[Commlist] CFP: Media, Press Freedom, and Cultural Production in an Authoritarian Age

*CFP:/ Media, Press Freedom, and Cultural Production in an Authoritarian 
Age/*

//Co-sponsored by the Union for Democratic Communications, Project 
Censored and the Park Center for Independent Media
Oct. 23-24, 2026
Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

The Union for Democratic Communications, Project Censored, and the Park 
Center for Independent Media, in a spirit of collaboration and 
coalition-building, seek to bring together activists, artists, 
researchers, and legislators to foster critical approaches that support 
reimagining an infrastructure rich in equitable and democratic 
possibilities, where a healthy media ecosystem can thrive. We invite 
communication researchers, journalists, cultural producers, policy 
analysts, academics, and activists to submit abstracts that examine our 
theme, *Media, Press Freedom, and Cultural Production in an 
Authoritarian Age*.
Founded in 1976, Project Censored celebrates its 50th Anniversary in an 
era of misinformation, where press freedom and media independence are 
under unprecedented attack. At this critical juncture, Project 
Censored’s advocacy for freedom of the press, media literacy and 
critical thinking, and the Union for Democratic Communications’ critical 
analysis of communications industries and the fight to democratize them 
are more crucial than ever. Together, we are proud to co-host the 
conference “Media, Press Freedom and the Fight for Democracy in an 
Authoritarian Age,” October 23-24 2026, at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New 
York.
UDC, which held its first conference in 1981, has worked to overcome 
concentrated political-economic power in order to contribute to a world 
based on economic justice, equality, and peace. Project Censored, 
founded in 1976, has made its mission to expose and counteract 
modern-day censorship. Launched in 2008, the Park Center for Independent 
Media at Ithaca College is a national center for the study of 
independent media focusing on news outlets that create and distribute 
content outside of corporate systems. Together, UDC, Project Censored 
and the Park Center for Independent Media hope to contribute to a more 
democratic society and world by sharing our scholarly and activist projects.
UDC and Project Censored conferences have long spotlighted the march 
toward totalitarianism--we now find ourselves in it. The historical 
present is marked by an expansion of violent imperialism and genocide, 
accelerating climate and ecological crises, the silencing and 
criminalization of dissent, censorship and government control over the 
press, the globalized spread of mis- and disinformation, and a pandemic 
spread of oligarchic capitalism.
All this is being sustained by an oligopolistic media system whose ready 
acquiescence to the Trump regime’s preferences reflects that our 
communications channels have been co-opted to support an increasingly 
repressive state. Government interference in free speech and media 
autonomy is no longer covert, as the U.S. president regularly threatens 
media outlets, creatives, and journalists critical of his 
administration. An increasingly consolidated industry has enormous 
interest in serving the political aims of authoritarian governments in 
the US and abroad, as mergers have wrought historic levels of 
consolidation of media power and wealth at a global scale.
Our shrinking media ecosystem has led to a drastic shift in which voices 
are considered prominent and whose voices count and matter. It has 
become increasingly difficult to garner visibility through algorithmic 
bias and inequity. Privilege has unfairly been afforded to content that 
promotes increased levels of hate, violence, and division. Content from 
independent news outlets reporting critically on issues of war and 
peace, civil liberties, economic inequality, racial and gender 
oppression, and environmental degradation are being greylisted or 
blocked entirely.  Meta, TikTok, Google, and Amazon, among others, 
continue to be vehicles which enable the few to hold the majority in 
this bid for control. Platforms that were championed as arenas for 
social gathering and understanding have now been co-opted as agents 
under an authoritarian regime.
Media platforms are increasingly central to shaping contemporary 
political discourse and are not neutral actors but remain embedded 
within capitalist, elite-dominated political economic systems. As such, 
these infrastructures enable reactionary political projects and the 
circulation of extremist content, leading to further societal division. 
These tech monopolies have contributed significantly to sowing the seeds 
of discord, distrust, and discontent.
Through these attacks, we continue to see the decimation of public trust 
and the erosion of democracy through the erasure of local stories and 
voices and the muzzling of the press. This has produced what Naomi Klein 
describes as a “mirror world”: a parallel version of our reality, where 
distrust of institutions and authority are mobilized in the service of 
authoritarian interests. As mainstream and publicly funded media outlets 
and the legacy press are decimated, independent media is more important 
than ever. However, the mirror world presents challenges to the 
definition and political implications of “independent media.” The spaces 
for distribution, such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are owned by 
reactionaries, and algorithmic logics work in the interest of the 
Silicon Valley techno-fascists to incubate far-right subcultures and 
figures.
*Now, we must ask how do we protect what is left of democratic 
communication[s]? How do we sustain our social movements in the fight 
of/for our lives?*
Please find the conference announcement and this call for papers at 
_democraticcomm.org_ <http://democraticcomm.org>.  More information on 
our co-sponsors _Project Censored_ 
<https://www.projectcensored.org/about/> and the _Park Center for 
Independent Media_ <https://www.parkindymedia.org/> by clicking on their 
links.
_Submissions_ <https://udc2026.exordo.com/> will open on May 1 and close 
on July 5.
We encourage you to share this call to help ensure myriad and diverse 
voices can be in conversation with one another and enrich our time together.
*Topics may also include, but are not limited to:*
**

  * Critical communication pedagogy
  * Race, class, gender, feminisms, indigeneity
  * Media literacy and critical media theory
  * “Fake news,” disinformation, misinformation, conspiracy
  * Forms of propaganda
  * Censorship and attacks on press freedom
  * AI and the media
  * Debt, precarity, austerity
  * Immigration, refugees and migrants
  * Intersectionality, CRT, racial capitalism
  * Imperialism, colonialism/post-colonialism and/or the primitive
    accumulation of capital
  * Slavery, incarceration and detention
  * Arts, culture, and preservation
  * Neo-fascism
  * Alt-global visions
  * Left-state alternatives
  * Media reform and communication policy
  * The neoliberal assault on higher education, radical scholars, and
    academic freedom
  * The state of education, childcare, eldercare, and healthcare in the
    U.S. and beyond
  * Militarism, genocide, femicide, war, conflict, erasure
  * Eco media and communication
  * Surveillance and data collection
  * Media workers, labor and unions
  * Cultural studies and critical studies of cultural policy

*Individual Submissions*
Abstracts for papers should be 400-700 words.
Enhancing Chance of Acceptance for Individual Submission:

  * Don’t reveal your identity in the title, abstract, or cover page
  * Make sure your abstract relates to either the conference theme or
    the organization’s mission (and ideally, to both)
  * Describe clearly and concisely (400-700 words) what your submission
    does.
  * Make sure it is well-edited.

*Abstracts for Panels, Workshop, Working Groups, and Roundtables* should 
be around 700 words and include the following:

  * One submitter, ideally the session organizer, submits an overall
    abstract for the panel, workshop, etc.
  * The abstract should also include presentation titles and their
    presenters
  * All panelists should also be listed as authors on the data page
    following the submission of the abstract
  * Make sure all abstracts relate to either the conference theme or the
    organization’s mission (and ideally, to both)

*Deadlines, Dates & How to Submit*
**
Submit your proposals here: _https://udc2026.exordo.com/_ 
<https://udc2026.exordo.com/>
You’ll need to set up a free account in Ex Ordo.

  * Abstracts due by July 5
  * Notification of acceptance: Aim to distribute by July 19
  * Applications for travel award due: July 31
  * Application for the Brian Murphy Student Paper Award due: July 31
  * Early-bird registration begins: May 1
  * General registration begins: August 1

*Conference Details*

  * Dates: October 22 - 24
  * Location: Ithaca College, NY.
  * Hosts: Park Center for Independent Media and Project Censored

We look forward to reviewing your submissions. Please be on the lookout 
for additional conference information, awards, and logistics. Please 
save the date and know that we look forward to gathering everyone at 
Ithaca College in October.
*Graduate students should submit full papers and abstracts to be 
considered for the Brian Murphy Student Paper Award.*

  * Submit de-identified papers to _support@democraticcomm.org_
    <mailto:(support /at/ democraticcomm.org)>. Include “Brian Murphy Student
    Paper” and title of the paper in the subject line
  *
    /All submissions are given a double-blind review./

*For more information, contact: *Steve Macek at (shmacek /at/ noctrl.edu) 
<mailto:(shmacek /at/ noctrl.edu)>.


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