May 30, 2025

Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow

Deadline: April 4, 2025

Half-day Unconference & Book Launch

Organised by members of Sociological & Cultural Studies and the Glasgow University Media Group in partnership with the Glasgow Latin American Research Network at the University of Glasgow.

Cost: Free

This dynamic half-day unconference combines the launch of the edited book Media Capture in Africa and Latin America: Power & Resistance (Palgrave, 2025) with a participant-led dialogue that brings together established scholars, early career scholars, journalists, and civil society organisations to explore the particularities of media capture – the covert instrumentalisation of the news media by various centres of power – in the Global South.

For decades, alarm bells have sounded over severe forms of media influence, and, in an era of deepening media control and shrinking press freedoms, the phenomenon of media capture has emerged as a defining challenge in the Global South. While much scholarly attention has historically focused on established capitalist societies in the Global North, regions of the Majority World, such as Africa and Latin America, reveal distinct and evolving forms of control. Governments, corporate interests, and powerful elites are increasingly exerting influence over news ecosystems, shaping narratives to serve their own agendas. From direct ownership and regulatory pressures to the subtle forces of digital platform dominance, underpinned by the growing influence of Big Tech platforms and algorithm-driven influence that shapes public discourse and suppresses independent journalism. Media capture thus manifests not as a singular process but as a complex and evolving system of control. Yet, resistance persists. Independent journalists, alternative media, and civil society actors continue to challenge these forces, deploying innovative strategies to push back against censorship and distortion. However, much remains to be understood about the viability and scalability of such countermeasures, as media ecosystems become increasingly fragmented and digitalised.

This inclusive and dynamic unconference is an opportunity to share current expertise and address the research gap on the topic in the Global South. It will include a book launch, unconference and roundtable of civil society experts.

We invite researchers working in this area – particularly early career researchers (ECRs), who would benefit from the opportunity to present their research and network with senior colleagues, journalists, and civil society organisations – to submit short topic proposals or discussion prompts that outline your topic and key questions for discussion while offering empirical or theoretical insights. These may include (but are not limited to) the following: 

- Media capture as contested term in the Global South

- Exploring the distinctive forms and manifestations of media capture in the Global South

- The increasingly sophisticated nature of media capture, focussing on Big Tech/AI/algorithms

- Distinctive forms of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech in the Global South

- The impact of media capture in the context of Sustainable Development Goals

- How transnational actors, media outlets/journalists and civil society are responding to media capture

Please submit your brief topic proposal (max 50 words) for a 5 minutes presentation and a short bio (max 50 words) by 4th April 2025 here:  https://forms.office.com/e/mgQ3mSp1Xr  

Notifications of Acceptance will be sent out on 15th April 2025.

For questions, please contact the conference convenors Dr Hayes Mabweazara and Dr Beth Pearson: mediacapture-globalsouth@glasgow.ac.uk