PSA Media and Politics Group

Our conference theme is "Navigating Digital Democracy". You can find more information here psatip.uk/tip-news/tip...

Presentations on any aspect of politics and media and/or technology welcome. Travel funds are available for PGRs/ECRs coming to join us in Bournemouth

Conference poster. "Navigating Digital Democracy conference". 8th-9th January 2026 at Bournemouth University, with online conference on 7th January

Submissions are now open for our annual conference, this time with the PSA's Technology, Internet & Policy Group @techpolicy.bsky.social

Join us at Bournemouth University on January 8-9, and/or online for a pre-conference on January 7.

Deadline for submissions is 26 September

⚡ Big news! ⚡ We're thrilled to announce that are teaming up with @psampg.bsky.social to host our *first* joint conference on "Navigating Digital Democracy" 📩 at Bournemouth University on 8-9 Jan, with an online pre-conf session on the 7 Jan - submission deadline is the 26 Sep more details in 🧵

Thank you for chairing a panel Caroline :-)

Thank you for chairing the panel Chrysi :-)

Thank you Sara 😊

Then at 13.30, we've got a panel on Citizen Communication, Politics and the Media.

Finally, at 15.30 we're wrapping up with a panel on Social Media and Politics #PSA25

We're kicking off the final day of #PSA25 with a panel on Mediated Politics and Policymaking. Come join us at 9.30 in The Rep (Suite 3) :-)

Looking forward to some more great panels today in The Rep (Suite 3) #PSA25

At 9.30 we've got presentations relating to Mediated Diplomacy and the 'Nation'

At 13.30 we've got a panel on Setting the Agenda, with presentations on journalism, media and democracy

Today, we've got panels on Polarisation, Populism and dis/misinformation, Memes, Humour and Political Fandom (13.30), and Technology, Media and Politics (15.30) #PSA25

Thank you to everyone who is joining us at #PSA25 this week :-) Especially those presenting their work on our panels.

Media and Politics Group panels are in The Rep Suite 3

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

I’m excited too to engage with panels on environmental and climate politics @psaenvironmental.bsky.social political parties, and political communication and media @psampg.bsky.social

What an amazing two days! Brilliant speakers across all panels and some really interesting ideas to mull over. Thanks to everyone who participated and to my fellow co-cordinators for support along the way. I loved organising our conference. See you all again next time 🙌🏻 #PSAMPG20205

Thanks to everyone who joined us for #PSAMPG2025, and especially to @abirhodes.bsky.social for organising and hosting. We hope you enjoyed the conference and are going away with plenty of food for thought

An important point from Emily in the Q&A - a lot of this abuse gets to challenges over who has the right to represent

#PSAMPG2025

Similar to Emily and Ros' work, Susana talks about a lack of institutional support for women journalists experiencing abuse.

Harassment has become normalised - but there is some support amongst teams of colleagues to protect each other from abusive comments

#PSAMPG2025

Some abusers 'follow' journalists to their personal social media accounts to harass them. A challenge for journalists who need to get their name out there and who should be able to claim credit for their work

#PSAMPG2025

Women journalists sometimes pivot to avoid topics which attract online abuse - however, any topic *can* attract abuse. Journalists are thinking about the impact of abusive commenters on other readers, not only on themselves.

Bylines with photos often lead to abuse based on image

#PSAMPG2025

This research is part of a broader project on the experiences and expectations of women early career journalists, using in-depth interviews.

#PSAMPG2025

It's not only the level of abuse that is different, but types and effects. Women more subjected to threats of sexual violence. Effects can include self-censorship, and moving to different topics. An 'emotional load'

#PSAMPG2025

For early career journalists, social media is seen as essential for launching a career and promoting themselves and their work. Existing literature shows that women journalists are disproportionately targeted for abuse and harassment.

#PSAMPG2025

Lastly, we have Susana Sampaio-Dias, joining us to talk about how early career women journalists experience online abuse and harassment.

#PSAMPG2025

It’s important to consider the consequences of online abuse on political representation in light of the changes in meta’s moderation approach allowing more abuse and harassment to stay online.

There were also some unexpected benefits from using social media as a politician. A sense of 'it's awful, but I still need to be here'. Some had formed strong support networks online that they would not otherwise have, including with other women politicians and activists.

#PSAMPG2025

Participants had not stopped using social media, but they were using it differently. A consensus that political parties need to do more to prepare and support their elected representatives - especially at the local level

#PSAMPG2025

A big range of responses on the question of weather online abuse puts women off engaging in politics as public representatives. Some local representatives turned down opportunities to run for national office in part because of the abuse.

#PSAMPG2025

Extremely challenging to recruit women politicians to participate in the study - a gap between how many people talk about it versus how many wanted to speak to researchers.

#PSAMPG2025

Little work on local councillors and how they experience this, even though they are potentially more often in public meetings where they may receive abuse and intimidation

#PSAMPG2025

Next up, Emily Harmer introduces...Emily Harmer! She's sharing her research with Ros Southern, interviewing women politicians about their experiences of online harassment and abuse and how they manage this

@rosalynd.bsky.social @harm365.bsky.social

#PSAMPG2025

They found that men - both panellists and audience members - were afforded more opportunities to speak, both in Dimbleby and Bruce's Question Time. Male panellists were also more often able to 'capture' the discussion, by interrupting and then being allowed/able to continue

#PSAMPG2025