ABOUT - WMEMC 2027 | World Media Economics & Management Conference 2027

The World Media Economics and Management Conference is the biennial meeting of the global community of media business scholars. The conference was established in 1994 as the World Media Economics Conference and added management to its name in 2008.

The conference was established primarily by members of The Journal of Media Economics, and has always maintained a close association with the journal, but operates as a separate entity. Professor Robert G. Picard was selected as Chair of the conference and served in that position until 2018. Gregory F. Lowe subsequently chaired the conference at Northwestern University in Qatar. Both continue actively overseeing the event, ensuring its academic rigor and intellectual stimulation.

The first conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1994, and since then, it has met in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Conference board members select locations hosted by reputable local institutions of higher education with teaching in media economics and management, influenced by the desire to promote MME studies in areas where those studies are developing.

“WMEMC has played a significant role in the scope and scale of work required to establish the field of media management and economics as a unique cross-disciplinary academic community. WMEMC produced the first international conference for what was then an emerging field in 1994, and over its 30-year history, has become a respected brand in promoting research, teaching, and networking. Many influential scholars in the field today participated in the early conferences as graduate students and are now taking on leadership roles to continue what has happily become a tradition of excellence”.
Greg Lowe, former president.

From its beginnings, the conference intended to be different from other conferences by crossing borders between media, telecommunications, and information studies and by bringing economics and management scholars from those disciplines together with scholars from economics and business studies.

The World Media Economics and Management Conference is an academic gathering that brings scholars worldwide to discuss contemporary issues in media industries and firms.

The current President of the World Media Economics and Management Conference (2025-2027) is María Elena Gutiérrez Rentería, a Media Economics and Media Management professor at the Universidad Panamericana. She is supported by the Vice President, M. Bjørn von Rimscha, Head of the Media Management Master’s programme and Vice Dean of the School of Social Sciences. Their leadership ensures continuity and stability in the Conference’s essence.

Over the years, it has been held in various locations across the globe, including:

1994: Sweden
1996: Switzerland
1998: United Kingdom
2000: Spain
2002: Portugal
2004: Finland
2006: Canada
2008: China
2010: Colombia

2012: Greece
2014: Brazil
2016: United States
2018: South Africa
2020: Italy
2023: South Korea
2025: Poland
2027: Mexico

The 2027 conference in Guadalajara, México, will focus on “Valuing Media: New Perspectives in Media Economics and Management. Exploring the meaning, making, and measuring value in, of, and for the media industry and society.” This forward-looking theme is sure to generate anticipation and interest among our audience.