CJS members present research at ECREA Journalism Studies 2026

CJS-members Hanne Peeters and Lonnie Renne attended the 2026 ECREA Journalism Studies Conference in Groningen, with the theme "the threads behind the trends".

Hanne presented preliminary findings from her interview study on the concept of news disinterest, co-authored with dr. Kristin Van Damme and dr. Pauljan Truyens. The study explored how individuals with low interest in news define, evaluate, and experience both news interest and disinterest, as well as the reasons why they position themselves on the lower end of the news-interest spectrum. The interviews revealed that participants conceptualize news interest both as an intrinsic motivation and as a behavioral tendency to seek out and engage with news. In contrast, news disinterest was understood as the absence of such motivation and behavior. Despite their limited news consumption, many participants rejected the label of “news avoider”, instead describing themselves as people who simply do not actively seek out news. Overall, Hanne concluded that news disinterest should be conceptualized as a distinct audience attitude, separate from related concepts such as news avoidance, news fatigue, and news distrust.

Lonnie presented preliminary findings on the prevalence of populism and anti-populism in Flemish talk shows, co-authored with prof. dr. Sarah Van Leuven and prof. dr. Kenza Lamot. Findings demonstrate that if populist elements are present, they are most often initiated by politicians. In addition, people-centric or anti-elite statements are not limited to politicians, but also sometimes originate from talk show hosts themselves or journalists appearing as guests in the show.

Thank you to all organisers of ECREA Journalism Studies 2026 and the University of Groningen for hosting this inspirational conference!