teaching media industries. Unlike the conventional speakers/audience structure of panels, the workshop team should place emphasis on energising creative interactions between all attendees. Workshop proposals should be designed in a manner that assumes the team will only speak for no more than 30 minutes in total, with the remainder of the time devoted to interaction with the attendees. Besides offering a rationale the issues they plan to address, proposals should also include a description of the activity the team plans to organize. This format is highly flexible to allow workshop leaders to adapt the 90mins according to the activities and discussions involved. The exact nature of the activities is up to the workshop team, but possible ideas include:

• group brainstorming activities.
  
• collection of anonymous questions from attendees that are responded to by the team.
  
• short creative activities that can completed on attendees’ mobile devices.
  
• surveys and questionnaires that can be completely quickly and discussed in the session.

Proposals for workshops will be evaluated based equally on the issues they address as well as the creativity and potential for dynamic interaction seen in the proposal. Requirements: 

• workshop title
  
• workshop rationale (max. 400 words) - what is the aim of the workshop? how will it contribute to research, practice or education in media industries?
  
• description of workshop activity (max. 400 words) - what activity or activities will the Workshop Team conduct to engage with and involve attendees?
  
• 3-5 sources relevant to the workshop
  
• workshop leader(s) - name, institutional affiliation (if any), contact e-mail address, 100 word professional biography
  
• 1-6 other workshop participant(s) - name, institutional affiliation (if any), contact e-mail address, max. 100 word professional biography
  

Delegates can make up to TWO contributions to the conference but only ONE in any category, e.g., presenting an open call paper and presenting a paper on a pre-constituted panel, or presenting an open call paper AND leading or participating in a workshop, will be permitted, but not presenting two open call papers. Chairing a pre-constituted panel will NOT count as one of those contributions.

Papers (either open call or as part of a pre-constituted panel) maybe presented individually or by a pair of co-presenters.

TIMELINE

• Monday 14 September 2026 at 23.00hrs PDT deadline for submissions
  
• mid-November 2026 acceptances announced, and delegate registrations open
  
• end-January 2027 first draft of the programme
  
• Monday 10 May 2027 deadline for all delegate registrations
  
• Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 June 2027 conference 
  

CONTACT

The conference website will go live in late 2026, but in the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact media-industries@kcl.ac.uk

April 21, 2027 

University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria 

Deadline: September 14, 2026

The ECREA Journalism Studies Section and the Young Scholars Network (YECREA) invite applications for the 7th Journalism Studies PhD Colloquium, which is organized by the Department of Media and Public Communications and will take place on 21 April 2027 at the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria.

The PhD Colloquium aims to connect up-and-coming journalism researchers and experienced colleagues in the field, and to provide mentorship to doctoral student members of the Journalism Studies Section. It is an opportunity for PhD researchers in Journalism Studies to present their projects, receive in-depth feedback on their work from established scholars, and network with senior scholars and peers in a friendly and supportive environment. You will be paired with an experienced scholar, who will read a substantive piece of your work (a chapter or paper of 5,000-8,000 words) and give you feedback during the colloquium. 

We welcome all theoretical and empirical PhD projects focusing on journalism research. We support submissions from PhD students at all stages of their PhD journey but particularly encourage those in the mid-stages of their PhD.

Submission guidelines 

Interested PhD students should submit the following:

• An abstract of 500 words outlining the 1) topic, 2) rationale, 3) theoretical approach, 4) methodological approach, and 5) findings (if this is an empirical paper).

• Name, affiliation, expected graduation date, and supervisor. 

• A ranked list of five potential respondents (please try to choose scholars likely to attend a section conference in the European context).

Please send your submissions via this form no later than 14 of September 2026 23.59 EST. Submissions will be reviewed in a double-blind review process. The final selection of participants will account for diversity (e.g., based on gender, nationality, affiliation) and stages of PhD progress.

Notifications of acceptance will be issued by the end of October 2026. 

We expect participants whose abstracts are accepted to submit a full paper (5,000-8,000 words) by 21 March 2027. Full papers are mandatory for participation as they will be sent to selected respondents. More information on the full paper submission requirements will be sent to accepted participants via email. 

*PLEASE NOTE*: The PhD colloquium will take place in-person only and we are unable to accommodate requests for virtual participation. Participation in the PhD colloquium does not guarantee participation in the ECREA JSS conference as these are separate events. 

Submit your abstract here.

Submission guidelines 

• Submission open – 1 June 2026 

• 14 September 2026 at 23:59 (EST) – deadline for abstract submissions

• End of October 2026 – acceptances announced

• 21 March 2027– full paper submission deadline

• 21 April 2027 – PhD Colloquium date

April 22-23, 2027

University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria

Deadline: September 18, 2026 

Over the last decade, media and information literacy have become a central response to mis- and disinformation. Studies show that well-designed media literacy interventions can strengthen critical engagement with news, improve people’s ability to distinguish credible from deceptive content, and reduce misperceptions in complex, platformised information environments (Su, Borah, & Xiao, 2022; Anstead et al., 2025; Guess et al., 2020). UNESCO and the MILID network similarly frame media and information literacy as essential for open, inclusive and sustainable development, as it equips people to access, evaluate, use and create information across media and digital platforms. At the same time, journalism remains more than a profession. It is a democratic institution that holds power to account, supports informed public debate and helps citizens make sense of social, political, economic and cultural change. The central question of this conference topic is how journalism, and the wider media environment in which it operates, can contribute to sustainable development not only by reporting on progress or failure, but also by helping build more informed, inclusive and resilient societies. This question has become more urgent after the pandemic and continuing debates about the “infodemic” and the quality of information flows. Newsrooms are increasingly seen not only as content producers, but also as actors in promoting media, news and information literacy. Research on algorithmically curated news and young people’s news use shows that recommendation systems shape how audiences encounter journalism, making it necessary to connect news literacy with media and algorithmic literacy in education, newsroom practice and public communication (Notley et al., 2024). Studies of clickbait, paywalls and advertising-driven business models show how the pursuit of attention can encourage sensationalism, reduce topic diversity and weaken local and public-interest journalism, with consequences for trust and informed citizenship (Dhillon, Panda, & Hemphill, 2025). Research on influencers, sponsored content and advertising disclosures also highlights challenges created by blurred boundaries between editorial and commercial communication (De Jans & Hudders, 2020).

We welcome empirical and theoretical contributions that examines the relationships between journalism, media literacy and sustainable development, how those relationships are being tested by crisis and technological transformation, and what conditions would need to be in place for journalism and literacy practices to genuinely support more informed, inclusive and resilient societies.

Scholars can opt for either thematic or open submissions. 

Thematic submissions

The conference aims to bring together a diverse mix of scholars working at the intersection of journalism, sustainable development, and media and digital literacy. It invites papers that critically examine how journalism and journalistic practices can contribute to sustainable futures, and that situate these dynamics within broader political, economic, technological, and cultural contexts. Both theoretical/conceptual and empirical contributions are welcome.

Submissions responding to the conference theme can address (but are not limited to) the following areas:

• The role of media organizations in building media literacy – should the media themselves educate their audiences?

• Personalized content and its impact on media literacy.

• Algorithmic content selection and the need for a new type of media literacy – how social platforms shape the information we see; how this requires higher levels of critical literacy.

• From clicks to truth: how advertising models influence audience media literacy – clickbait vs. Quality journalism; economic pressure on content.

• Fake news as an economic model: A challenge to media literacy – who benefits from disinformation; why it spreads so successfully.

• Between content and advertising: the role of influencers and the need for media literacy, recognizing sponsored content; trust and manipulation.

• Media ownership concentration and its effects on media literacy – diversity of viewpoints; critical thinking.

• Ai-generated content and the new dimensions of media literacy – deepfakes, automated news; how audiences need to adapt.

• Monetization of news and its impact on trust and media literacy – paywalls; quality vs. Accessibility.

• Global media platforms and local media literacy – how global companies influence local audiences.

Please emphasize in your abstract how you see your paper responding to the conference theme “Sustainable Development Through Quality Journalism and Media Literacy.” 

Open submissions 

While we particularly encourage submissions that engage directly with the 2027 conference theme “Sustainable Development Through Quality Journalism and Media Literacy,” we also aim to provide an open forum for the latest research in journalism studies in all its facets. Contributors are therefore invited to submit abstracts for open sessions that are not required to address the theme but may speak to any aspect of journalism and media, broadly understood. Both theoretical/conceptual and empirical contributions are welcome. 

Submission guidelines

Abstracts should be no more than 500 words (excl. references, tables and graphs) and should be submitted no later than 18 September 2026 via this form 

The abstract must include an indication whether you submit to the conference theme or to the open panels. As we aim for a conference that provides extensive space for reflection, discussion and connection, we also ask you to indicate your preferred presentation format. This could include:

• A traditional research paper presentation in a thematically linked session

• A proposal for a pre-constituted panel

• Participation in a thematically focused roundtable discussion

• High-density pitch sessions

Only one proposal per first author can be accepted (submitting further abstracts as co-author is accepted). Diversity in nationality, gender and country of affiliation can be prioritized in selection. Notifications of acceptance will be sent in mid-to end of November 2026. 

Submission will undergo scholarly peer-review and adhere to the established ECREA Journalism Studies section rule: For every abstract you are listed as a presenter/contributor, you are expected to review 2-3 abstracts (this applies to all authors listed on the paper submission form). All submitting authors should ensure that all contributing authors are aware of their submission. 

The organizers will provide proof of conference attendance/presentation upon request.

PhD Colloquium

The day before the main conference, together with the section’s YECREA representative, we will organize the 7th ECREA Journalism Studies Section PhD Colloquium on 21 April 2027 at the University of National and World Economy. Further details about this event will soon be published on this webpage.

Conference Organisation

The conference will be hosted by Department of Media and Public Communications (UNESCO Chair on Media and Information Literacy and Cultural Policies for Sustainable Development) of the University of National and World Economy, organized by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Nikolova, Sr. Asst. Prof. Dr. Ivan Valchanov, Sr. Asst. Prof. Dr. Vesislava Antonova. The organisation committee will be supported also by Prof. Dsc . Ivaylo Hristov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetla Tzankova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stella Angova, Sr. Asst. Prof. Dr. Diana Andreeva-Popyordanova, Sr. Asst. Prof. Dr. Iliya Valkov, Asst. Prof. Dr. Georgi Minev, Asst. Prof. Dr. Valeria Pacheva, Asst. Prof. Dr. Sevar Ivanov. The city of Sofia is a capital of Bulgaria, and the airport is 20-30 min. away from the central part of the city by taxi or 45 min. away by metro or bus. 

If you have any questions, contact the conference organizing committee at  ecreajournalism2027@unwe.bg 

Registration will open in January 2027. More information about the conference will be posted regularly on this webpage. Logistical information about hotels and travel will be posted on the same page.

PLEASE NOTE: The conference will take place in-person only and we are unable to accommodate requests for virtual presentations.

Timeline

• Monday 1June 2026 - submissions open

 • Friday 18 September 2026 - deadline for abstract submissions

 • Mid November 2026 - acceptance notification and registration opens

 • After Christmas 2026/early January - first draft of the programme published

 • Friday 26 February 2027 - deadline for delegate registration

⭐ We are proud to announce the keynote speakers for #ECC2026! This year’s program brings together thought-provoking voices of communication research, offering diverse perspectives on some of the most pressing questions shaping our field today. Meet the keynote speakers: https://ecrea2026brno.eu/keynote-speakers/

The opening plenary takes the ECC26 theme "Paths, Connections, and Futures" as an invitation to reflect on communication as a discipline. Sandra Banjac, Emilija Garčin, Michael Bossetta, and Monika Metyková will discuss the shifting grounds of our field from multiple perspectives. 

Lenka Waschková Císařová will deliver a keynote lecture titled Exemplary Journalistic Actors: What Can the Core Learn from the Exemplary? The lecture offers a thought-provoking reflection on power struggles within journalism and on what the centre can learn from the periphery in both research and journalistic practice.

️ Frank Esser will present a conceptual framework of communicative democratic erosion in his lecture The Price of Democracy: How Digital Platforms Make Illiberalism Cheap. His keynote explores how political communication contributes to one of the most pressing challenges facing liberal democracies today – democratic erosion.

Dechun Zhang

Dear colleagues,

I am delighted to share that my book, Digital Nationalism and Affective Governance: Propaganda, Public Sentiment, and Soft Authoritarianism in China (Routledge, 2026), has now been officially released.

The book examines how digital propaganda in China operates as a platform-shaped practice under soft authoritarianism. It argues that nationalism functions as a discursive technology that organizes meaning, structures visibility, and channels public affect across digital platforms. Rather than operating solely through top-down control, propaganda emerges through the dynamic co-production of state narratives, platform affordances, and public emotions. Governance is enacted not only through censorship, but also through emotional guidance, algorithmic visibility, participatory cues, and discursive standardization. At the same time, citizens are not passive recipients. Online publics actively use nationalist discourse to express identity, perform loyalty, negotiate legitimacy, reshape official narratives, and voice critique. The result is a fragmented yet structured form of digital nationalism embedded within platformized governance. The book contributes to ongoing debates on digital politics, affective governance, propaganda, online participation, platform power, and authoritarian communication, while also offering broader insights into contemporary authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes beyond China.

The book is available here: https://www.routledge.com/p/book/9781041308775. You can also get your copy with 20% off using the discount code: CISYCDNAG20.

January 12-15, 2027

Lisbon, Portugal

Deadline: December 15, 2026

Human dignity is perhaps more at risk today than at any other time in recent memory. Subject to targeted threats like exploitation, misrepresentation and humiliation alongside the more subtle erosion caused by persistent violence, exclusion and inequality, most of us live within entrenched systems that deny us some form of recognition, agency and the right to speak freely or dissent from those in power. Exacerbated by the tumult and uncertainty of war, geopolitical tension, tribalism, exclusionary politics and victimization, today’s realities force growing numbers of individuals into silence, left unable to cope with loss, invisibility, worthlessness, disregard, displacement and dehumanization. Dignity flounders when suffering is normalized, empathy diminished and the protection of human rights abandoned. Today, even threats to dignity that were long avoided or banned—such as public shaming, brute objectification, ignominy, spectacles of violence and hate speech—are back in our lives with a vengeance.

So perhaps it is no surprise that dignity prompts more responses and questions than scholars can easily settle. Some see dignity as an unassailable right—echoing Immanuel Kant’s famous dictum that dignity requires treating individuals as ends, not means—while others maintain its vagueness undercuts its conceptual worth. Some perseverate whether dignity is a value or status, and others wonder whether the concept of dignity is primarily moral, legal or political in nature. Larger questions of impact—how dignity’s repudiation can best be stymied, against which institutions and structures does dignity need to be assessed or with which institutions and structures can it best thrive—remain out of reach. All the while, threats to human dignity continue to loom large, even as we have not figured out how best to identify them, much less wrestle with their resolution.

Hannah Arendt steers us toward the media as a solution to dignity’s predicaments. In her seminal work The Human Condition, she not only makes clear that totalitarianism destroys people’s dignity but also that the respect for human dignity entails recognizing others as “builders of worlds or cobuilders of a common world.” Respect for—or violation of—the right of others to live a dignified life is manifested not only in concrete actions but also in mediated narratives that cultivate empathy or hostility, shaping the humanization or dehumanization of individuals, communities and even nations. Dignity, therefore, is not only safeguarded or threatened by political institutions but is also continuously negotiated within media environments, through communicative practices and regimes of representation.

We aim, then, to shift the discussion of dignity by asking what role do the media play in dignity’s centering and assailment. How do the media help and hinder its presence? As sites of symbolic power, the media both witness and report on dignity’s ascendance and descendance as well as on the conditions that promote its intensification and diminishment. They also give it shape, by determining whose dignity matters and in which way, whose voices are heard and whose remain silenced. Can the media help ensure a more widespread sense of individual and collective worth, acceptance and belonging? And should we expect them to do so? 

In today’s challenging and uncertainty times, the 2027 Lisbon Winter School for the Study of Communication will discuss the interconnections between Media and Dignity. Dignity can be addressed from a wide range of perspectives, understood as a moral construct but also as a communicative practice that is enacted, negotiated, and either affirmed or violated through language, representation and public visibility. How do the media represent individuals, communities and nations that are presented as threats in political discourses? How do communication practices reproduce or contest stereotypes that legitimize discrimination? And what about those faced to live or flee war: how are their voices made (in)visible? Beyond the media, how do activists use different communitive tools to promote human dignity? Which strategies can be used to push back on exclusionary politics and its promotion of the “other” as unworthy of living a dignified life? How do online harassment, political intimidation and precarious labor conditions undermine journalists’ and media practioners’ capacity to act as advocates of human dignity? These are just some of the questions we aim to debate at the 7th edition of the Lisbon Winter School for the Study of Communication—a venture begun by the Faculty of Human Sciences (Universidade Católica Portuguesa) and the Center for Media@Risk (Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania)—and now coordinated by the Faculty of Human Sciences (Universidade Católica Portuguesa), the Annenberg Schools for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California, the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Journalism and Communication, the University of Helsinki’s Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities and The Europaeum.

We welcome proposals by doctoral students and early career post-doctoral researchers from all over the world to discuss the intertwined relations between media and dignity in different geographies and temporalities. The list below illustrates some of topics for possible consideration. Other topics dealing with media and dignity are also welcome:

-       Human dignity in war and tragedy

-       Covering loss, suffering and displacement

-       Media activism and the promotion of human dignity

-       Otherness and dignity

-       Loss of reputation

-       Us versus Them narratives

-       Stereotypes and misrepresentations 

-       Visibility and invisibility in the media 

-       Symbolic exclusion versus mutual recognition

-       The effect of sensationalism on representation 

-       Attacks on free speech

-       Online harassment and political threats and intimidation

-       Digital media and humiliation

-       Reality TV

-       Cyberbullying, trolling, image based violence and online harassment

-       Exclusionary politics and dehumanization 

-       Discursive eroding of human dignity

-       Human rights amidst war and exclusionary politics

-       Denouncing hate speech and aggression against gender, racial and religious minorities

-       The platformization of news: reducing journalists to content producers

-       Media, precarity and professional dignity

-       Algorithms, AI and human dignity

-       The eroding of human dignity in specific national or regional contexts

-       … 

PAPER PROPOSALS

Proposals should be sent to lisbonwinterschool@ucp.pt no later than 15 September 2026 and include a paper title, extended abstract in English (700 words), name, e-mail address, institutional affiliation and a brief bio (max. 100 words) mentioning ongoing research. Applicants will be informed of the result of their submissions by early October. 

FULL PAPER SUBMISSION 

Presenters will be required to submit full papers (max. 20 pages, 1.5 spacing) by 15 December 2026. The papers will be shared with the respondents but will not be published online. After the Lisbon Winter School, the authors of some of the best papers may be invited to publish their work in a special journal issue.  

ORGANIZERS

Nelson Ribeiro & Barbie Zelizer 

CONVENORS

Sarah Banet-Weiser,  Risto Kunelius & Francis Lee

For more information visit lisbonwinterschool.com