pca award

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2021: Winner and Nominees

Six publications by scholars from Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America are nominated for this year’s edition of the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award. The Award was granted to Public Service Media and the Law: Theory and Practice in Europe(Routledge 2021) – a recent book by Karen Donders (Belgium).

On April 14, 2021, the Selection Committee reviewed books submitted for this year’s edition of the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award – an award supporting significant publications in media systems, media policies, media ethics, and public service media. Scholarly contributions to the research and practice of media and democracy in 2020 and 2021 were submitted by members of the Leadership team of the International Association of Public Service Media Researchers (IAPMR), Editors, and Associate Editors of “Central European Journal of Communication” (CEJC), previous Award winners and the Selection Committee.

The Committee evaluated all of the submitted publications through three highly interwoven criteria:

1) methodological correctness,

2) contribution to media knowledge, and

3) impact on democratic society.

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2021 was granted to:

Karen Donders (2021). Public Service Media and the Law: Theory and Practice in Europe. London and New York: Routledge. For raising the importance of a healthy public service media (PSM) in today’s democracies, as well as a brave investigation of normative theories of media with the PSM practice in Western and Eastern Europe.

Professor Karen Donders is the Director of Public Value at Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT) – public service media in Flanders. Prior to joining VRT, she worked as a full professor at Vrije University Brussel, Belgium. Her previous publications include monographs, edited collections, and scholarly papers on the European media policy and innovation in public service media.

The following books were nominated for the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2020:

		1) Péter Bajomi-Lázár (2020). A patrónusi-kliensimédiarendszer.Magyarország 2010–2018 [The Patron-Client Media System. Hungary 2010–2018]. Budapest: Napvilág. For explaining the ongoing party colonization phenomenon in the Hungarian media and for advancing media theory with a set of practices responsible for illiberal media turns in Central and Eastern Europe.
		2) Claire Bond Potter (2020). Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked Us on Politics and Broke Our Democracy. New York: Basic Books. For transdisciplinary scholarly examination of the close ties between media, politics, and the rule of law as well as for going beyond scholarly analysis and engaging with non-academic forms of writing.
		3) Zrinjka Peruško, Dina Vozab & Antonija Čuvalo (2021).Comparing Post-Socialist Media Systems.The Case of South East Europe. London and New York: Routledge.  For a novel methodology and holistic overview of comparative media studies in the Western Balkans, as well as a reconceptualization of traditional media systems criteria via a blend of modernism and socialism.
		4) Agnieszka Stępińska, Artur Lipiński, Dorota Piontek & Agnieszka Hess (2020).  Populist Political Communication in Poland: Political Actors – Media – Citizens.Berlin: Logos Verlag. For an exhaustive image of populist discourse based on comparative qualitative and quantitative methodologies, alongside offering useful recommendations to stakeholders engaged in political communication in Poland and beyond.
		5) Howard Tumber & Silvio Waisbord (2021).The Routledge Companion to Media Disinformation and Populism. New York: Routledge. For an in-depth examination of misinformation and populist rhetoric on today’s democracies and for raising the importance of truth and transparency in public political discourses.

The Award Ceremony took place on September 28, 2021, during the online Closing Plenary of the RIPE@2021 Conference "Public Service Media's Contribution to Society". On behalf of the Selection Committee, Michał Głowacki awarded Professor Karen Donders the Certificate.

Photos: RIPE@2021 online Closing Plenary; Karen Donders receives the Award Certificate from Michał Głowacki.

On behalf of the Committee and all the stakeholders, we warmly congratulate the Winner and the Nominees!

Michał Głowacki and Dagmara Sidyk

Photos by: Dagmara Sidyk; VRT.

Terms of Procedure
The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award
for an outstanding publication on media and communications

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award was established to mark the 5th anniversary of the passing of Karol Jakubowicz. The Polish Communication Association and Karol Jakubowicz’ friends have agreed to establish annual editions of the Award. The Award was launched to honor the memory of the outstanding contributions of Karol Jakubowicz as media expert of Poland’s National Broadcasting Council, the Council of Europe, the European Broadcasting Union, UNESCO, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The Award is funded by Małgorzata Semil-Jakubowicz.

The goal of the Award is to recognize and promote scientific publications that make an original and significant contribution to communications and media, in particular with regard to the role of media in democratic processes and the importance of journalistic ethics.

§ 1

1. The Award is granted annually by the Selection Committee.
2. Members of the Committee are: Małgorzata Semil-Jakubowicz (Honorary Member of the Committee and Funder), Iwona Hofman (Chair of the Committee), Alicja Jaskiernia, Hanna Machińska, Michał Głowacki, Beata Klimkiewicz, Elżbieta Matynia, Halina Rostek, Jerzy Olędzki and the President of the International Association of Public Media Researchers (IAPMR).
3. The Committee may be expanded by inviting previous recipients of the Award to join. 
4. The Committee is managed by the Chair.

§ 2

1. Submissions of publications for the Award are made by members of the Selection Committee, previous Recipients of the Award, the Editor-in-Chef, Executive Editor and Associate Editors of the “Central European Journal of Communication”, as well as members of the Leadership Team of the IAPMR, by the date indicated by the Chair of the Committee on the website of the Polish Communication Association (PCA).
2. The following scholarly works can be submitted for the Award: monographs, academic studies, research reports or other scholarly works published in the year of the Award itself or in the preceding year, if not previously submitted.
3. Every person entitled to make a submission may put forward a maximum of two proposals, with justification.
4. Submission is made via an evaluation form; a template of the evaluation form is attached to the Terms of Procedure.

§ 3

1. In the first stage the Committee, by a simple majority of votes, nominates up to 6 scholarly works for the Award. The decision is announced as a list of Nominees on the PCA’s website.
2. In the second stage, the Committee selects the recipient of the Award by a simple majority of votes.
3. Members who are unable to participate in the meeting of the Selection Committee can send their corresponding votes prior to the meeting of the Committee. These votes are taken into account in the voting procedure.
4. The prize of the Award is 7,000 PLN and an Award Certificate.
5. In any given year the Award Committee reserves the right not to grant an Award, or to divide it among multiple recipients.

§ 4

1. Information about the recipient of the Award along with the justification are announced publicly on April 28th, the day of the passing of Karol Jakubowicz.
2. Information on the date and place of the award ceremony is announced on the PCA’s website.

§ 5

The Chair of the Committee has the decisive vote in matters under dispute or those which are not covered by the Terms of Procedure.

Attachment

The template of justification for submitting a scholarly work

1. Evaluation of the originality and methodological correctness of the publication (max. 250 words).
2. Evaluation of the publication’s contribution to studies on media, democracy, human rights and the rule of law (max. 250 words). 
3. Evaluation of the publication’s contribution to society: practical implementation for media and societal awareness (max. 250 words).
4. Additional comments and recommendations (max. 250 words).

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2022: Winner and Nominees

Four publications were nominated for this year’s edition of the international Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award. The Award was granted to Polish Private Radio Broadcasting in the Period of Transformation 1989-1995(Peter Lang 2022) – a recent book by Urszula Doliwa (University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland).

On April 5, 2022, the Selection Committee reviewed proposals submitted for the 5th edition of the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award – a mark of acknowledgment and support of significant publications in media systems, media policies, media ethics, and public service media. Scholarly contributions from 2021 and 2022 were recommended by members of the Leadership Team of the International Association of Public Service Media Researchers (IAPMR), Editors and Associate Editors of “Central European Journal of Communication” (CEJC), alongside previous Award winners and the Committee.

The Committee evaluated all of the submitted publications through three highly interwoven criteria:

1. methodological correctness,
2. contribution to media knowledge and
3. impact on democratic society,

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2022 was granted to:

Urszula Doliwa (2022). The Pirate Waves. Polish Private Radio Broadcasting in the Period of Transformation 1989-1995. Berlin, Bern, Brussels, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Wien: Peter Lang. For a media policy-driven attempt to identify the early stages of democratic media market development, followed by a comparative perspective on radio transformations in Central and Eastern Europe.

Urszula Doliwa is Associate Professor and Head of the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. Since the start of her academic career, her research interests have been centered on radio and non-profit media, which is why her previous publications include monographs, edited collections and scholarly papers on media systems, community media, and radio broadcasting.

The following books were also nominated for the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2022:

		1) Nico Carpentier (2021). Iconoclastic Controversies: A Photographic Inquiry Into Antagonistic Nationalism. Bristol, UK: Intellect. For an original examination of visual communication, which results in valuable research on the contribution of art to the national identity, cultural path-dependencies and contemporary understanding of democracy.
		2) Katarzyna Konarska (2021). Media publiczne a demokracja: teoria i praktyka. Media publiczne Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej [The Theory and Practice of Public Service Media and Democracy: Public Service Media in Central and Eastern Europe].  Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. For a mature study of public service media and its links with democracy, a reference point for future public service media reforms and scholarly studies in Central and Eastern Europe.
		3) Agnieszka Węglińska (2021). Public Television in Poland. Political Pressure and Public Service Media in a Post-communist Country. Abingdon and New York, US: Routledge. For a valued combination of systemic and organisational perspectives to add to the state-of-the-art of Poland’s public service media., as well as for qualitative methods to highlight organisational and cultural barriers to adaptation and change of public service media.

Moreover, the Selection Committee acknowledges The Public Service Media and Public Service Internet Manifesto by Christian Fuchs, Klaus Unterberger and researchers from the InnoPSM(Research Network on Innovation in Public Service Media Policies). The Committee notes the goals of InnoPSM do meet the idea of the Award but need further dissemination. It can also serve as a reference point to extend future Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award beyond the scholarly publications, a subject for future editions. You can sign the manifesto here.

The Award Ceremony took place on September 22, 2022, during the opening of the Polish Communication Association's VI Congress "Media and Society in the Age of Platforms, Algorithms and Data", in the European Solidarity Centre (Gdańsk, Poland).

Photo: The Award Ceremony in Gdańsk, Poland, on September 22, 2022: Katarzyna Konarska, Urszula Doliwa, Małgorzata Semil-Jakubowicz and Iwona Hofman. 

On behalf of the Committee and all the stakeholders, we warmly congratulate the Winner and the Nominees!

Dagmara Sidyk-Furman and Michał Głowacki

Photo by: Beata Użarowska (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań)

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2023: Winners and Nominees

Three publications were nominated for this year’s edition of the international Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award. The Award was granted to Datafication of Public Opinion and the Public Sphere: How Extraction Replaced Expression of Opinion (London, New York: Anthem Press, 2022) – a recent book by Slavko Splichal (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia). A special Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2023 was awarded to Jolanta Kurska for her bookWieczny powrót Dreyfusa (Eng. Dreyfus: A Perpetual Comeback; Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog, 2022).

On April 12, 2023, the Selection Committee reviewed books submitted for this year’s edition of the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award – an award supporting significant publications in media systems, media policies, media ethics, and public service media. Scholarly contributions to the research and practice of media and democracy in 2022 and 2023 were submitted by members of the Leadership team of the International Association of Public Service Media Researchers (IAPMR), Editors, and Associate Editors of “Central European Journal of Communication” (CEJC), previous Award winners and the Selection Committee.

The Committee evaluated all of the submitted publications through three highly interwoven criteria:

• methodological correctness,
• contribution to media knowledge,
• potential impact on democratic society.

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2023 was granted to:

Slavko Splichal (2022). Datafication of Public Opinion and the Public Sphere: How Extraction Replaced Expression of Opinion. London, New York: Anthem Press. Awarded for the critical-normative assessment of public opinion, the cornerstone of a democratic society, alongside an innovative conceptualisation for public opinion and publicness in the age of algorithms and data.

Slavko Splichal is a Professor of Communication and Public Opinion at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and an associate member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Slavko Splichal is the founder and director of the European Institute for Communication and Culture - based in Ljubljana - and the scholarly journal “Javnost-The Public”. Splichal’s research interests include communication theory, media politics, public opinion, and communication research methods and he is also an expert in examining media and democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. Furthermore, Slavko Splichal acknowledges the impact of Karol Jakubowicz’s research in the Prologue, which summarises the author’s longitudinal scientific interests.

The following publications were also nominated for the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2023:

		1) R. Eugene Parta (2022). Under the Radar. Tracking Western Radio Listeners in the Soviet Union. Budapest, Vienna, New York: Central European University Press. Nominated for a holistic approach to actions by Radio Liberty to reach their audience in the USSR during the Cold War, as well as for elaborating on language manipulation and propaganda in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
		2) Sara Bentivegna, Rossella Rega (2022). Searching for the Dimensions of Today’s Political Incivility. Social Media + Society, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221114430. Nominated for describing the societal and individual foundations of public and political behavior alongside a scholarly explanation of the intent to delegitimise public debate – the value for ongoing and future political campaign research.

It is worth to mention that for the first time in the Award’s history, a scientific article was nominated to the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award (“Searching for the Dimensions of Today’s Political Incivility”, published in Social Media + Society).

Moreover, the Selection Committee awards the excellence of “Wieczny powrót Dreyfusa” (Eng. Dreyfus: A Perpetual Comeback), a book by Jolanta Kurska, with a special Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2023.

The publication was acknowledged for raising awareness about where the sources of polarization in society lie and as a warning sign that the Dreyfus Affair is universal. Therefore, the Committee notes that the theme of this collection of essays meets the idea of the Award and needs further dissemination.

The Award Ceremony took place on May 15, 2023, during the opening of the scientific conference "Studia i Perspektywy Medioznawcze" (Eng. Media Studies: Research and Perspectives), organized by the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication at the University of Wrocław (in Wrocław, Poland).

On behalf of the Committee and all the stakeholders, we warmly congratulate the Winners and the Nominees!

Dagmara Sidyk-Furman and Michał Głowacki

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2024: Winners and Nominees

Three publications were nominated for this year’s edition of the international Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award. The Award was granted to Opinia publiczna online(Eng. Public Opinion Online; Lublin: Wydawnictwo UMCS, 2023) – a recent book by Ewa Nowak-Teter (Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland). A special Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2024 was awarded to Piotr Pytlakowski for his book Strefa niepamięci (Eng. The Zone of No Memory; Warszawa: Agora, 2023).

On April 4, 2024, the Selection Committee reviewed books submitted for this year’s edition of the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award – an award supporting significant publications in media systems, media policies, media ethics, and public service media. Scholarly contributions to the research and practice of media and democracy in 2023 and 2024 were submitted by members of the Leadership team of the International Association of Public Service Media Researchers (IAPMR), Editors, and Associate Editors of “Central European Journal of Communication” (CEJC), previous Award winners and the Selection Committee.

Through evaluation of three highly interwoven criteria: 1) methodological correctness, 2) contribution to media knowledge and 3) impact on democratic society,

the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2024 was granted to:

Ewa Nowak-Teter (2023). Opinia publiczna online(Eng. Public Opinion Online). Lublin: Wydawnictwo UMCS. For comprehensive and multidimensional coverage of the public opinion in the real world and the virtual sphere, which translated into the identification of key problems of its functioning in democratic systems - issues that are important for policy makers and experts due to the increasing social conflicts and the growing trend toward polarization.

Ewa Nowak-Teter is a political scientist, professor in the Department of Mediatization at the Institute of Social Communication and Media Sciences at the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. She is also the Editor-in-chief of the scientific journal "Mediatization Studies" and the Chair of the Mediatization research section of the Polish Communication Association. Her research interests include mediatization of public and private spheres, media logics, public opinion online and political communication. In 2021, she was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit for her work in the advancement of science.

The following publications were also nominated for the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award in 2024:

		1)Tiziano Bonini & Emiliano Treré (2024). Algorithms of Resistance.The Everyday Fight against Platform Power. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Nominated for the originality of its theme and message, consisting of showing - contrary to the dominant narrative - the empowerment and agency of individuals in the struggle for democracy and justice.
		2) Gergely Gosztonyi (2023). Censorship from Plato to Social Media. The Complexity of Social Media’s Content Regulation and Moderation Practices.Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46529-1. Nominated for its timeless analysis of various cases of censorship and constructive solutions to regulate the Internet, supporting the idea of a democratic society.

Moreover, the Selection Committee acknowledged Strefa niepamięci (Eng. The Zone of No Memory), a book written by Piotr Pytlakowski, with a special Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2024. The publication was acknowledged for the striking image of the mechanisms of evil, which do not change, but only gain new attributions.

This high-class reportage about the human conscience and the drama of our humanity, which presence we experience every day, is a documentation of a very important part of our history and present day.

The Committee noted that the success of last year's special award shows that it is necessary to continue rewarding journalistic publications that resonate with the idea of the competition and at the same time go beyond the academic framework.

The Award Ceremony took place on June 10, 2024 during the plenary meeting of the Committee on Social Communication and Media Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. The special award was presented on April 28, 2024, on the 11th anniversary of the Patron's passing.

On behalf of the Committee and all the stakeholders, we warmly congratulate the Winners and the Nominees!

Dagmara Sidyk-Furman and Michał Głowacki

The Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2025: Submissions

The Award Committee affiliated with the Polish Communication Association has launched the submissions for the 8^th Edition of the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award. 

The Selection Committee, the previous Award winners, and the networks of the International Association of Public Service Media Researchers (IAPMR) and the "Central European Journal of Communication" (CEJC) are tasked to recommend scholarly works published in 2024 and 2025. The submission may consist of a maximum of two publications and can only be made via an electronic form (available to authorized persons) till 31 March 2025.

The Selection Committee will then nominate up to 6 outstanding scholarly contributions in democracy, human rights, media ethics, media policy and public service media, and then decide on the Winner of the Award. All the submissions will be evaluated by the Selection Committee via three highly interwoven criteria:

• methodological correctness,
• contribution to media knowledge,
• potential impact on democratic society.

The list of this year’s nominees will be published in April 2025, while the Award winner will be traditionally announced on April 28, the day of the passing of dr. Karol Jakubowicz.

Following the example of last year's edition, the Selection Committee is considering awarding a special prize to a publication of a journalistic and popularizing nature, dedicated to the subject of media and democracy.

Text: Dagmara Sidyk-Furman

Cover image: Maja Sosnowska