IAMCR invites applications for the thematic award Reformulation of Media Production in a Global Context of Automation: AI, social platforms, algorithms, robots, generative technological innovation. The awards will recognise outstanding academic work that advances our understanding of how automation reshapes media production practices worldwide.
About the award
The award recognises scholarly work that critically and innovatively examines the evolving role of automation in media production. Relevant topics include transformations brought by artificial intelligence, social platforms, algorithmic systems, robotics, and generative technologies across audiovisual, digital, radio, news, advertising, and other media-production environments.
Research may address, for example:
- Transformation of production routines through AI.
- Automation of creative and technical tasks, including text, image, video, audio and podcast work.
- Labour changes driven by continuous technological innovation.
- Tensions between innovation, human creativity and technological dependence.
- Comparative and global analyses, including work centred on the Global South.
The award has a broad interdisciplinary scope involving production studies, political economy, labour studies, technology studies, policy, sociology of work, and related fields. Eligible papers may be submitted to any IAMCR section or working group.
Awarded papers will receive a grant of USD 750. There will be no ranking among awarded papers. The Award Selection Committee may select up to three papers, or fewer, or none.
Requirements
To be selected for the 2026 Media Production Automation Award, papers must demonstrate scholarly excellence, originality, and a clear and substantive focus on the award theme.
Eligibility:
- Open to scholars at all career stages.
- Papers must have been accepted for presentation at IAMCR 2026 by one of IAMCR's sections or working groups. See the calls for proposals of IAMCR's thematic sections and working groups
- Papers should have a maximum of 7,000 words (abstract and references will not count towards the paper limit)
- Work must not have be published or firmly committed elsewhere
- Applicants must be current IAMCR members for the year 2026 (individual or institutional).
- IAMCR 2026 will offer several awards recognising outstanding academic work submitted to the conference. A paper may be submitted to only one of the following: the Herbert Schiller Award, the Decolonising the Digital Award, the Reformulation of Media Production in a Global Context of Automation Award, or the Urban Communication Award.
Procedure
- An abstract of the paper must be submitted to any IAMCR section or working group in response to the 2026 calls for papers.
- The full paper must be received by 31 March 2026.
- Only papers with abstracts accepted for presentation at IAMCR 2026 may be considered for the award.
- Each of the three awards comprises a cash prize of USD 750.
- The Award Selection Committee will select up to three papers, but can decide to award fewer or none. Decisions of the Award Selection Committee will be final.
- Award-winning papers will be considered for publication in the journal Interactions.
- If an award is made, the author(s) will be notified by 28 April.
Deadlines
There are two deadlines to keep in mind:
- 3 February 2026– Deadline to submit the paper's abstract to IAMCR Galway 2026
- 31 March 2026 – Deadline to submit the full paper for award consideration.
Selection Committee
TBA