International conference / 5-6 December 2022, Lisbon

The concept of ‘captured media’ has been used to describe media systems in countries that have transitioned from authoritarian to democratic regimes in the late 20th century. Despite being far from a homogenous reality, young democracies have experienced difficulties in building strong, independent media ecosystems, and are still characterized by self-censorship and both political and economic pressures as part of the daily routine of newsrooms.

Thus, the conference “Captured Media: Researching Media Systems in and after Transitions” aims to bring together researchers working on media systems in countries that participated in the third wave of democratization, from Portugal in 1974 to Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries in the 1980s and Eastern Europe, following the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The aim is to discuss how media systems have evolved after the establishment of democracy, and to debate how media and journalistic institutions are co-opted by political and economic structures in countries that lack a strong tradition of press freedom and adequate guarantees.

The conference in Lisbon is organized by the Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC) hosted at the Faculty of Human Sciences at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (https://www.ucp.pt/pt-pt) in cooperation with the project ‘The Media System and Journalism Culture in Bulgaria (A Study in the Light of the Three Models of Media – Politics Relations by Hallin and Mancini)’, hosted by Veliko Tarnovo University “St. Cyril and St. Medhodius” (https://www.uni-vt.bg/bul/) and funded by the Bulgarian Scientific Fund (https://www.fni.bg).

More about the conference: https://capturedmediaconference2022.com