ECREA Journalism Studies Section 2026

decorative image — ECREA JOURNALISM CONFERENCE 2026 BOOKLET

We're happy to announce that the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies will be hosting the 5th ECREA Journalism Studies section conference in Groningen, The Netherlands, on April 9th and 10th 2026. Scholars can opt for either open submissions, or thematic submissions around our conference theme: 'Journalism studies: the threads behind the trends'.

PhD Colloquium

The day before the main conference, Dr. Sandra Banjac and Dr. Marilia Gehrke, together with the section’s YECREA representative Dr. Bissie Anderson, will organize the 6th ECREA Journalism Studies Section PhD Colloquium on 8 April 2026 at the University of Groningen. Further details about this event will soon be published on this webpage.

Conference Organization

The conference will be hosted by the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, organized by Dr. Joëlle Swart, Dr. Frank Harbers, Dr. Marilia Gehrke, Dr. Sandra Banjac and Dr. Scott Eldridge.

Conference program and presentations

Registration for the conference has now closed. You can find the program for the main conference in this PDF. The conference will be held at the Academy Building of the University of Groningen (address: Broerstraat 5). The Academy Building is located in the city center, a 15 minutes walk from the main train station.

Sessions have been planned for 90 minutes each, with typically five presentations per session. To allow ample time for discussion, we ask all presenting authors to keep their presentations to a maximum of 12 minutes. After all presentations are finished, there is time for questions to ensure a lively debate in which the different presentations can be connected to each other. In the rooms, you will be able to connect your laptop to the screens via HDMI (if you have a Macbook, please remember to bring a converter). Alternatively, if you will not have a laptop with you, you can bring your presentation on a USB stick to be plugged into the room's computer. Tech support will be available during all sessions.

The welcome reception on Wednesday evening will take place at restaurant NOK, located on the rooftop floor of Forum Groningen (Nieuwe Markt 1). Forum Groningen is the city’s cultural center, hosting the city’s public library, a cinema, exhibitions, restaurants and bars, and much more. If you are new to Groningen, this is the perfect place to start: from the restaurant and its viewing platform above, you can see all of the city.

The conference dinner will be held on Thursday evening at Het Feithhuis (Martinikerkhof 10), right across the Martini Church, starting at 19.00h.

Getting to Groningen

The city of Groningen is two hours from Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport by train. When exiting the baggage hall at Schiphol Airport, follow the signs ‘To the trains’. The platforms are located on level -1, just below the arrivals hall. If your credit or debit card supports contactless payment, you can simply tap your card at one of the NS check-in points (yellow poles, it will beep once and flash green to signal that you are ‘checked in’). When arriving in Groningen, tap the same card again at the turnstiles to exit the platform. The fee for your journey is then automatically charged to your account. If you prefer, or if your bank card does not support contactless payment, you can also buy a paper train ticket from the yellow-blue ticket machines in the arrivals/departures hall at Schiphol.

For train schedules and to plan your trip, check https://www.ns.nl or https://www.9292ov.nl.

Staying in Groningen

Groningen has a variety of hotels in different price categories. Options within walking distance of the conference venue include:

Hotel Halbert
Hotel Corps du Garde
Leonardo Hotel
Martini Hotel
Flonk Hotel Groningen Centre

Questions?

If you have any corrections or questions, contact the conference organizing committee at journalismconferences rug.nl.

Last modified:07 April 2026 12.50 p.m.