ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

University of Antwerp, Belgium

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Department: Department of Communication Studies

Regime Full-time

Let’s shape the future - University of Antwerp

The University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international and most innovative employers in the region. With more than 6000 employees from 100 different countries, we are helping to build tomorrow's world every day. Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape. 

The research group AMSoC of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Antwerp is seeking a post-doctoral candidate willing to write a research proposal about AI, media and society.

External and internal post-doc researchers who are eligible to submit an FWO and/or MSCA post-doc application are invited to apply. The top ranked candidate with the best profile (project proposal & CV) acquires a preparatory post-doctoral research mandate to further develop and submit a competitive research proposal to FWO (Flemish Science Foundation) and/or MSCA (Horizon Europe Marie Curie fellowships), with the University of Antwerp as host institution.

A preparatory full-time or part-time mandate of at least 6 months (up to a maximum of 12 months) will be provided.

Profile

• You hold a PhD in Communication Studies or other relevant discipline in the social sciences and humanities (or you will have obtained it by the time you start work).
  
• Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and university research policies.
  
• You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
  
• You can speak and write fluently in English.
  
• You comply with the FWO Post-doc and/or Marie Sklodowska-Curie Post-doc eligibility criteria.
  
• You have a good publication record in international peer-reviewed journals.
  
• Experience with project writing, acquisition and management is a plus.
  

Position

• Since the launch of ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an accessible part of everyday life. We define AI broadly, looking beyond generative AI and including other forms of 'smart' automation, such as algorithmic recommendation and chatbots. We are hiring a postdoctoral researcher to develop a project critically analyzing the role of AI in media and society. The aim is to come to a balanced assessment of its opportunities and risks, in particular in relation to underlying power relations in media and society. The candidate should focus on one or more of the following aspects:
  

• Your proposal should be connected to the research interests and expertise of (at least) one of the professors of the Antwerp Media in Society Centre: Sander De Ridder, Alexander Dhoest, Pieter Maeseele and Steve Paulussen.
  
• The main aim of this temporary position is to develop a proposal for a postdoctoral fellowship to be submitted to FWO and Horizon-MCSA.
  

What we offer

• The planned start date is 1 September 2025 or as soon as possible after that date.
  
• Appointments are made in one of the following categories, depending on your profile:
  
• • Postdoctoral scholarship holder
  • • In order to be eligible in this statute, you must have spent at least twelve months of the three years prior to the start date as a postdoctoral scholarship holder abroad and did not work or study in Belgium during these twelve months. Short-term stays (e.g. holidays, participation in conferences, preparation for this stay as a postdoctoral scholarship holder) will not be taken into account.
    • We offer a full-time appointment for a period of one year.
    • Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for postdoctoral scholarship holders on the pay scales for Contract Research Staff (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP).
    • You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
  • Postdoctoral researcher (contractual)
  • • If you don’t qualify for the specific eligibility criteria for scholarship holders, we can offer a full-time appointment for a period of six months or a half-time appointment for a full year.
    • Your gross monthly salary is calculated according to the pay scale for a principal research fellow in the Contract Research Staff category (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP).
    • You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance, a group insurance, an income protection insurance, and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
• You will do most of your work at the City Campus in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
  
• Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here.
  

Want to apply?

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 22 April 2025 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the 'Apply' button and complete the online application form. Be sure to include the following attachments:  
  
• • a motivation letter
  • your academic CV
  • a provisional project proposal of two to four pages
  • two published papers.
• The selection committee reviews all applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision is made, we will notify you. If you are still eligible after the pre-selection, you will be informed about the possible next step in the selection procedure, which consists of an (online) interview on 15 May.
  
• If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the frequently asked questions or send an email to jobs@uantwerpen.be. If you have any questions about the job itself, please contact Alexander.dhoest@uantwerpen.be.
  

The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage diversity and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.

June 30 - July 4, 2025

Manchester, UK

Dear colleagues,

I'm happy to announce that we're again organizing a 'Digital Methods' summer school in Manchester! (30 June 2025 - 4 July 2025)

What you can expect to learn:

- text mining 

- creative AI methods

- sensing methods

- geospatial methods

- visual methods

- data visualisation

(+ critical reflections on ethics and open science)

We have two bursary options available.

For more details, see: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/db5oUkcvjH3iw

September 10-12, 2025

Université de Lille, France

Deadline: March 15, 2025

4th CONFERENCE ON FOOD AND COMMUNICATION 

The final submission deadline is approaching quickly - please send abstracts by 15th March 2025 via the platform below. Join the diverse international community of scholars already selected through our early bird submissions!

The 4th Conference on Food & Communication aims to critically explore the diverse roles of media and communication in shaping and advancing food democracy in all its dimensions. Food democracy encompasses not only equitable access to nutritious, sustainable, and enjoyable food for all—regardless of socio-economic status, age, or situations of vulnerability—but also stresses transparency in food systems, access to knowledge, public deliberation, and the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

Any topic related to food, communication, media and discourse can be submitted.

Conference details and abstract submission: https://foodforall.sciencesconf.org/

Our network: www.foodcommunication.net

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.

August 12, 2025

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Deadline: April 11, 2025

ECREA Media Industries and Cultural Production Workshop

This one-day conference tackles a central and persistent challenge in media industries research: How scholars gain entry into media companies and navigate the personal and professional relationships that shape researcher-industry interactions.

Issues of trust, access, and working beyond polished corporate narratives have long been debated in studies of media production, distribution, and industrial organization. These questions have been approached from both pragmatic and strategic perspectives, which focus on the practical challenges of forming relationships and gaining access, as well as from ethical perspectives, that address normative concerns about how these relationships should be structured.

The urgency of these questions has only grown in recent years. As international tech giants reshape the media landscape, their corporate cultures and structures pose new barriers to access. Traditional media companies, too, have evolved—fragmentation, competition, and shifting security protocols have made research entry more complex than ever. These changes not only reinforce enduring methodological challenges but also demand fresh approaches to researcher-industry relations.

We invite papers that critically examine the dynamics of access, relational work, and researcher-industry engagement—whether through empirical case studies, methodological discussions, or theoretical inquiry. Our goal is to share experiences, refine our research strategies, and deepen our understanding of the evolving conditions of media industries research.

Presentations at the conference may address, but are not limited to:

●      The ethical dimensions of relational work in media industries research—and the insights gained from openly reflecting on access strategies and the challenges of managing academia-industry relationships.

●      How strategies for gaining access may differ depending on the specific media industries or organizations, their sizes, and political contexts. 

●      Longitudinal accounts of how mutual trust is maintained or challenged in relationships between individual researchers and industry actors over time.

●      Professional “breakups” between researchers and industrial actors, and what can be learned from ending or exiting collaborations.   

●      The issues of sharing or accessing historical data or archival material.

●      The issues of accessing media organizations’ digital platforms, internal systems, or internal communication channels.

●      How taking part in committees and policy work can challenge researchers’ autonomous role and how they have mitigated this. 

●      Creative workarounds to gain access to organizations once initial attempts are denied. 

We invite scholars to submit abstracts for papers addressing these themes. 

Abstracts of 300 words should be submitted no later than the 11 April 2025. Send abstracts to: fredrik.stiernstedt@sh.se. Authors will be informed regarding acceptance/rejection for the conference no later than 16 May 2025. Early career scholars and graduate students are highly encouraged to submit their work (please indicate if the research submitted is part of your thesis or dissertation project). 

Fees and accommodation. The conference registration fee is 50 Euros, and participants are asked to cover their travel expenses. This fee includes coffee breaks, lunch and drinks at the get-together. For participants that will continue to the NordMedia 2025 Conference  in Odense (13-15 August), trains from Copenhagen to Odense depart frequently and take about 90 minutes. Participants are asked to cover their accommodation.

Organizing committee

Local organizers: Mads Møller Tommerup Andersen (University of Copenhagen)

For the section management team: Fredrik Stiernstedt (Södertörn University), Vilde Schanke Sundet (Oslo Metropolitan University), Catalina Iordache (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Torbjörn Rolandsson (Roskilde University).

September 15-17, 2025

University of Bologna, Italy

Deadline: May 15, 2025

PRIN 2022 PNRR “CELEBR-AGE” FINAL CONFERENCE - organised by Ylenia Caputo, Simona Castellano, Antonella Mascio, Roy Menarini, Sara Pesce, Mario Tirino

Celebrities occupy a prominent position in contemporary (media) society for several reasons. In addition to being a form of ‘commodity’ used by the media industry (Turner, 2004), they represent devices capable of creating connections between the media world and the audience world, acting as models for inspiration.

For an ever-increasing number of subjects (people, users, audiences), the activities, speeches and performances of celebrities become symbolic materials, forms of cultural mediation through which they elaborate their own interpretations of the world. In the words of Nick Couldry (2009), it seems useful to look at celebrity as ‘a generative centre that explains the social world's functioning and its values’, i.e. a privileged access point for interpreting a set of fundamental phenomena affecting society.

Many studies have been carried out on celebrities, starting with the figures who embody this role and the type of relationship they have with their publics, also highlighting their ‘measure’ (macro, meso and micro measure, Marwick, 2007). However, few analyses have accompanied these reflections regarding ‘elderly’ celebrities, i.e. all those celebrities who have reached a certain age threshold. Their role seems to have changed compared to the past and the media spaces in which they appear are increasingly numerous and differentiated (films, TV series, social networks...) bringing significant novelties not only on a spectacular level, but also - and perhaps most importantly - on a cultural and social ones.

Ageing is increasingly evident in the world's population, with a significant impact on the economy, politics and social life of many countries. As a result, the cultural models referred to over the past three decades have changed rapidly: advertising, cinema, sports and other spheres now propagate conceptions of ageing under the banner of intellectual activism, psycho-physical well-being and social prominence.

Within a vast constellation of phenomena, events and products that, in various ways, shape new and often contradictory conceptions of ageing, the cultural discourses elaborated by celebrities assume a clear centrality in the mediatised public scene.

For this reason, it now appears necessary to analyse in depth the link between celebrity and ageing, from a multidisciplinary and transcultural perspective.

We therefore invite scholars of Film Studies, Media Studies, Sociology of Culture and Communication and, more generally, scholars interested in the study of the social, anthropological and cultural dynamics of ageing, to send in a paper relating to (but not limited to) these issues:

- celebrity ageing and fiction (films, TV series, comics, podcasts, novels, etc.);

- the role of celebrities in promoting active ageing;

- the function of ageing and the conversion of celebrity capital into other forms of capital (political, economic, etc.) in post-career life (especially for sports celebrities);

- gender differences among celebrities in their experience of ageing;

- nostalgia and ‘ageing’ celebrities;

- ageing celebrity fandom/fans;

- ageing theories in the Celebrity and Media Studies;

- theoretical analyses of the celebrity-ageing nexus from humanities and social science perspectives;

- the social role of celebrities in the evolution of beauty standards, glamour and desirability in old age;

- the role of social media in cultural discourses on celebrity and ageing;

- comparative analyses of celebrity ageing in different historical, cultural, social and geographical contexts.

Abstracts should be up to 300 words, plus key references. Papers must add a short biographical note of the author (max. 150 words). The evaluation will focus on the relevance to the conference topic, the selection of research objects and the clarity of the use of methodology. Only one abstract per author can be submitted. Pre-constituted panels (3 to 5 participants) will be welcomed.

Papers must be submitted to: celebrageunibo@gmail.com.

The conference will be held in-person only. Submission should be made by May 15th, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent by June 30th, 2025.

The keynote speakers will be announced soon.

No fees will be charged, but individual voluntary contributions for social dinners will be encouraged.

Please also note that conference participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements.

Routledge

Deadline: April 20, 2025

An upcoming edited volume, “Media Studies Meet Drug Research,” co-edited by Dr. Piotr Siuda (Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz) and Dr. Michał Wanke (University of Opole), seeks chapter contributions exploring the intersections of media studies and drug research. The book has received initial positive feedback from Routledge’s commissioning editors and aims to bring together scholars from both fields to examine theoretical, empirical, and methodological connections.

Contributions are invited on topics including:

• Theoretical and conceptual frameworks linking media and drug research
  
• Identity, stigma, and agency in drug-related and media environments
  
• Representations, narratives, and moral panics
  
• Digital platforms, online drug markets, and algorithmic influence
  
• Policy, governance, and surveillance across both fields
  
• Methodological and ethical innovations in interdisciplinary research
  

Key deadlines:

*Extended abstract submission: April 20, 2025

*Notification of acceptance: April 30, 2025

*First drafts due: October 1, 2025

*Final drafts due: December 31, 2025

Further details are available here: https://drugsproject.pl/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CfP_Media_Studies_Meet_Drug_Research.pdf 

Scholars interested in contributing are encouraged to submit proposals or share this call with relevant colleagues. For inquiries or discussions on potential topics, please feel free to contact the editors.

September 12, 2025

University of London, UK

Deadline: May 16, 2025

This is a call for papers for the upcoming MeCCSA Postgraduate Network (PGN) Conference, which will be hosted in the Professor Stuart Hall Building at Goldsmiths, University of London on Friday, 12 September 2025.

The theme of this year will be Media and Instability. The committee welcomes contributions that critically explore the intersection of media and instability from any disciplinary, interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary perspective and engage with the theme in unique and innovative ways. Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words in length.

We are also delighted to offer up to five £50 bursaries to help presenters cover some of their conference-related expenses. Candidates wishing to apply for the bursary will be required to submit a further 200 words detailing the relevance, timeliness and rationale of their work.

Submissions can be completed via the form here, which also contains a detailed introduction to the potential developments of the conference theme. We invite all research from any areas and strongly encourage PhD students to apply even if their proposed work does not directly align with the specific topics we suggest in the form. 

The deadline for abstract submissions is Friday, 16th May 2025 at 12pm (BST).

We look forward to receiving submissions and welcoming all of you to Goldsmiths this year! For further enquiries, do not hesitate to reach out to Miriam Suleiman (msule004@gold.ac.uk).

All very best,

The 2025 MeCCSA PGN Conference Committee

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

Book Now

B&B Hotel Bremen-City

Findorffstraße 28-32

28215 Bremen

Book Now

Hotel Ibis Budget (at Main Station)

Bahnhofsplatz 41B

28195 Bremen

Book Now

Andrea Esser, Jeanette Steemers, Alessandro D'Arma

Culture, Media & Creative Industries

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the publication of a free downloadable Final report on young audiences in Europe (16-34) (2025) and their engagement with British screen entertainment (films and TV) on streaming and broadcast services. It compares experiences in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.  Here are the details:

Esser, A., Steemers, J., & D'Arma, A. (2025). Screen encounters with Britain. What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? FINAL REPORT. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-204

https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/322938157/Final_Report_20250211.pdf

Please share with colleagues, students and whoever else might be interested.  

Earlier Country reports can also be accessed as follows:

Italy: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., Steemers, J., & D'Arma, A. (October 2024). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Italy: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-195 

Netherlands:  Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (May 2024). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Netherlands: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture? . King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-177

Germany: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (September 2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Germany: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-139

Denmark: Esser, A., Hilborn, M., & Steemers, J. (September 2023). Screen Encounters with Britain - Interim Report Denmark: What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?. King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-118