NEW YORK – The conference entitled Breaking News: Greece, Turkey, and the Media in the New Political Landscape takes place May 3-4 at Columbia University and seeks to understand the ways in which the production, circulation, and consumption of news affect contemporary Greek-Turkish relations.

The role of news media was brought to the fore during the 1996 dispute between the two countries over the Imia/Kardak islet in the Aegean Sea, when extensive news coverage played a driving role in escalating tensions. While most considerations of Greek-Turkish relations tend to focus on historical animosity or geopolitical developments, this two-day conference will ask what understandings of these relations emerge from an examination of the ways in which news media shape foreign policy. This question is particularly pressing today as a result of developments in digital technologies and the radical reconfiguration of the media and political landscape in Greece and Turkey. The conference will bring together academics, policy makers, journalists, and media producers to consider topics such as the significance of information and objectivity in an era of so-called “fake news,” the role of public opinion in the shaping of foreign policy, diplomacy and statecraft in the digital era, and the methodological challenges of studying news media as crucial actors in international relations.

Beginning at Columbia on Friday, May 3 at the Faculty House from 9:30 AM-6:30 PM and concluding on Saturday, May 4 at Deutsches Haus, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM, the conference will undoubtedly provide fascinating insights into the subject.

The conference is organized by the Program in Hellenic Studies, the Hellenic Studies Program at California State University—Sacramento, Columbia’s Global Center in Istanbul, and the University Seminar in Modern Greek, with additional sponsorship by the Sak?p Sabanc? Center for Turkish Studies and the Department of Classics.

The Organizing Committee: Dimitris Antoniou of Columbia University, Katerina Lagos of California State University, Sacramento, and Ipek Cem Taha of Columbia Global Centers Istanbul.

More information to be announced: https://hellenic.columbia.edu/events/seminars-and-events.