[Commlist] ECREA Radio and Sounds Conference

*Cog in a wheel? Radio and Sound in the Changing Mediascape*

**/ECREA Radio and Sound Section/
*8-10 September 2025 *

(*ALSO:* PhD pre-conference - 7 September 2025 - information will be 
circulated separately)

Media Department, Faculty of Communication, Istanbul Bilgi University,

  Santral*Istanbul *Campus


This conference aims to examine the past, present, and*evolving role of 
radio* *around the world within a dynamic global media landscape*. We 
will highlight the transformation of radio from a static entity to an 
adaptive component of the larger media ecosystem, continually reshaping 
itself in response to socio-political, economic, and technological 
changes. In the early 20th century, radio played an important role in 
the establishment and development of nation-states — especially 
militarily, economically, politically, and linguistically. Today, it is 
ubiquitous in various forms, multi-faceted, and present throughout the 
world. With the advent of *artificial intelligence* and non-human 
presenters, along with rising public mistrust and the prevalence of 
*disinformation*, radio faces new pressures to evolve. Nevertheless, 
radio endures as a critical medium, especially during global 
*conflicts*, where it serves as a source or way of communication for the 
different parties to the conflict as well as for the diaspora communities.

Starting from this premise, we invite papers that help conceptualise 
“radio” as a cog in a changing wheel and focus on the *dynamics *that 
have shaped, over time and across the globe, the role of radio, be these 
roles assumed, attributed, or presumed by both *broadcasters* 
and*listeners* and be these radios private, public, university, 
community, clandestine, political, and more. We seek papers which 
explore the resilience and ongoing transformation of radio, emphasising 
its vital role in a shifting media environment and welcome 
interdisciplinary perspectives. We also welcome papers that contribute 
to investigating the various *roles *and *forms* that radio has 
occupied, as well as the various *topics* it has tackled since its 
inception to the *present day* across different political, geographical, 
economic, and cultural contexts. We are particularly interested in 
exploring the *contexts* and reasons behind these evolutions.

Furthermore, we aim to understand how the *materiality* of what is 
sometimes too quickly labelled as “radio” has evolved. Our goal is to 
investigate radio's transition from live, real-time broadcasting to a 
platform that accommodates on-demand *audio formats and genres*, working 
alongside podcasts, streaming, and downloadable content. This evolution 
has rebranded the industry as "audio" or "sound media", showcasing new 
capacities for audiences to listen almost whenever and wherever they 
want, thanks to the Internet and associated *technologies*.

We also welcome *conceptual and theoretical proposals* that address the 
place of radio and sound studies in *academic landscapes*. These fields 
are tackled by researchers from *various disciplines*, from engineers to 
art researchers, and are mobilised to explore many topics, from the role 
they could play in war contexts to their place in the artistic and 
cultural development of groups and nations.

Lastly, we invite *practitioners* in the fields of radio and sound 
studies who are eager to combine their reflections with those of 
academics. By merging practical insights with theoretical perspectives, 
we aim to foster a rich dialogue that *bridges the gap between practice 
and research*.

The conference will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and 
paper presentations that address the following themes related to the one 
or many main topic(s) of this conference://


RADIO AND SOUND: *PRODUCTION*, *FORMATS *AND *PURPOSES*

○*Production*

■Practices

■Studies

■Podcasting

■Ethnographies

■Broadcast locations (e.g. prisons, hospitals, educational institutions, 
refugee camps, farms, armed forces, …)

■…

○*Formats*

■Information

■Storytelling

■Narratives

■Musics

■Sounds

■Codes (non-talk)

■Drama

■Sound Creation

■Documentaries,

■Talk shows,

■Podcast typologies

■…

○*Purposes*

■Politics

■Pedagogy and education

■Awareness raising

■Activism

■Entertainment

■(Dis)information

■…

RADIO AND SOUND*: MEDIUM *IN*CONTEXTS *

○*Medium*

■Civic radio

■Free radio

■Pirate radio

■Alternative radio

■Radical radio

■DIY radio

■Not-for-profit radio

■NGOs radio

■Feminist radio

■Community radio

■Local / national / regional radio

■…

○*Contexts*

■Radio in the global media landscape**

■Ownership, regulation and governance of radio

■Freedom of speech

■Political and economic constraints

■Policies of broadcasting

■…

RADIO AND SOUND: *AUDIENCES *AND *LISTENING* **

○*Audiences*

■Community

■National

■Transnational

■Diasporas

■Demographics within audiences

■…

○*Listening*

■Poetics of listening

■Philosophy of listening

■Politics of listening

■History of listening

■Listening as a cultural practice

■Phenomenology of listening

■…

RADIO AND SOUND: *TECHNOLOGIES *

○DAB, streaming or LTE broadcasting

○Podcasting distribution

○Sound platforms

○Internet

■Social media

■Radio as an app

■(De)materialisation

■Hybrid radio

■…

○Artificial intelligence

■Radio production and reception

■Trust, information and disinformation

■…

RADIO AND SOUND: *RESEARCH*

○Radio and sound as research fields

○Theories of radio and sound studies

○Political economy of the radio

○Radio and gender studies

○Methodological approaches to sound research

○Digital ethnography

○Digital methods

○Network analysis

○Archiving and oral history

○Radio history

○Journalism

○Radio journalism

○Radio art

○Sound art

○Aural culture and cultural aural expressions

○Reception studies

○…

The conference situates radio and sound studies within the broader 
contemporary media landscape and aims to start a dialogue with, and 
accept contributions from platform studies, Internet studies, sound 
studies, social media studies, critical political economy of the media, 
media history, digital media management, cultural studies, production 
studies, ethnography, and social sciences.


      *IMPORTANT DATES:*

Deadline for abstract submissions: *17 February 2025*

Notification of acceptance (and announcement of Early Bird date): *31 
March 2025*

Publication of Programme: *w/c 28 April 2025*

**

**

*SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:*

Proposals for individual papers and panels can be submitted until 17th 
February 2025 through the conference website’s platform, which will be 
https://ecrearadioandsound2025.org/ 
<https://ecrearadioandsound2025.org/>The submission system will be 
available from early January 2025. Abstracts should be written in 
English and contain a clear outline of the argument, theoretical 
framework, and, where applicable, methodology and results. Individual 
abstracts and panel proposals should be between 300 and 500 words. In 
the case of a panel, proposals should contain a short summary of the 
panel and include the 4 or 5 individual contributions (with the title 
and author’s names of each contribution composing the panel.


      *SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE /RADIO JOURNAL: INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN
      BROADCAST & AUDIO MEDIA /*

We will invite delegates of the Conference to submit their full papers 
no later than February 2026 to be selected for a special issue of the 
/Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media/, 
edited by Intellect

(www.intellectbooks.com/radio-journal-international-studies-in-broadcast-audio-media 
<http://www.intellectbooks.com/radio-journal-international-studies-in-broadcast-audio-media>), 
to be published in the second issue of 2026.

For further information, please contact the organising committee at this 
email address: *(radioandsoundconference /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(radioandsoundconference /at/ gmail.com)>*


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