Media for Social and Political Change: Clandestine Journalism in Times of Uprising

Date: 24 April 2026, 14:00–14:45  

Location: Corvinus University of Budapest, Building E, Room 3.311 

Online: Teams  

Language of the event: English 

Special Session of CoCoCo 2026  

Organized by Changiz Mahmoudzadeh, PhD candidate in Communication Studies at Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal), this online roundtable explores clandestine journalism as a form of resistance communication in contexts where formal reporting becomes too dangerous or impossible. Bringing together scholarly reflection and professional experience, the session asks how journalists report from the shadows, what forms of risk and invisibility they face, and how clandestine reporting functions during uprisings and social movements.  

The session will include a short theoretical presentation on clandestine journalism, drawing on the work of Foucault, Sebastian Maslow, John D. H. Downing, Hannah Arendt, and Pierre Bourdieu, followed by discussion with invited journalists and editors from outlets such as Al Jazeera and BBC. The event highlights both the political significance and the professional challenges of journalism conducted under repression.  

This Special Session is part of the Corvinus Communication Conferences, CoCoCo 2026, which addresses resistance, rebellion, and reinvention in communication and media studies. Besides the special sessions, the conference also brings together nearly 70 researchers and professionals in multiple sessions on April 24 at the Corvinus Main Building. The event is organized by the Department of Communication and Media Sciences, Institute of Marketing and Communication Sciences.  

For more information about other special sessions and the full conference program, visit cococo2026.com.