[Commlist] RIPE @ 2026 Conference Politics and Public Service Media

Politics and Public Service Media

Call for Paper Proposals

RIPE @ 2026 Conference

20-23 October 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan

_https://iapmr.media/category/ripe/ <https://iapmr.media/category/ripe/>_

The 13th biennial RIPE conference is sponsored by the Taiwan Public 
Television Service Foundation (PTS) and hosted by the School of 
Communication at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Our theme 
focuses on the politics and politicization of public service media 
(PSM). The organizers welcome proposals for papers analyzing how 
political forces, trends, processes, and influences affect PSM 
structures, operations, and performance. There is particular interest in 
challenges for maintaining independence and ensuring sustainability in a 
shifting policy and technological environment. RIPE@2026 will convene 
experts and scholars from around the world, especially including the 
Global South, in a collaboration to advance understandings that matter 
for theorization and practice.

*Elaboration of the Theme*

Many have observed that politics are an inevitable aspect of public 
service media policy with significant implications for practice. PSB was 
established partly on a political foundation in the early decades of 
20th century, mainly in Europe, with a mission to serve people as 
citizens rather than consumers, to preserve and promote cultural 
diversity, to care about the interests of disadvantaged and minority 
groups, and above all to maintain an independent stance vis a vis both 
the state and market. Today, PSB has become PSM and is challenged by 
digitalization, platformization, international media companies, 
escalating costs for content rights, especially in sports, public value 
testing requirements, and uneven competitive performance. Promoting 
cultural diversity and encouraging tolerance across sociocultural 
aspects are under attack by far-right political movements.

In the Asia-Pacific region, public broadcasting is navigating 
development challenges in a context of shifting geopolitical dynamics. 
Lacking European traditions, Taiwan PTS confronts unprecedented 
challenge to its budget, its international news role, the intended 
purposes of the Taiwanese Language Channel, and neo-colonialism dispute 
over some historical related programs. The Conservative party has been 
especially active in holding PSM accountable. The rise of 
commercialization and digitalization has been complicated and complex.

For the first time, the RIPE@2026 conference will focus attention on the 
politics of PSB/PSM, a critical area of contemporary discourse in a 
globally inclusive dialogue. The conference welcomes paper proposals 
relevant to six aspects of crucial importance that although distinct are 
interconnected.


*Topics of specified interest*

/_1. Political Dynamics, Media Capture, and PSM Autonomy_/

The conference welcomes empirical and theoretical exploration of the 
complex and often fraught relationship between PSM and the political 
sphere. Topics of interest include but aren’t limited to:

  * Critical examination of the diversity of political actors—including
    governments, political parties, and civil society organizations—and
    their interactions that affect PSM.
  * Research about negotiations, challenges, and the defense of PSM
    autonomy that clarify broader power dynamics related to threats of
    political interference and state capture. This matters greatly for
    safeguarding journalistic integrity and maintaining independence.
  * Political challenges to funding and how PSM organisations are coping.
  * Governance and relations: legislative frameworks, appointments to
    governing and bodies and managerial roles, best practices in
    governance, and the nature of state interventions.
  * Understanding how regional bodies like ASEA (Association of
    Southeast Asian Nations) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
    (ABU) contribute to or influence national media policy discussions.
  * The role and practices of civil society organizations and public
    advocacy in both defending and challenging PSM independence.

/_2: Geopolitics, Global Power Shifts, and the Evolution of PSM_/

The conference welcomes papers that analyze overarching global trends, 
pressures, and influences that are shaping the establishment, funding, 
and developmental trajectories of PSM in countries around the world. 
Topics of interest include but aren’t limited to:

  * Examination of the complex interplay of power and politics over
    time, especially illustrating how global forces transcend national
    borders to influence the domestic media landscape’s fundamental
    architecture.
  * Legacies of colonial broadcasting and how they have been adapted or
    repurposed. This may relate to the geopolitical experience of
    decolonization and the Cold War that have influenced the
    establishment and subsequent evolution of PSB / PSM in newly
    independent states.
  * The role of international regulations, standards, and control over
    digital infrastructure (e.g., internet cables, satellite
    frequencies) for enabling and constraining PSM's ability to operate
    across borders.
  * Case studies of the impacts of foreign aid, technical assistance,
    and ideological alignment from major powers that have shaped PSM
    infrastructure, training, and content priorities.

/_3. Policy-Making and Regulatory Regimes in a Shifting Media Environment_/

The conference welcomes papers investigating how media policies are 
formulated and implemented across varying political systems in time and 
space. Topics of interest include but aren’t limited to:

  * Examination of media-government relations to understand how media
    institutions are conceptualized as partners in national development
    and operate under varying degrees of state control.
  * Comparative analysis of public media policy frameworks across
    different countries and regions, especially in Asia and countries of
    the Global South.
  * The role of various stakeholders in policy-making: governments,
    regulators, industry, civil society, and political parties.
  * Challenges and trends in media regulation: content standards, market
    competition, and accountability in the digital environment.
  * Technological convergence and its implications for traditional
    regulatory boundaries and PSM operational models.

/_4. PSM in the Digital Age: Navigating Disinformation and Platform Power_/

The conference welcomes papers focused on advances in Artificial 
Intelligence (AI) that are fundamentally reshaping the public sphere, 
creating an “algorithmic era” where information flows, content curation, 
and public discourse are increasingly influenced by automated systems. 
Topics of interest include but aren’t limited to:

  * Research on PSM’s proactive and reactive strategies for combating
    AI-empowered information manipulation.
  * The political implications of algorithmic bias, transparency
    deficits, and content moderation practices (often driven by
    proprietary AI) for PSM impartiality, pluralism, and ability to
    foster informed public debate.
  * Ethical frameworks, internal governance models, and professional
    standards for AI use within PSM organizations.
  * Research on beneficial developments for PSM in harnessing AI.
  * Political implications of algorithmic curation and content
    moderation for PSM’s visibility and impartiality.
  * Understanding how various nations, particularly those in the diverse
    and technologically advanced Global South and Indo-Pacific regions,
    grapple with these challenges and opportunities.

/_5. Trust, Neutrality, and Public Legitimacy: The Political Battleground_/

The conference welcomes papers on public trust, the perceived 
neutrality, and PSM legitimacy and effectiveness that are increasingly 
contested in politically polarized societies. Topics of interest include 
but aren’t limited to:

  * Work on conceptualizing and achieving political neutrality and
    impartiality in diverse political contexts.
  * Factors contributing to the erosion of public trust in PSM,
    including perceived political bias or capture.
  * Factors accounting for higher trust in PSM news and information than
    media in the commercial sector where trust has remained strong or
    increased.
  * The role of PSM in fostering media pluralism and providing diverse
    perspectives in fragmented information environments.
  * Accountability mechanisms for PSM: transparency, public complaints,
    and independent oversight.
  * Case studies of PSM navigating political attacks and efforts to
    delegitimize its public service mission.

/_6. Emerging Agendas: Sustainability, DEI, and the Future Mandate of PSM_/

The conference welcomes papers focused on how developments in 
sustainability goals (environmental, social, and economic) and 
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies are increasingly 
integral to PSM contemporary mandates and challenged on ideological 
grounds. Topic of interest include but aren’t limited to:

  * Integrating environmental and social sustainability goals into PSM
    operational practices and content strategies.
  * DEI policies and practices in PSM: representation in content,
    workforce diversity, and inclusive governance.
  * Political challenges to sustainability and DEI mandates.
  * PSM’s role in fostering civic engagement and public discourse on
    climate change, social justice, and other issues of critical
    importance, especially for countries in the Global South.
  * Future proofing PSM: adapting mandates to address emerging and
    evolving societal needs to maintain both political and popular support.

*Submission Requirements*

Abstracts for RIPE conferences are submitted through the RIPE Ex Ordo 
Platform. Each submission should include two parts:

 1. A *title page* listing the working title, author name(s), job
    title(s), organizational affiliation(s) with location, and the
    corresponding author’s email address; and
 2. A *main document* containing the working title, an abstract of no
    more than 600 words, two relevant conference themes, and up to six
    keywords.

To ensure an impartial review process, please do not include any 
identifying information (such as names or affiliations) in the main 
document. All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review 
conducted by the conference’s scientific committee.

The deadline for abstract submissions is 28 February 2026. Review 
decisions will be finalized in March, and notifications of acceptance 
will be sent on 1 April 2026. Accepted authors are expected to submit 
their full papers by 1 August 2026.

The conference website will be launched in the beginning of December 
2025, and the link to RIPE Ex Ordo Platform for submitting the abstracts 
will announce same here in January 2026.


*Selection Criteria*

Submissions will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

 1. Relevance: The abstract’s alignment with the overall conference
    theme and its fit within one or more of the six designated themes.
 2. Scholarly Quality: For empirical studies, the soundness of the
    theoretical framework and methodological rigor; for conceptual
    papers, the originality and significance of the concepts and
    arguments presented.
 3. Practical Contribution: The extent to which the paper offers
    implications or insights for public service media (PSM) practice.
 4. Presentation Quality: The overall clarity, coherence, and quality of
    the abstract.
 5. Diversity of Perspective: Special consideration will be given to
    papers addressing PSM issues in the Global South.

Approximately 60 papers will be selected for presentation at the 
conference. The conference language is English.

*Registration and Fees*

Conference registration website will open in April 2026, including the 
information of participation fees. Please note that RIPE does not 
provide financial support for personal travel expenses, except for 
invited keynote speakers. The conference registration fee will include 
two dinners (welcome reception and gala dinner), 3-day lunches, coffee 
breaks, and all conference sessions and materials.

*Conference Schedule*

The RIPE 2026 Conference will span two and a half days, from October 21 
to 23, 2026. A welcome reception will be held on the evening of October 
20, prior to the start of the conference.

Day 1 (October 21) will take place at Public Television Service (PTS), 
Taiwan, while Days 2 and 3 (October 22–23) will be hosted by National 
Chengchi University (NCCU). A gala dinner will be held on October 22. 
The afternoon of the final day will feature a guided city tour for all 
participants. Depending on interest, an optional social program will be 
offered on October 24, the day following the conference, at an 
additional cost for those who wish to participate.

*Contacts:*

For answers to questions related to logistics or other practical matters 
not addressed here, you can send an email to either of the following 
addresses:

•  The Conference organizer’s email address: (_ripe2026nccu /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(ripe2026nccu /at/ gmail.com)>_


For information about the International Association of Public Media 
Researchers (IAPMR), please email: _contact@iapmr.media 
<mailto:contact@iapmr.media>_



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