ECREA WEEKLY digest ARTICLES

May 30, 2025

Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow

Deadline: April 4, 2025

Half-day Unconference & Book Launch

Organised by members of Sociological & Cultural Studies and the Glasgow University Media Group in partnership with the Glasgow Latin American Research Network at the University of Glasgow.

Cost: Free

This dynamic half-day unconference combines the launch of the edited book Media Capture in Africa and Latin America: Power & Resistance (Palgrave, 2025) with a participant-led dialogue that brings together established scholars, early career scholars, journalists, and civil society organisations to explore the particularities of media capture – the covert instrumentalisation of the news media by various centres of power – in the Global South.

For decades, alarm bells have sounded over severe forms of media influence, and, in an era of deepening media control and shrinking press freedoms, the phenomenon of media capture has emerged as a defining challenge in the Global South. While much scholarly attention has historically focused on established capitalist societies in the Global North, regions of the Majority World, such as Africa and Latin America, reveal distinct and evolving forms of control. Governments, corporate interests, and powerful elites are increasingly exerting influence over news ecosystems, shaping narratives to serve their own agendas. From direct ownership and regulatory pressures to the subtle forces of digital platform dominance, underpinned by the growing influence of Big Tech platforms and algorithm-driven influence that shapes public discourse and suppresses independent journalism. Media capture thus manifests not as a singular process but as a complex and evolving system of control. Yet, resistance persists. Independent journalists, alternative media, and civil society actors continue to challenge these forces, deploying innovative strategies to push back against censorship and distortion. However, much remains to be understood about the viability and scalability of such countermeasures, as media ecosystems become increasingly fragmented and digitalised.

This inclusive and dynamic unconference is an opportunity to share current expertise and address the research gap on the topic in the Global South. It will include a book launch, unconference and roundtable of civil society experts.

We invite researchers working in this area – particularly early career researchers (ECRs), who would benefit from the opportunity to present their research and network with senior colleagues, journalists, and civil society organisations – to submit short topic proposals or discussion prompts that outline your topic and key questions for discussion while offering empirical or theoretical insights. These may include (but are not limited to) the following: 

- Media capture as contested term in the Global South

- Exploring the distinctive forms and manifestations of media capture in the Global South

- The increasingly sophisticated nature of media capture, focussing on Big Tech/AI/algorithms

- Distinctive forms of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech in the Global South

- The impact of media capture in the context of Sustainable Development Goals

- How transnational actors, media outlets/journalists and civil society are responding to media capture

Please submit your brief topic proposal (max 50 words) for a 5 minutes presentation and a short bio (max 50 words) by 4th April 2025 here:  https://forms.office.com/e/mgQ3mSp1Xr  

Notifications of Acceptance will be sent out on 15th April 2025.

For questions, please contact the conference convenors Dr Hayes Mabweazara and Dr Beth Pearson: mediacapture-globalsouth@glasgow.ac.uk

September 9-12, 2025

Šibenik, Croatia

Deadline: April 1, 2025

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Micky Lee, Suffolk University, USA
  
• Mandy Troeger, University of Tuebingen, Germany
  

COURSE DIRECTORS

• Thomas Allmer, Paderborn University, Germany
  
• Paško Bilić, Institute for Development and International Relations, Croatia
  
• Benjamin Birkinbine, University of Wisconsin, USA
  
• Jernej Amon Prodnik, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
  
• Jaka Primorac, Institute for Development and International Relations, Croatia
  
• Toni Prug, University of Rijeka, Croatia
  
• Aleksander Slaček-Brlek, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

ECTS ACCREDITATION:

University of Ljubljana, Slovenia (10 ECTS points for PhD students upon full completion of the course)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The media are central institutions of modern societies, providing channels for corporate and political control and public space for disseminating and consuming communication on systemic changes in politics, culture, and economics to the public. The media underwent massive restructuring through neoliberal policies in the 1970s. Introducing new communication technologies such as satellite and cable television, internet, and web platforms went hand in hand with market liberalisation and communication commercialisation. The multiplication of channels and media outlets was accompanied by concentration and centralisation of ownership. Recently, large transnational digital platforms have solidified their position as core companies within contemporary capitalism, restructuring the distribution of media advertising investments, speeding up the circulation of capital, automating global consumption patterns, avoiding national taxes, and siphoning revenues to offshore entities. At the same time, they benefit from automated management of their diversified and essentially precarious workforces of content moderators, warehouse workers, and gig workers, as well as from software inputs from free and open source communities (FLOSS) communities.

The rise of platforms reshapes traditional institutional mechanisms that broadly safeguard freedom of expression, media pluralism, and public interests. An open political issue is how these mechanisms will be reconsidered and how private interests will shape markets and societies. Alternatives are envisioned in areas ranging from platform cooperatives and commons projects to strategic calls for technological sovereignty and public wealth creation. However, such initiatives usually need broader political support from the public already accustomed to the commercial logic of the media. The commodification of everyday life through data capture, surveillance and privacy intrusion is easily dismissed by citizens as a minor side effect of free usage and flexibility of ubiquitous digital services.

This biennial course aims to explore traditional (e.g. ownership, production, content, consumption, labour, regulation) and contemporary (e.g. algorithms, platforms, data, artificial intelligence) perspectives on the media from the lens of critical political economy. The course will explore how capital and the state(s) control, regulate and form the media (broadly conceived as ranging from traditional printed press to algorithms and software) in societies shaped by persistent social inequalities. The level of analysis can vary from macro phenomena of geopolitics, transnational, national and institutional dynamics, through mid-range phenomena of the structure(s) of the public sphere(s) to micro-phenomena of class-based conditions shaping inequalities of access and skill for using the media in everyday life and for work.

The course will include presentations from keynote speakers and course directors and presentations by advanced MA and PhD students. Through lectures and discussions with international experts, students will gain in-depth knowledge about recent communication, media, and journalism developments from a critical political economy perspective. Methods and analytical tools commonly used in the approach will be explained and discussed. Presentation of the research papers (considered work in progress) will lead to comprehensive feedback that will help students develop their projects further and result in publishable academic writing. Discussions will be carried out collaboratively, with reciprocal assessment by students.

SUMMER SCHOOL VENUE

St. John's Fortress in Šibenik, Croatia, was built in 1646 in just 58 days as the main point of the city's new defence system just before a major attack by the Ottoman army. The city residents built the fortress with their own hands and resources, and it was named after the church that once stood there. The fortress renovation was completed in 2022, with the fortress walls completely restored and new features introduced, including an underground campus below the so-called pliers, the northern part of the fortress. The campus is equipped with interactive classrooms, bedrooms and conference rooms. More info is available at: https://www.tvrdjava-kulture.hr/en/st-johns-fortress/plan-your-visit/

DEADLINES

* The course is open to advanced MA and PhD students. Please submit your CV (maximum two pages), title and an extended abstract of your presentation (maximum two pages with references) by 1 April 2025 to political.economies.of.the.media@gmail.com

* Course directors will review applications and final decisions on acceptance will be sent by 1 May 2025.

* Accepted applicants will be invited to submit 6 to 9,000-word research papers by 1 July 2025. After completing the course, they will be encouraged to submit their manuscripts for review in an international peer-reviewed journal in the field of political economy.

* Note: only PhD students can receive 10 ECTS points upon course completion, which entails a submitted research paper, paper presentation and full-week active attendance participation in the course (more information will be published on the course website).

* Please note that all participants pay a registration fee of 60 EUR. A limited number of partial stipends and registration waivers will be available. If you need participation support, please indicate this in your application.

* All further details about the course will be available at http://www.poleconmed.net/

August 28-30, 2025

Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana

Deadline: April 1, 2025

Mid-term conference of the European Sociological Association, Research Network 18 – The Sociology of Communications and Media Research

The small-scale and focused mid-term conferences of the European Sociological Association’s Research Network 18 seek to ensure that the sociological investigation of media and communications is given full focus, distinguishing its work from that of large international associations, which provide important forums for communications and media research but do not have especially sociological concerns.

The challenges facing societies today seem daunting even by the most volatile historical standards. These include deepening economic inequalities, class antagonisms, the rise of radical right-wing authoritarianism around the world and violent wars that may soon erupt into even wider international conflicts. Generative AI is increasingly reshaping virtually all relations, and digital tech giants are running amok along with their increasingly unhinged owners. Somewhere behind all this, looming on the horizon, is an ecological crisis. While many of these issues are intricately interlinked and, among other things, speak volumes about the deepening power imbalances and crises of liberal institutions, their causes and trajectories may be divergent and contradictory, with outcomes that seem difficult to predict.

As the conference title suggests, no social issues can be addressed without recourse to communication or capitalism. For Hanno Hardt, critical scholar and former professor in Ljubljana, communication could be considered “the sine qua non of human existence” (1979, 1). In this sense, the study of communication must always be the first stepping stone, but one that is now influenced and shaped in various ways by digital giants and media-as-industries. Similarly, critical authors have historically regarded capitalism as a system that cannot be ignored in a holistic social analysis. Sociologist Wolfgang Streeck has, for instance, asserted “that contemporary society cannot really be understood by a sociology that makes no reference to its capitalist economy” (2012, 1). In other words, the sociology of communications and media must inevitably include or address these two of the most fundamental social relations in its research.

In line with these premises, the conference will feature a plenary round table on digital platforms and labour and plenary talks by critical scholars who have addressed the dynamic between communication and capitalism throughout their careers:

• Kylie Jarrett (University College Dublin, Ireland)
  
• Graham Murdock (Loughborough University, UK)
  
• and Slavko Splichal (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia).

The Communication and Capital(ism) conference aims to bring together contributions that explore the unpredictable and unstable social terrain in the era of digital capitalism. It seeks to critically engage with these issues and their consequences by focusing on the role of social communication, media, and journalism. We are looking for theoretical and empirical submissions that may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Theoretical reflections on political economy and cultural studies;
  
• The role of critique and criticality for the sociology of media;
  
• Digital capitalism, imperialism and colonialism;
  
• Digital platforms and tech giants;
  
• Labour and platformisation of working conditions;
  
• Capital, class, gender, and race;
  
• Global media corporations and media-as-industries;
  
• Capitalism and journalism;
  
• Sociology of news;
  
• The material and ideological impact of advertising;
  
• Transformations in political communication;
  
• Democracy and democratic transformations;
  
• The public sphere;
  
• (Re-)presentations in journalism and the media;
  
• Possible alternatives to the existing political/economic malaise and digital capitalism.

Abstract submission

• Abstract submission deadline: 1 April 2025
  
• Notification of selected abstracts: 15 May 2025
  
• Conference dates: 28-30 August 2025
  

Abstracts should be sent to: Conference Organising Committee, rn18esasubmission@gmail.com

Abstracts should be sent as an e-mail attachment (400-600 words including title, author name(s), email address(es), and institutional affiliation(s)). Please insert the words “ESA RN18 Submission” in the subject. Although we do not provide a template for the abstract submission, we expect abstracts that include a rationale, research question(s), theoretical and/or empirical methods applied, and potential results and implications. Each abstract will be independently reviewed by two members of the ESA RN18 Board based on the call for papers.

Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research 

Deadline: March 30, 2025

Guest edited by: Christian Pentzold, Leipzig University, Germany; Anne Kaun, Södertörn University, Sweden; Stine Lomborg & Sille Obelitz Søe, both Copenhagen University, Denmark. 

Much is at stake: The welfare sector across the EU faces growing demands and dwindling resources, with automation expected to bring about significant changes. Automated decisionmaking (ADM) is being proposed as a solution to improve efficiency in the provision of public goods and services by leveraging data-driven processes and reallocating resources to better support citizens’ well-being. Recent academic work, especially within the humanities and social sciences, has critically examined algorithms, datafication, and AI. These studies often emphasize the need for accountability in technical systems, focusing on data ethics, transparency, and regulatory oversight to safeguard human justice within ADM systems. Yet, real-world examples abound of human rights violations, including privacy breaches, biases in automated systems, and discriminatory outcomes. Cases such as the use of data for fraud detection, welfare distribution, and profiling vulnerable populations illustrate these issues globally. Consequently, concerns about the potential adverse effects of automation on various aspects of life—healthcare, welfare, labor, and the functioning of public spheres—have been raised by researchers, public figures, and the general public. 

Stories about the implications of ADM for the welfare of citizens sometimes come to public scrutiny, such as a recent WIRED piece on the Danish welfare system turning into a ‘surveillance nightmare’. When these stories surface, they relay ADM as extraordinary and scandalous. But in fact, ADM for welfare provision is becoming ordinary, widespread, and is fundamentally changing the nature of public goods provision and public services, and thus the conditions for human flourishing. Some argue that ADM is critically altering European welfare states from being based on trust, equity and solidarity to being based on efficiency, control, and discrimination of vulnerable populations. This transformation is largely happening under the public radar. As governments try to ride the waves of automation and drive the exploitation of technological potentials and vast registers of data on citizens, we argue that it is urgent to have a critical and informed debate to shape the use of ADM in the interest of public values, and for the people. Indeed, this call comes at a moment when automation is changing the very notion of what communication and information is. Rather than being mainly about the rights and processes of creating and distributing messages, of speaking and being heard, data streams become significant assets and objects of interest no matter what they contain. 

This Special Issue seeks to explore the impact of ADM on welfare and well-being from European perspectives. It starts from the position of those directly involved: the engineers and designers, the case workers who collaborate with these systems in welfare and service provision decisions, and the people whose data fuel the systems and are affected by automation efforts. The Special Issue aims to address the digital transformation of the citizen–state relationship by examining the development, data work, and human-machine collaboration within ADM, alongside the technological, social, and cultural dynamics that either facilitate or impede progress in automating welfare for the public good. 

A people-centered approach builds on the idea that welfare in societies is fundamentally about fostering the conditions for the flourishing of everybody. Hence public goods and services provision becomes a question of justice and equity. When welfare is increasingly automated this consequently has implications for social justice for the people more generally and must be addressed through the lens of the people implicated in the process of automation. 

The Special Issue is open to theoretical and empirical approaches. It invites senior as well as emerging scholars. Contributions can address, but are not limited to, the following aspects: 

· Conceptualizations of automation, datafication, and communication 

· Reflections on human flourishing in datafied and automated citizen–state relationships 

· Public communication and discourses around datafication and automation for the public good 

· Communicative and media practices around automation, datafication and artificial intelligence 

· Case studies of ADM implementation in public administration and public service provision, including public service broadcasting 

· ADM’s and AI-powered tools in newsrooms and their implications for journalistic practices and the public’s right to information 

· Policies, norms, and regulations of ADM deployment and development 

· Human rights perspectives on automation and public goods 

· Resistance and civic actions against automated processes 

· Impacts of ADM on employability in the media sector and beyond, and the shifting roles of human labor 

· Environmental and climate impacts of ADM and AI deployment for public service provision and media production 

There will be no publication fee. 

Timeline and procedure 

500 to 700 word abstracts should be sent to (christian.pentzold@uni-leipzig.de) by March 30, 2025. The abstract should articulate: 1) the issue or research question to be discussed, 2) the methodological or critical framework used, and 3) the expected findings or conclusions. Feel free to consult with the Special Issue Editors about your article ideas and potential angles or approaches. 

Decisions will be communicated to the authors by April 30, 2025. Invited paper submissions will be due August 31, 2025 and will be submitted to christian.pentzold@uni-leipzig.de. They will then undergo peer review through Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research following the journal’s standard double-blind procedures. The invitation to submit a full article does not guarantee acceptance into the Special Issue. The Special Issue is scheduled for publication in summer 2026. 

This call for abstracts is also accessible via 

https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/COMM/downloadAsset/COMM_Datafied%20Welfare%20COMMUNICATIONS.pdf 

Contact 

Prof Christian Pentzold 

Email: christian.pentzold@uni-leipzig.de

October 30-31, 2025 

Stockholm, Sweden 

Deadline: May 1, 2025 

The conference aims to foster engaged debates about, and a comprehensive understanding of, challenges related to the quickly transforming algorithmic society, for media users across Europe. We welcome a wide range of approaches and look forward to discussions that will contribute to scientific analysis of our contemporary media world. 

Read more: https://www.sh.se/english/sodertorn-university/calendar/events/2025-10-30-ecrea-audience-and-reception-studies-2025 

University of Amsterdam

We are hiring: For the project "Ideology, Emotion Detection AI, & the Propagation of Social Inequality" we are looking for a post-doc (application deadline April 15th). The project examines how AI emotion detection models may perpetuate political ideology by reinforcing gender and ethnic stereotypes. A key concern is that these models are trained on datasets labeled by human annotators, whose political ideology may shape how they categorize emotional expressions—often in ways that align with stereotypes. When AI systems learn from these biased labels, their outputs can further influence human decision-making, unintentionally reinforcing existing inequalities.

To investigate these dynamics, the project will hire a post-doc for 12 months, starting this spring, see the vacancy: https://werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies/postdoc-investigating-human-sources-of-bias-in-ai-face-classification-models-netherlands-13907

University of Antwerp, Belgium

Apply here

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

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).