Dear GCSC Division Members,
Happy New Year! After a record-breaking submission cycle, we’re thrilled about the momentum heading into ICA26 in Cape Town, South Africa. Here are key updates, deadlines, and opportunities for our community.
*******ICA26: SUBMISSIONS AND REVIEW PROCESS*******
For the ICA26 conference in Cape Town, the Global Communication and Social Change Division (GCSCD) experienced its strongest submission cycle in the past five years. The division received a total of 253 paper and extended abstract submissions and 17 pre-formed panel proposals, representing a 45% increase compared to ICA 2025 in Denver. These strong numbers place GCSCD as the sixth-largest ICA division in terms of submissions and sessions, underscoring both the vitality of the division and the success of recent efforts to expand its reach and visibility within the association.
The division has been allocated 27 sessions for the Cape Town conference. Following the completion of the review process, the acceptance rate for pre-formed panels stands at 38%, while papers and extended abstracts were accepted at an approximate rate of 41%. We extend our sincere thanks to the 290 reviewers whose time and expertise made this process possible. Official acceptance notifications will be sent by ICA on January 14, after which we’ll share details about travel bursaries and other important information for this year’s conference.
*******CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: ICA26 PRECONFERENCE – AFRICAN AND GLOBAL MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF AFRICA*******
We’re thrilled to announce the ICA 2026 Preconference “African and Global Media Representations of Africa”, which invites extended abstracts exploring how Africa is narrated, imagined, and negotiated in mediated discourse—both within the continent and globally. The preconference encourages scholarship grounded in African contexts, theories, and practices, moving beyond familiar critiques to examine institutional, material, technological, and epistemic conditions shaping media representations.
Date & Venue: June 3, 2026, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
Registration: Free
Submission: 800–1000-word abstracts by February 15, 2026
Details & Submission Link: https://ica-gcsc.org/activities/prepost_conferences/african-and-global-media-representations-of-africa/
Selected papers will be invited for a peer-reviewed journal Special Issue. This preconference is supported by the Global Communication and Social Change, Journalism Studies, and Visual Communication Studies Divisions of ICA.
*******RECENT PUBLICATIONS*******
Arafat, R., & Harb, Z. (2025). Conceptualizing transnational hybrid media systems: A case study on diasporic pan‑Arab media in the UK. Global Media & Communication, 21(3), 251–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/17427665251382392
Aynalem, D., & Zerai, A. (2025). Media’s portrayal of the Nile colonial treaties and its implications for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam disputes. Global Media & Communication, 21(3), 273–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/17427665251384947
Barredo-Ibáñez, D., & Barrera-Jerez, L. (2025). Ibero-American Digital Journalism and Social Media Integration: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X in Spanish-Speaking Countries. Journalism Practice, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2025.2586049
Gao, Y., Li, J., & He, J. (2025). Hybridizing tradition and technology: Global reception of “Black Myth: Wukong” as a vehicle for Chinese cultural identity and international media flows. Global Media and China. https://doi.org/10.1177/20594364251385203
Han, X., & Jiang, M. (2026). From laissez-faire to regulatory winter? Regulating Chinese platforms at the crossroads of antitrust, industrial policy, and geopolitics. International Communication Gazette. https://doi.org/10.1177/17480485251405588
Szczepanik, P. (2025). Streaming against the current: Reframing media power in Central and Eastern Europe through the rise of a regional media giant. International Communication Gazette. https://doi.org/10.1177/17480485251406832
Willems, W. (2026). Global communication and the scalar politics of race: Tensions in transnational articulations of (anti)-racism(s). International Journal of Communication, 20. https://doi.org/10.65476/c4ydn991
*******SOCIAL MEDIA*******
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That’s all for this edition. For questions or suggestions for future newsletters, contact our Secretary, Pablo Morales, at P.S.Morales@lse.ac.uk.
ICA Global Communication/Social Change Division
Wenhong Chen (University of Texas at Austin, USA), Chair
Dani Madrid-Morales (University of Sheffield, UK), Vice-Chair
Pablo Morales (LSE, UK), Secretary
Sara Monaci (Politecnico di Torino, Italy), Internationalisation Liaison
Florence Zivaishe Madenga (Boston College, USA), Student and Early Career Scholars Representative