[Commlist] Call for Papers: Comparison as Method and Heuristic in Communication Research

*Comparison as Method and Heuristic in Communication Research*

Vienna, Austria, 23–25 September, 2026

*/Call for Papers/*

The conference “Comparison as Method and Heuristic in Communication 
Research” takes place against the backdrop of rapid technological, 
media, and societal change. It focuses on innovations, trends, 
challenges, and solutions in comparative research within the field of 
media and communication studies.

Back in November 2006, the former Commission for Comparative Media and 
Communication Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in 
collaboration with the Department of Communication at Johannes Gutenberg 
University Mainz, organized a workshop on this topic (Melischek et al., 
2008). That workshop examined the state of comparative media and 
communication research in German-speaking countries, addressing core 
questions: What is comparative communication research? What are its 
objects of study? And what is the scientific value of comparison? At the 
heart of the discussion was comparison as a method and methodological 
principle.

The workshop was held at a time when comparative approaches in media and 
communication studies were not yet systematically established. However, 
they had been gaining increasing relevance since the 1990s (Livingstone, 
2003; Pfetsch & Esser, 2004) and have since matured into a more 
consolidated area of inquiry (Esser & Hanitzsch, 2012; Esser, 2016; Chan 
& Lee, 2017; Holtz-Bacha, 2021; Volk, 2021).

Today, the Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies 
<https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/> (CMC) brings together key perspectives on 
public discourse, media change, and transformations in mediated public 
communication through its Research Groups on Media Accountability & 
Media Change 
<https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/research/media-accountability-media-change-mamc>, 
Media, Politics & Democracy 
<https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/research/media-politics-democracy-mepd>, and 
Science Communication & Science Journalism 
<https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/research/science-communication-science-journalism-scsj>. 
These Research Groups focus on questions of ethics and responsibility, 
democracy and participation, as well as truth and factuality—unified by 
a common methodological foundation: the comparative approach (see also: 
Melischek & Seethaler, 2017).

This conference revisits the comparative paradigm with fresh urgency. It 
addresses the pressing need to reflect on methodological innovation, 
technological transformation, and shifting global contexts from an 
international perspective. By bringing together scholars working across 
global regions, the event aims to critically assess the role of 
comparison as both method and heuristic in contemporary communication 
research—and to chart pathways for its future development.

Possible themes include:

1. Innovations, New Developments, and Approaches in Comparative 
Communication Research
2. Methodological Reflection and Critique
3. After Comparison: Making Use of Comparative Results

The *deadline for submissions* is *February 27, 2026*.

The conference will be held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), 
located in the heart of Vienna
at Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna, AUSTRIA.

The organizing team aims to publish selected contributions and results 
of the conference in an academic context.

*Organizers*

Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC)
Austrian Academy of Sciences | University of Klagenfurt
Bäckerstraße 13
1010 Vienna, AUSTRIA
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc <https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc>

The full Call for Papers is available HERE 
<https://www.oeaw.ac.at/fileadmin/Institute/CMC/IMG/News_Archive/CfP_CMC2026.pdf>.

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