TWO DECADES OF MEDIA TRANSFORMATION AFTER THE FALL OF COMMUNISM

An International Conference organized by the Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) at Central European University (CEU), the COST A30 Action “East of West: Setting a New Central Eastern European Research Agenda” and the International Communication Association (ICA)

250 scholars from around the globe participated in this conference, including distinguished scholars such as Sonia Livingstone, Elihu Katz, Barbie Zelizer, Monroe Price, Chin Chuan Lee, Slavko Splichal, Colin Sparks and James Curran. According to the feedback from participants, the event was a great success.  You can download the final conference program here.

So what is it all about?  

Since 1989, a new media landscape has emerged in Central and Eastern Europe, with new ownership patterns, forms of media organization, journalistic practices, relationships between politics and the media, regulation processes, modalities of media use. A new system has been established, predominantly designed according to Western models and with heavy influence of Western players.

Twenty years later, it is time to re-examine these changes. What went right, what went wrong, and what can we learn from this? Were Western media models and concepts appropriate for the post-1989 social, political, economic and cultural realities of Central/Eastern Europe? What are the future trajectories of media development in the region? And how do they compare to those in other regions undergoing systemic transformation – from Latin America to China?

The conference “Beyond East and West” will trace post-1989 development and look towards the future. To build research for communication in transition, conference participants will explore the necessary building-blocks for a research agenda.