S-WG election results 2022

Six Sections and Working Groups held elections for their leadership teams in 2022. The voting period ended on 5 July. The results are reported below.

We would like to thank all of the candidates who expressed their willingness to serve as a section or working group officer and also to all who voted.

Congratulations to the new officers!


Crisis, Security and Conflict Communication Working Group

The Crisis, Security and Conflict Communication Working Group currently has one chair and one vice-chair. The chair position was open for election.

Ballot sent to 76 members
29 votes received (38%)

There were two candidates for one chair position:

  • Mahul Brahma (Adamas University, India) received 10 votes (35%)
  • Virpi Salojärvi (University of Vaasa, University of Helsinki, Finland) received 18 votes (62%)
  • There was 1 abstention (3%)

Virpi Salojärvi is elected chair of the working group.

The head of the working group continues as follows:

Chair: Virpi Salojärvi (2022-2026)

Vice-chair: Paul Reilly (2021-2025)


Ethics of Society & Ethics of Communication Working Group

The Ethics of Society & Ethics of Communication Working Group currently has one chair and one vice-chair. A second vice-chair position was open for election.

Ballot sent to 87 members
43 votes received (49%)

There were two candidates for one vice-chair position:

  • Ben-Hur Demeneck (State University of Ponta Grossa, Brazil) received 19 votes (44%)
  • Kanchan K. Malik (University of Hyderabad, India) received 22 votes (51%)
  • There were 2 abstentions (5%)

Kanchan K. Malik is elected vice-chair of the working group.

The new head of the working group is:

Chair: Elvira García (2021-2025)

Vice-chairs: María Teresa Nicolás (2021-2025) and Kanchan K. Malik (2022-2026)


Global Media Policy Working Group

The Global Media Policy Working Group currently has two co-chairs and one vice-chair. A second vice-chair position was open for election.

Ballot sent to 70 members
36 votes received (51%)

There was one candidate for one vice-chair position:

  • Sara Bannerman (McMaster University, Canada) received 34 votes (94%)
  • There were 2 abstentions (6%)

Sara Bannerman is elected vice-chair of the working group.

The new head of the working group is:

Co-chairs: Arne Hintz and Claudia Padovani (2020-2024)

Vice-chairs: Preeti Raghunath (2020-2024) and Sara Bannerman (2022-2026)


Media Production Analysis Working Group

The Media Production Analysis Working Group currently has two co-chairs. One co-chair position was open for election.

Ballot sent to 93 members
47 votes received (51%)

There were two candidates for one co-chair position:

  • Concha Edo (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) received 28 votes (60%)
  • Arezou Zalipour (Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand) received 16 votes (34%)
  • There were 3 abstentions (6%)

Concha Edo is elected co-chair of the working group.

The new head of the working group is:

Co-chairs: Anna Zoellner (2019-2023) and Concha Edo (2022-2026)


Political Economy Section

The Political Economy Section currently has one chair and three vice-chairs. The section decided to change the composition of the head to two co-chairs and two vice-chairs. Two co-chair and one vice-chair positions were open for election.

Ballot sent to 160 members
86 votes received (54%)

There were two candidates for two co-chair positions:

  • Ben Birkinbine (University of Nevada, Reno, USA) received 54 votes (63%)
  • Gabriela Martínez (University of Oregon, USA) received 67 votes (78%)
  • There were 9 abstentions (10%)

Ben Birkinbine and Gabriela Martínez are elected co-chairs of the section.

There were 2 candidates for 1 position as vice-chair:

  • Randy Nichols (University of Washington Tacoma, USA) received 30 votes (35%)
  • Mandy Tröger (Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Germany) received 45 votes (52%)
  • There were 11 abstentions (13%)

Mandy Tröger is elected vice-chair of the section.

The new head of the section is:

Co-chairs: Ben Birkinbine and Gabriela Martínez (2022-2026)

Vice-chairs: Yu Hong (2019-2023) and Mandy Tröger (2022-2026)


Rural Communication Working Group

The Rural Communication Working Group currently has two co-chairs. Both positions were open for election.

Ballot sent to 39 members
22 votes received (56%)

There were two candidates for two positions as co-chair:

  • Sarah Cardey (University of Reading, UK) received 18 votes (82%)
  • Rico Lie (Wageningen University, The Netherlands) received 14 votes (64%)
  • There were 2 abstentions (9%)

Sarah Cardey and Rico Lie are elected co-chairs of the working group.

The head of the working group for the 2022 to 2026 period will be:

Co-chairs: Sarah Cardey and Rico Lie