MeSch Project at the IAMCR Annual Conference 2026 in Galway

MeSch Project at the IAMCR Annual Conference 2026 in Galway

From 28 June to 2 July 2026, the Annual Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) took place at the University of Galway in Ireland. The Chair of Communication Management was represented there with the contribution “Back to basics: Musgrave’s merit wants renewed” from the Leibniz ScienceCampus Postdigital Participation.

The paper is part of the project MeSch – Meritorischer Schlüssel and was presented in the Political Economy Section of the IAMCR. It draws on Richard A. Musgrave’s theory of merit goods and combines it with an empirically grounded approach to legitimising cultural and media offerings beyond a purely reach-based logic. In doing so, the contribution shifts the focus from supply-side “merit goods” to demand-side, individual “merit wants”.

At the centre of the paper is the question of which individual attitudes and forms of social behaviour can explain people’s willingness to support merit goods such as cultural and media offerings. The presentation in Galway generated considerable interest and was discussed in depth within the section. Feedback from the Political Economy Section will inform the further development of the paper, which is to be prepared for submission to the journal The Political Economy of Communication.

In addition to the conference, the trip to Ireland was also used for scholarly exchange with colleagues from the section. Furthermore, the Chair of Communication Management presented, by invitation, a panel on exchange between the European Media Management Association and the IAMCR. In connection with the MeSch project, the presentation of Cecilia Vicuña at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the project “Field Station: Cornafulla” in Athlone were also visited. Both impressions are intended to feed into the project’s further publication activities.