The research group MEKK at OsloMet, in cooperation with the Fritt Ord Foundation, is pleased to announce the call for papers for the 11th annual Conference on the Safety of Journalists. The conference will take place during the first week of November, in connection with the UN’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.
Over the years, the MEKK conferences have become an important meeting point for professionals and organisations working on journalist safety. These gatherings have led to valuable academic partnerships and have resulted in collaborative papers, workshops, and publications, by bringing together practicing journalists, educators, and researchers.
Theme for 2025 – Journalism Under Pressure – Reporting in Authoritarian Democracies
Converging Threats – Blurring Lines Between Democratic Backsliding and Authoritarian Façades
We are currently seeing two parallel and concerning developments. On the one hand, some established democracies are gradually taking into use techniques often linked to authoritarian systems. These include surveillance technologies, SLAPP lawsuits, manipulation of media ownership, and regulatory restrictions limiting press freedom. On the other hand, authoritarian regimes increasingly adopt superficial democratic elements such as controlled elections or managed civil society organisations to appear more legitimate while keeping strict control.
The 11th annual conference on the safety of journalists will explore these developments through two connected research tracks. The goal is to bring together journalists and researchers from different countries and contexts to share strategies and knowledge that can support the safety of journalism under such pressure.
Track One – Eroding from Within – The Updated Authoritarian Playbook in Democracies
This track will explore how established democracies are undermining press freedom from within. Governments are using legal, economic, and technological tools to slowly weaken the protections that have traditionally supported journalism. Rather than using direct repression, these governments apply more subtle but very effective methods to control or reduce the influence of independent media.
Topics of interest may include:
- Use of legal means such as lawsuits and regulatory complexity to target media
- Surveillance technologies applied to journalists in democratic countries
- Financial pressures including advertising and funding restrictions
- Online harassment, trolling, and algorithmic visibility suppression
- Environments encouraging self-censorship
- Campaigns that aim to delegitimise critical journalism
- Institutional and legal responses to democratic decline
- Networks and alliances that offer support across borders
Track Two – Democratic Façades – Working in Authoritarian Systems That Use Democratic Language
This track will examine how journalists carry out their work in countries that use the appearance of democracy while functioning in authoritarian ways. These regimes often allow some opposition and media space, but within tight boundaries designed to maintain control and avoid true accountability.
Topics of interest may include:
- Working under symbolic pluralism and managed political competition
- Censorship strategies that avoid open bans but still limit freedom
- Experiences of journalists working in exile
- Securing communication and protecting sources in high-risk environments
- Use of coded language and storytelling to bypass censorship
- Avoiding co-optation by state-aligned actors
- Making use of international institutions to protect journalists
- Cooperation between journalists across authoritarian contexts
Special Focus – Vulnerable Communities and Press Freedom
This year’s conference will also pay attention to how violations of press freedom affect vulnerable groups. Journalists who belong to or report on these communities often face extra risks. We especially encourage proposals that include feminist, Indigenous, decolonial, and queer perspectives. Topics may include:
- Attacks on journalists reporting on marginalised communities
- Different treatment of journalists from minority backgrounds
- Intersectional challenges and risks
- Safe ways of reporting on sensitive topics
- International cooperation and protection mechanisms
