[Commlist] CFP - ECREA 2026 post-conference: Local Media as Record

MeCCSA Local and Community Media Section has organised a post-conference 
event on 12th September 2026 as part of this year’s ECREA conference in 
Brno, Czechia. The deadline for papers has recently been extended to May 
11th.

Full call is here and below: 
https://ecrea2026brno.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2.-ECC2026-pre-conf-CFP-Preserving-Local-News-2026-v2.pdf 
<https://ecrea2026brno.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2.-ECC2026-pre-conf-CFP-Preserving-Local-News-2026-v2.pdf>

*Local Media as Record: Practices and Challenges in Preservation*

Local media has long shaped and created the documentary record of 
community life. Newspapers, magazines, photography, and broadcast 
material have captured everyday social and political activity, and it is 
through their archives that much of the historical record is preserved, 
making them a rich source of material for researchers. This event aims 
to draw attention to the value and challenges of this material and 
consider how researchers and practitioners engage with it.

The visibility of local media archives in academic research, and the 
condition and accessibility of historic material itself, varies 
considerably. Some collections are well maintained, while others are 
dispersed, only partially preserved, or undocumented in institutional 
holdings. Alternative and community publications were often not 
systematically collected at the time of production, leading to gaps or 
materials scattered across public and private hands. Publishers of all 
kinds operated with limited capacity for long-term archiving, 
contributing to uneven coverage and inconsistencies in what survives.

While digitisation of historic titles has apparently increased access, 
digital platforms for local journalism are also resulting in fragile 
forms of content. Websites may change or disappear during redesigns, 
hosting contracts, or organisational transitions, and platform-based 
material can be difficult to capture reliably. Many small publishers 
operate with limited technical resources, making it challenging to 
stabilise digital output for long-term access and establish preservation 
routines that keep pace with everyday production.

This event, led by the *MECCSA Local and Community Media Section* and 
endorsed by the *ECREA Journalism Studies Section*, brings together 
researchers and practitioners to focus on the value of local media 
archives and the practical, ethical, and methodological challenges of 
preserving and using them.

*Topics*

We welcome papers and practice-focused contributions on the preservation 
and use of local media records, including (but not limited to):

  * Locating, recovering, cataloguing, and digitising historic local
    media collections.
  * Preserving contemporary digital local journalism (commercial,
    community, hyperlocal).
  * Platform dependency and the fragility of web-based local media.
  * Preservation workflows, metadata, and discoverability for uneven
    collections.
  * Photographic, audio, and audio-visual local media archives.
  * Community-led archiving, participation, and memory work.
  * Ethical and legal issues in access, ownership, and reuse.
  * Teaching, public history, and community engagement using local media
    archives.
  *
    Case studies from libraries, archives, newsrooms, community groups,
    and independent publishers.

Contributions from practitioners (archivists, librarians, publishers, 
community historians, newsroom staff) are especially welcome.

*Format: *a full-day, in-person event combining paper sessions and a 
roundtable on future collaborations and possible funding routes.

*Date and location: *Saturday 12 September 2026, Masaryk University, 
Brno, Czechia.

*Fees: *EUR 40 (ECREA members), EUR 50 (non-members)

*Submission:*

Please submit:

  * Abstract (250 to 300 words)
  * Title
  * Author name(s), affiliation(s), contact details
  * 3 to 5 keywords
  *
    Short bio (up to 100 words)

Email submissions to: Dr Dave Harte (Birmingham City University)
(dave.harte /at/ bcu.ac.uk)

*Key dates*

  * *Close of call (abstract deadline) extended to: Monday 11 May 2026*
  * Notification of acceptance: Monday 8 June 2026
  * Draft programme circulated: Wednesday 1 July 2026
  *
    Event: Saturday 12 September 2026


*Organisers*

  * *Dr Dave Harte*, Associate Professor in Journalism and Media
    Studies, Birmingham City University, UK
  * *Dr Rachel Matthews*, Associate Director for Research and
    Engagement, Coventry University, UK
  * *Dr Lenka Waschková Císařová*, Associate Professor, Masaryk
    University, Czechia


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