cmcsCentral European University

About Us

 

The Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) is the hub for media and communication research at the Central European University (CEU), with a mission to advance media and communication scholarship in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. The CMCS produces scholarly and practice-oriented research addressing academic, policy and civil society needs. CMCS promotes pluralism, participation and the democratic potential of the media, and undertakes research that investigates the complexities of media and communication in transition.

Based in Budapest, the CMCS was initiated in 2004 through the joint efforts of the CEU and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. The Center serves as a focal point for an international network of acclaimed scholars and academic institutions; offers innovative courses across several CEU departments; provides training and consultancy; and organizes scholarly exchanges through workshops, lectures and conferences on current developments in the field.

Research

CMCS research interests and priorities include:

  • Media in transition: democratization and development in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond;
  • Media and communication policy: regulations, safeguards and organization across media sectors, digital broadcasting;
  • Fundamental communication and informational rights: freedom of expression, freedom of the media, access to information and privacy protections;
  • Media and civil society: community, alternative and civic media, civil society engagement with policy processes, participation in public discourse;
  • New media and technology: social uses of new technologies, impact of ’new’ media on ’old’ media, social media, convergence and mobile communications.

Teaching

The CMCS offers a Media, Information and Telecommunications Policy Stream as part of the Master in Public Policy, together with CEU's Department of Public Policy, and a Certificate in Political Communication as part of the Master in Political Science, together with the Department of Political Science.

Network

CMCS is part of a global network anchored by the Center for Global Communications Studies (CGCS) at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, that includes the Programme for Media Law and Policy at Oxford and the Stanhoppe Center in London.