[Commlist] Cfp: Captured Media: Researching Media Systems in and after Transitions

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*Captured Media: Researching Media Systems in and after Transitions*

*Lisbon, 5-6 December 2022*

The concept of ‘captured media’ has been used to describe media systems 
in countries that have transitioned from authoritarian to democratic 
regimes in the late 20^th century (Mungiu-Puppidi 2013; Guerrero & 
Marquez-Ramirez 2014). Despite being far from a homogenous reality, 
young democracies have experienced difficulties in building strong, 
independent media ecosystems, and are still characterized by 
self-censorship and both political and economic pressures as part of the 
daily routine of newsrooms. These systems either go down “the path 
toward an Authoritarian/Communist type media system” (Batorfy, 2019) or 
“serve as propagandists and political instruments to befuddle, 
misinform, and disinform audiences and thus oppose civil society and 
democratization.” (Armanca & Gross, 2020). In this respect, the concept 
of captured media exhibits many of the dimensions that factually stifle 
freedom of expression and its role in a democracy. Hallin and Mancini 
(2004) speak of political parallelism which, in its extreme form, may 
lead to political instrumentalization, party colonization (Bajomi-Lazar, 
2014), and oligarchization (Ryabinska, 2014), with the creation of a 
media system that is merely a mouthpiece of political elites (Zankova, 
2021).

Thus, the conference “Captured Media: Researching Media Systems in and 
after Transitions” aims to bring together researchers working on media 
systems in countries that participated in the third wave of 
democratization, from Portugal in 1974 to Asia-Pacific and Latin 
American countries in the 1980s and Eastern Europe, following the 
collapse of the Berlin Wall. The aim is to discuss how media systems 
have evolved after the establishment of democracy, and to debate how 
media and journalistic institutions are co-opted by political and 
economic structures in countries that lack a strong tradition of press 
freedom and adequate guarantees.

While the media are traditionally perceived as performing a central role 
in the democratic process, responsible for scrutinizing power 
structures, this role has been particularly questioned and undermined in 
the last decade by populist movements (which label journalism as an 
‘enemy of the people’), the collapse of traditional business models, the 
emergence of new reception practices and ultimately a climate of 
uncertainty that has led to profound changes in the relationship between 
the media and the outside world (Ribeiro & Zelizer, 2022). While these 
tendencies can be found in most countries, in young democracies they may 
be particularly disruptive, due to the lack of a strong culture of press 
freedom and media independence, close ties between the media and the 
political class and ineffective legal frameworks. They may result in 
self-censorship and deficiencies in media professional standards and 
accountability. Thus, the conference welcomes papers with comparative 
research, and others, focusing on case studies from countries and media 
systems that have undergone a transformation from authoritarian to 
democratic regimes. Papers dealing with the following topics are 
especially welcome but many others may be proposed:

    ·Press Freedom and media independence in young democracies;

    ·Self-censorship;

    ·The evolution of media systems in young democracies;

    ·Political parallelism;

    ·Journalism practices in times of uncertainty;

    ·Media and journalism and new business models;

    ·Media and populist discourses;

    ·Media concentration and opacity of media ownership;

    ·Comparing news practices in different countries;

    ·Media in transition;

    ·Democratic culture and media;

    ·Media frameworks and media freedom guarantees.

Abstracts for paper proposals between 300-400 words may be submitted 
until *15 September (deadline)* by email: 
(conferencecapturedmedia /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(conferencecapturedmedia /at/ gmail.com)>

All abstracts will be peer reviewed before final acceptance. A 
collection of some of the papers may be published after the conference

*Conference organization*

The conference is organized by the Research Centre for Communication and 
Culture (CECC) hosted at the Faculty of Human Sciences at the 
Universidade Católica Portuguesa in cooperation with the project ‘The 
Media System and Journalism Culture in Bulgaria (A Study in the Light of 
the Three Models of Media – Politics Relations by Hallin and Mancini)’, 
hosted by Veliko Tarnovo University “St. Cyril and St. Medhodius and 
funded by the Bulgarian Scientific Fund/./

The conference will be held at the Lisbon campus of Universidade 
Católica Portuguesa, which can be easily accessed via metro (30-minute 
ride), bus or taxi (10-minute ride) from the Lisbon airport.


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