2026 Moral Media Conference

Call for Papers

9th Annual Moral Media Conference

University of Florida, February 20-22, 2026

 

****Registration is now open! Register to attend through the online registration form here.***

***Registration closes 1/6/26.***

 

University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications is proud to announce that it will host the 9th annual Moral Media Conference (https://moralmedia.org/). Submissions have now closed. For reference, you may view the call for papers here: 

Conference Theme: Strong Methods for Social Good

Through keynote lectures, original research presentations, posters, and collaborative discussions, this year’s conference will explore the role of rigorous methodology as the foundation for meaningful social impact of media research related to morality. We seek to challenge any existing misconceptions that methodological rigor and social impact are tradeoffs in research, highlighting how strong methods can boost the academy’s public credibility and promote knowledge generation for the social good.

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Registration and Travel Details:

  • CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
  • REGISTRATION (Closes 1/6/2026):
    • Register to attend through the online registration form here.
    • All attendees must register at the above link by 1/6/2026. No onsite registration will be available. 
    • Registration fee: $0
    • You do not have to have an accepted abstract in order to attend–all attendees are welcome. 
  • HOTELS: 
    • If you are coming from out of town, please plan to stay at one of the conference hotels for easy access to conference events; free shuttles will be available from the hotels to Saturday’s conference location (Austin Cary Forest Learning Center). Sunday’s conference location (Weimer Hall) is within easy walking distance of both hotels. 
    • Hotel Option 1: Reitz Union Hotel, $130/night for standard room (upgrades available for more)
      • How to reserve: visit https://union.ufl.edu/hotel/ or call 352-392-2151
        Conference Block Group Code: MMC26
        Deadline: January 20, 2026
      • Note: This is a non-chain hotel run by the University of Florida’s Hospitality Program
        • Although in our experience it is clean, comfortable, and extremely convenient (located on campus), it has relatively few amenities.
        • If you want a more traditional business-level hotel experience, we suggest Hotel Option 2.  
    • Hotel Option 2: The AC Hotel Gainesville Downtown, $179/night for standard room
      • How to reserve: Call 1-800-MARRIOTT
        Conference Block Name: UF – CJC – Moral Media Conference – Feb 2026 Group 
        Deadline: January 20, 2026
  • AIRPORTS: 
    • GNV (Gainesville Regional Airport) – RECOMMENDED
      • This is by far the most convenient airport for traveling to Gainesville; it’s a 20 – 25 minute drive from the conference hotels / downtown Gainesville.
      • This is very small airport (5 gates), but it’s fast/efficient and has flights from two major airlines (American and Delta).
      • GNV flies nonstop daily to four major airports: Atlanta (Delta), Charlotte (American), Dallas/Fort Worth (American), and Miami (American). 
      • Ubers and Lyfts are easy to access from the airport. 
    • JAX (Jacksonville International Airport) 
      • This airport is approximately a 90 minute drive to Gainesville, barring rush hour traffic delays in Jacksonville. It flies straight-through to many locations, but there are not convenient shuttle/bus options between JAX and Gainesville.
      • If you fly into this airport, you will likely need to rent a car or take a long Uber/Lyft/taxi (which can be quite expensive given the distance). There is no train.
    •  MCO (Orlando International Airport) 
      • This airport is approximately a 2-hour drive to Gainesville, barring rush hour traffic delays in Jacksonville. It flies straight-through to many locations.
      • If you wish to visit Disney World or Universal while you are in Florida, this is the airport for you!
      • There are some limited bus options for traveling between MCO and Gainesville; otherwise, if you fly into this airport, you will likely need to rent a car. There is no train. 
  • If you have any questions as you are booking your travel (or questions about the conference generally), please feel free to reach out to the conference organizer, Rebecca Frazer (r.frazer@ufl.edu).