Call for proposals 2026
The Media Sector Development (MSD) Working Group invites the submission of abstracts for its 2026 conference, to be held from 28 June to 2 July 2026 in Galway, Ireland, hosted by the University of Galway.
The deadline for submission is 3 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC.
Download this call for papers as a PDF file
Theme
IAMCR conferences cover a wide range of topics defined by our thematic Sections and Working Groups (S/WG). Each year, a central theme invites participants to engage in shared reflection across these diverse areas, fostering dialogue and collaboration.
The 2026 central theme, Peripheries and Connections: Media, Communication, and Transformation, addresses the complexities of contemporary media systems in a polarised and interconnected world. By interrogating the tensions between centrality and marginality—whether geographical, cultural, political, or conceptual—this theme aligns with IAMCR’s commitment to fostering critical and inclusive dialogues across diverse perspectives.
Consult a detailed description of the main theme
The Media Sector Development Working Group invites proposals that address the general IAMCR conference theme in relation to ongoing debates and discussions related to media sector development. We also invite proposals that address one of the following five themes:
Theme 1: The Collapse of International Development Assistance
The structures of international assistance that emerged in response to the rise of geopolitics during the Cold War are collapsing, with uncertain implications. These structures have had a significant (and widely debated) influence on the development of media sectors around the world, particularly in the last thirty years. What forms of international cooperation and solidarity will come next? The future of international cooperation needs to be informed and guided by independent, action-oriented scholarship. We invite submissions that provide:
- Empirical studies and conceptual frameworks on the effects of aid cuts and diplomatic realignment on media sector development.
- Empirical studies and conceptual frameworks that illuminate new possibilities for international cooperation grounded in local agency and solidarity, including from perspectives of decoloniality.
Theme 2: Rights-Based Media Sector Development
The risks are growing that the future of the media—locally, nationally, and globally—will not be determined by those who care about human rights, democracy and pluralism, or driven by the needs and interests of citizens. Surveillance capitalism, media capture, AI-powered campaigns of deception, digital repression: these and other growing threats can seem to herald a coming dystopia. And yet efforts to build a rights-respecting media ecosystem persist. These efforts, even when unsuccessful, offer important lessons on how to pursue rights-based media sector development. We invite submissions from diverse and comparative contexts that explore these and other contemporary questions for those advocates of norms-based media sector development.
- What policy reforms, regulations and institutions are most important to build and sustain an independent, pluralistic media sector—including for a rights-respecting commercial and technological enabling environment?
- What approaches are working to counter the efforts of politicians and commercial elites to capture media sectors around the world and stifle independence?
- What approaches and strategies are working to build healthy information ecosystems, “information integrity”, and public interest media and how do these contend with the imperatives of freedom of expression?
- How can emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence be harnessed to promote communication rights, access to information, and pluralism?
Theme 3: Praxis-Building in Media Sector Development
The Media Sector Development Working Group has always sought to build a bridge between concepts and action, drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives and co-created knowledge to inform and support advocacy strategies, approaches to international cooperation, policy reforms, and other interventions by local, national, and international actors. At this year’s conference, we again invite reflections on how to integrate research and scholarship into the changing field of media sector development amid growing commercial and geo-political pressures that threaten journalistic independence, media freedom, and media pluralism.
- What role can scholars and applied researchers play to empower rights-fulfilling trajectories for media sector development?
- How can we organize an empowering praxis for our field in a time of radical technological and political change?
Theme 4: Rethinking the Field – From Media Development to Information Integrity
As the field enters its fourth decade, scholars and practitioners face an urgent question: how can we move beyond 20th-century “media development” paradigms to address the realities of today’s information ecosystems? The concepts and interventions that once guided international support—independent journalism, pluralistic institutions, enabling environments—must evolve alongside the disruptive forces of artificial intelligence, platform dominance, geopolitical realignment, and democratic backsliding.
- What does it mean to support healthy information ecosystems in this new era?
- How can frameworks such as information integrity, digital democracy, public interest media, or trust and safety reshape the aims and methods of our field?
- What conceptual and practical innovations can bridge traditional media development and emerging concerns around data governance, platform regulation, and algorithmic accountability?
Theme 5: Emerging Models of Philanthropy and Funding for Media Development
As traditional donor mechanisms contract, philanthropy, social investment, and hybrid funding models are playing a growing role in sustaining public-interest media and civic information initiatives. Yet little systematic research has examined these evolving models, their effectiveness, or their implications for independence and sustainability.
- What new forms of philanthropy, donor-advised funds, or mission-aligned investments are shaping the next generation of media development?
- How are private foundations, tech philanthropies, or community funds influencing the sector’s priorities and practices?
- What critical or comparative research exists on the financing of media development, and what gaps remain for scholars and practitioners to address?
Guidelines for abstracts
Abstracts for papers to be presented in person at one of the Media Sector Development (MSD) Working Group’s conference sessions should be between 800 and 1000 words. They must be submitted exclusively through IAMCR’s submission system from 28 November 2025 through 3 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC. Abstracts submitted by email will not be considered.
The Media Sector Development Working Group welcomes submissions of whole panels.
It is expected that each person will submit only one abstract. However, no author’s name should appear on more than two abstracts, either individually or as part of any group of authors and authors should not submit more than one abstract to any single section or working group. The same abstract, or a version with minor variations in title or content, must not be submitted to more than one Section or Working Group. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected. Authors submitting the same work to multiple Sections or Working Groups may be removed entirely from the conference programme.
Evaluation criteria
Submitted abstracts will generally be evaluated on the basis of:
- Technical merit
- Readability
- Originality and/or significance
- Use of or contribution to theory
- Depth of knowledge of the research, theory and/or literature related to the proposed topic as evidenced in the submission
- Relevance to the Media Sector Development’s call
Acceptance of proposals may also be conditioned by programme diversity and balance criteria.
Papers submitted with little to no relevance to the Media Sector Development Working Group will be rejected without further review.
Every submission to the Media Sector Development Working Group will be reviewed by two reviewers. Working Group chairs, guided by IAMCR quotas, make the final decision on which papers are accepted.
Languages
The Media Sector Development Working Group accepts abstracts in English, French, and Spanish.
Statement on use of AI tools
IAMCR does not encourage or condone the use of generative AI tools to prepare abstracts submitted for consideration for our conferences. IAMCR values originality, integrity, and transparency in academic work, and believes that human-authored contributions best support rigorous and innovative scholarship in media and communication research. Should an author choose to use a generative AI tool in the preparation of an abstract, we require that they include a clear statement within their submission disclosing the tool's use. This statement must specify: (1) the name of any AI tool used; (2) how the tool was used in preparing the abstract, and; (3) the reason for using the tool. Failure to disclose the use of generative AI in accordance with these guidelines may impact the evaluation and acceptance of the submission.
Intention to attend
Each abstract submitted to IAMCR represents a real cost to the Association and contributes to the workload of volunteer reviewers and organisers. As the number of submissions each year far exceeds the available presentation slots, we ask authors to submit only if they genuinely intend to attend and present their work at the conference if accepted.
Deadlines and key dates
The deadline to submit proposals is 3 February 2026, at 23:59 UTC. Other key dates. Dates are subject to change.
About the Media Sector Development Working Group
Learn more about the work and scope of the Media Sector Development Working Group
Contact the Working Group
Questions regarding the Media Sector Development Working Group’s activities at the 2026 IAMCR conference can be directed to the working group chairs:
Nick Benequista, Co-Chair, NickB@Ned.org
Susan Abbott, Co-Chair, susanabbott1@gmail.com
Jairo Lugo-Ocando, Vice-Chair, jlugoocando@sharjah.ac.ae
Winston Mano, Vice-Chair, w.mano@westminster.ac.uk
