Book of Abstracts: International Conference Media and Communication Research and Practice, June, 19-20, 2025 Bucharest, Romania

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW The Media and Communication Research and Practice 2025 International Conference was held on 19–20 June 2025 in Bucharest, Romania, in a hybrid format combining in-person and online participation. Organised by the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, University of Bucharest, the conference provided a forum for scholarly exchange on key transformations affecting media, communication, and public life in a digitally mediated environment. The conference brought together 45 papers, authored by 78 researchers, representing 25 academic and research institutions from 15 countries across Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean region. Contributions reflected a broad range of disciplinary perspectives and methodological approaches, highlighting the diversity and international scope of contemporary media and communication research. The programme addressed three main thematic areas: political communication in the context of digital transformation, changes in media systems and journalistic practice, and marketing and strategic communication in the digital age. Across these themes, participants examined issues such as elections and digital populism, trust and disinformation, artificial intelligence and algorithmic governance, journalism education and professional risks, platformised communication, and evolving marketing and advertising practices. The abstracts collected in this volume document the intellectual contributions presented at the conference and offer insight into current debates shaping media and communication scholarship. Together, they reflect ongoing efforts to critically assess the role of communication in democratic processes, institutional change, and cultural production in an increasingly data-driven and platform-dependent public sphere. Selected contributions from the conference were further developed and published in the Romanian Journal of Journalism and Communication (RJJC). The first two issues released following the conference include 10 peer-reviewed articles originating from conference presentations, reflecting both the thematic diversity and scholarly quality of the event. These issues are available online at: https://journals.unibuc.ro/index.php/rjjc/issue/archive