On June 27, 2026, the IAMCR Working Group “Communication in Post- and Neo-Authoritarian Societies,” in collaboration with colleagues from the universities of Greifswald, Bournemouth, and Stirling, organized a pre-conference on the topic “Representations of (Post-)Industrial Communities: Voice, Visibility, and Value.”
Twelve papers from across North America, Europe and Asia – including scholars from the United States, China, Germany and the United Kingdom – presented historical and contemporary research on public representations of deindustrialized communities, as well as on their lived experiences, centering on themes such as journalists’ biases in reporting deindustrialization, belonging and identity within these communities, and media content analyses of coverage on the topic.
The pre-conference received support through funding from IAMCR’s S/WG Project Fund.