The UDC 2026 Conference Has Concluded!

The Union for Democratic Communication gathered at Ithaca College from October 22–24, 2026, for three days of critical media scholarship, conversation, and community. Scholars, journalists, artists, and activists came together around the work of defending democratic communication in an authoritarian age. Panels, workshops, and roundtables invited insights and critical conversations about topics ranging frompress freedom, disinformation and propaganda, surveillance and AI, race and policing, academic freedom, political economy, and critical media literacy

We were honored to host a celebration of Project Censored’s 50th anniversary, anchored by the plenary “The News That Didn’t Make the News: 50 Years of Project Censored,” and to partner with the Park Center for Independent Media. Our deepest thanks go to the local organizers, our partner organizations, and the students and volunteers whose work made the weekend possible; and to everyone who traveled to Ithaca to make it such a vital gathering.

A special congratulations to Victor Pickard, recipient of the 2026 Dallas Smythe Award, and to Gillian Diebold, recipient of this year’s Brian Murphy Student Paper Award.

We look forward to seeing you at the next UDC, anticipated to be in the Toronto area in 2028.