Collage of the team
© IfK

Research team of "Journalism Studies I"

About the department

The research and teaching unit headed by Nina Springer is concerned with journalism and its reception as well as with factors that influence the reception process, particularly in digitalized contexts. The focus is on conditions and changes in the journalistic profession and journalistic work, journalistic content, and the use and (individual or societal) effects of journalistic products or participation in journalism. Our research projects investigate not only threats to the journalistic workplace, whether caused by audience hostility or precarious employment, but also how journalism is reinventing itself through innovations such as immersive storytelling (for example, in the field of virtual reality), the development of new distribution channels, and crowdsourcing, among others. We analyze journalistic routines such as research and selection, and examine the traces left in journalism by audience orientation or participation, or what roles trust and credibility play in journalism. We work in interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and transfer-oriented ways, often with an international and comparative orientation, and we use the entire range of social science research methods, including quantitative, partly automated content analyses, expert interviews, surveys, and experimental designs.

  • Staff

    Springer, Nina, Prof. Dr. +49 251 83-24655 E-Mail
    Wehden, Lars-Ole, Dr. +49 251 83-23009 E-Mail
    von den Driesch, Lea +49 251 83-24868 E-Mail
    Oldach, Chiara   E-Mail

     

    Alumni

  • Research activities

    Our externally and internally funded research projects examine (1) the profession and its routines, but also (2) how and why audiences participate in journalism.  


    (1) Professional field research and journalistic routines

    One focus of our research and teaching activities is the professional field of journalism. The research unit is involved in the Worlds of Journalism study, which maps the profession and the current conditions under which it operates in about a hundred countries worldwide. Our sub-project investigating journalism in Sweden was funded by the Anne-Marie och Gustaf Anders Stiftelse för mediaforskning and supported by the Swedish Federation of Journalists (SJF). The current data show, for example, how prevalent threats of hate speech, intimidation, and public discrediting of journalistic work are from the perspectives of journalists and how great their concern is that perpetrators will not be held accountable for these.

    Another project, funded by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), examines research routines of Swedish and Ukrainian journalists in situations of conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Conducted in cooperation with colleagues from Sweden and Ukraine, the study revealed that digital fact-checking tools are not used in either Swedish or Ukrainian newsrooms. In traditional journalism, which operates at the marginal productivity of individuals, time allotted for research is a crucial “crunch zone” (including, of course, the time required to introduce new technology). In addition, the rather individualistic style of work in journalism can lead to confirmation bias coming through in research and narration. The first results of the study have been published in the Central European Journal of Communication.

    Another focus of our unit is the investigation of selection routines in journalists’ professional gatekeepeing. In the course of digitalization and an increase in the importance of social media as a means of accessing news content, the question arises as to whether news presented journalistically on social media differs from the respective websites of established news outlets due to specific selection mechanisms. This could result in a lower level of informedness of those recipients who rely predominantly on social media as a news source. A recent study investigated this question by combining expert interviews with an input-output comparison of news articles distributed by journalists on social media (Wehden, 2022). The findings indicated that the news presented on social media is, in general, quite diverse, although some topics rarely make it to Facebook and Twitter. News factors also seem to be less important for the journalistic selection of articles for social media than certain formal aspects. In addition to the selection of news for social media, we engage in research on journalistic selection in other contexts, such as sports journalism (e.g., Wehden & Schröer, 2019).

     

    (2) (Dark) Participation in journalism

    In a digitalized society, journalism research can hardly ignore the “audience turn”. The analysis of the significance of audience preferences for journalistic selection and presentation routines as well as the contributions that users make to professional journalistic products are, therefore, also on our research agenda. One example is crowdsourcing, an innovative tool used by some newsrooms to source—and sometimes even to verify—input for news content (Springer, 2019). Research shows that journalists should know exactly what it is they want to find out from their audiences so that crowdsourcing can be used efficiently. Here, journalistic and quantitative social research methods resemble each other, as the methodological approach and implementation in the form of questionnaires at ProPublica, for example, show. An overview of relevant research is provided by a systematic literature review on participation in online journalism (Engelke, 2019).

    One of the most common—but also polarizing—tools of journalistic audience engagement strategies is certainly the comment function. We have identified coping with cognitive dissonance as a key motive for people to comment on news: I cannot leave uncommented what I read here—I beg to differ! (Springer, Engelmann, & Pfaffinger, 2015). Therefore, we also analyze the contributions user comments can make to viewpoint diversity in the public sphere. A study of news and user comments on the financial crisis showed that additions do occur: While news primarily focuses on structures and collective actors (such as governments), users heatedly point to the responsibility of individuals. They also draw analogies and rely on folk wisdom (Baden & Springer, 2014). On the one hand, there is a lot to be learned from comments. On the other, much has happened with this user-generated phenomenon, especially in the last few years; often pointed out is how problematic some users’ comments are, including comments by those who misuse the tool for strategic manipulation (Ksiazek & Springer, 2020). Therefore, we investigate communicative violence against journalists (Springer & Troger, 2021) as well as the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories.

    A COST network in which we are involved has recently been funded in this area (CA21129). In the coming years, the OPINION network will focus on how to automatically analyze opinionated contributions posted to the internet. The network will engage in theory-building and operationalization work to develop a toolkit for analyzing the most diverse forms of opinion expressions in online discourse.  

    In addition to the question of who is participating in the production, dissemination, and discussion of journalistic content, researchers and professional practitioners are equally interested in who actually receives, shares, likes, and comments on information and news articles—and who does not—and for what reasons. One research project in this area, for example, used automated content analysis of the Twitter accounts of German newspapers to investigate how their followers are distributed geographically and what factors increase a newsroom’s chances of reaching audiences outside the physical distribution area of its own print product via social media (Wehden & Stoltenberg, 2019). Another study (Engelke, 2020) explored the audience perspective on the deliberative character and potential of comments by using qualitative guided interviews with German media users to investigate their reasons for the active and passive (non-)use of comments, how they evaluate comments, and what personal and social significance comments have for them.

  • Final theses at the department

    Have our topics aroused your interest and can you imagine writing your thesis with us? If so, the following documents will inform you about the process of supervision with us and give you ideas for finding a topic.

    Info sheet bachelor thesis

    Info sheet master thesis

    Suggested topic

     

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    Latest Publications

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    Scientific Talks

    • Wehden, Lars-Ole, Uth, Bernadette, Engelke, Katherine M., von den Driesch, Lea, Springer, Nina (): ‘Transitioning to transparency: Footnote journalism as a novel journalistic practice’. 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, .
    • Reer, Felix, Küpper, Lena, Wehden, Lars-Ole, & Quandt, Thorsten (): ‘A Laboratory Experiment Examining Audience Responses to a “Meaningful” Virtual Reality Documentary’. 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, .
    • Küpper, Lena Maria, Wehden, Lars-Ole, Reer, Felix, & Quandt, Thorsten (): ‘Looking at the news from every angle: On the potential of implementing Virtual Reality technology in journalistic contexts’. 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, .
    • Lührmann, J.; Stehle, H.; Röttger, U.; Gehrau, V. (): „Results of a representative employee survey on the influence of internal communication on internal megaphoning“. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppen PR und Organisationskommunikation sowie Mediensprache – Mediendiskurse der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), Darmstadt, .
    • Gehrau, V.; Lührmann, J.; Stehle, H.; Röttger, U. (): ‘The Impact of Internal Communication on Individual Empowerment: Findings of a Representative Employee Survey in Germany’. Annual Congress, European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA), Prag, 09.2023, Prag, .
    • Godulla, A.; Seibert, D.; Hoffmann, C. P.; Ötting, H. L. (): „Zwischen Fakes und Fakten: Wie Deepfakes die journalistische Praxis verändern“. Gesellschaftswissen schaffen – Chancen und Herausforderungen für Journalismus und Wissenschaftskommunikation im digitalen Zeitalter. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppen Wissenschaftskommunikation und Journalistik/ Journalismusforschung der DGPuK 2023 (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Publizistik und Kommunikationswissenschaft e.V.), Passau, .
    • Godulla, A.; Hoffmann, C. P.; Seibert, D.; Ötting, H. L. (): ‘Deepfake applications for journalism: A technology at the crossroads of rejection and acceptance’. Future of Journalism 2023 (Cardiff University), Cardiff, .
    • Seibert, D.; Godulla, A.; Hoffmann, C. P.; Ötting, H. L. (): ‘Disruptive in nature: The impact of deepfakes on media outlets, formats, and business models’. Perspectives on Media and Trust, European Media Management Association Conference 2023 (European Media Management Association), Pamplona, .
    • Küpper, Lena Maria; Reer, Felix; Wehden, Lars-Ole; Quandt, Thorsten (): ‘Uncovering the potentials of virtual reality technology in journalism: A laboratory experiment on an immersive 360° documentary’. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA), Toronto, .
    • Lührmann, J.; Stehle, H.; Gehrau, V.; Röttger, U. (): ‘Personal Values in Internal Communication and Their Influence on the Opinion Leadership of Executives and Employees’. 73. Annual Conference, International Communication Association (ICA), Toronto, .
    • Wehden, Lars-Ole; Küpper, Lena Maria (): ‘Stronger together!? Aggregation of sports events as a driver of coverage on (the) European Championships in German TV news shows’. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA), Toronto, .
    • Lorenz, Hannah; Schieb, Carla; Gehrau, Volker; Fujarski, Sam; Blöbaum, Bernd (): ‘Let’s Talk About COVID! The Role of Interpersonal Communication During the SarsCoV-2 Pandemic’. 9th European Communication Conference. ECREA 2022., Aarhus, .
    • Boettcher, Alena; Lorenz, Hannah; Schieb, Carla; Blöbaum, Bernd; Gehrau, Volker; Fujarski, Sam (): ‘Dialogic communication as strategic corporate communication? An analysis of health organisations’ social media strategy’. 9th European Communication Conference. ECREA 2022., Aarhus, .
    • Lorenz, Hannah; Gehrau, Volker; Schieb, Carla; Fujarski, Sam; Blöbaum, Bernd (): ‘Information Repertoires in Times of Crisis. An Analysis of People’s Health Information-Seeking Behaviour’. 9th European Communication Conference. ECREA 2022., Aarhus, .
    • Springer, Nina; Brantner, Cornelia; Wilhelm, Claudia; Engelmann, Ines; Stehle, Helena; Detel, Hanne; Lobinger, Katharina (): ‘The Online Communication Disinhibition Model: Toward a holistic understanding of benign and toxic online communication’. Annual Congress, International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, .
    • Wehden, Lars-Ole (): ‘Diverse news fed into the newsfeed?: Identifying article characteristics that influence the selection of news presented on journalistic fanpages in social media’. 72nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, Frankreich, .
    • LaPoe, B.; LaPoe, V.; Ötting, H. (): ‘Examining How Reservation dogs and Rutherford Falls Critically Craft Community Stories: Indigenous Storytellers Celebrate Non-Ste- reotypical designs’. National Conference of the Popular Culture Association (Popular Culture Association), Online, .
    • Fujarski, Sam; Schieb, Carla; Lorenz, Hannah; Gehrau, Volker; Blöbaum, Bernd (): „Reaktanz als Erklärung für Corona-Skeptizismus in Deutschland: Eine Clusteranalyse“. 6. Jahrestagung der DGPuK-Fachgruppe Gesundheitskommunikation, Zoom, .
    • Springer, Nina (): ‘The good, the bad and the ugly sides of participation. We came a long way, but where are we headed?’ International Scientific Conference: Comments, Hate Speech, Disinformation, and Public Communication Regulation (The Agency for Electronic Media Croatia, Media Research, Scientific Council for the Theatre, Film, Radio and TV), Zagreb, .
    • Weyland, Ulrike; Koschel, Wilhelm; Driesel-Lange, Katja; Gehrau, Volker (): „Online-Rekrutierung von Auszubildenden in der Pflege – ein webbasiertes Schulungskonzept zur Berufsorientierung“. Jahrestagung der Sektion Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Erziehungswissenschaften (DGfE) (Universität Bamberg), Bamberg, .
    • Nygren, Gunnar; Springer, Nina (): ‘Sweden: Journalism in change and under pressure’. NordMedia Conference 2021 (University of Iceland in cooperation with the national Nordic research associations and Nordicom), (Reykjavik, digital), .
    • Driesel-Lange, Katja; Gehrau, Volker; Klein, Jerusha (): „Perspektiven von Jugendlichen auf den Nutzen von Berufsorientierung“. Berufsbildungsforschungskongress (BBFK), Klagenfurt, .
    • Springer, Nina (): ‘Hate speech as communicative violence’. 71st annual International Communication Association (ICA) conference, (Denver, digital), .
    • Baden, Christian; Springer, Nina; Krämer, Benjamin; Steindl, Nina (): ‘Negotiating Nonsense: Discursive interactions between believers in conventional and "alternative" facts’. 71st annual International Communication Association (ICA) conference, (Denver, digital), .
    • Gehrau, Volker; Blöbaum, Bernd; Fujarski, Sam; Lorenz, Hannah; Schieb, Carla (): „Informationsrepertoires in Krisenzeiten. Was Informationsrepertoires zum Verständnis der Diffusion und Wirkungen wissenschaftlicher Informationen beitragen“. Wissenschaftskommunikation in zivilgesellschaftlichen Auseinandersetzungen. 5. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe Wissenschaftskommunikation der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik und Kommunikationswissenschaft, Online, .
    • Springer, Nina; Haim, Mario (): „Machine learning in journalism studies: Legal, ethical and practical challenges of an interdisciplinary research/teaching project“. DGPuK-Fachgruppentagung Journalistik/Journalismusforschung (DGPuK-Fachgruppe Journalistik/Journalismusforschung), (Hamburg, digital), .
    • Reer, Felix; Wehden, Lars-Ole; Janzik, Robin; Tang, Wai Yen; Quandt, Thorsten (): ‘Virtual reality technology and game enjoyment. A self-determination theory perspective’. 70th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, Australia (virtual due to COVID-19), .
    • Wehden, Lars-Ole; Reer, Felix; Janzik, Robin; Quandt, Thorsten (): ‘Addicted to cybersex? A representative study on the disordered use of sexual online content’. 70th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, Australia (virtual due to COVID-19), .
    • Janzik, Robin; Wehden, Lars-Ole; Reer, Felix; Tang, Wai Yen; Quandt, Thorsten (): ‘To give or not to give: Examining the prosocial effect of a 360° video documentary on the refugee crisis’. 70th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, Australia (virtual due to COVID-19), .
    • Slavtcheva-Petkova, Vera; Hamada, Basyouni; Ramaprasad, Jyotika; Hughes, Sallie; Steindl, Nina; Hanitzsch, Thomas; Springer, Nina; Hoxha, Abit (): ‘Work in progress: Towards developing a journalists’ safety index’. 70th annual International Communication Association (ICA) conference, (Sunshine Coast, digital), .
    • Wehden, Lars-Ole; Reer, Felix; Janzik, Robin; Quandt, Thorsten (): „Sex on the Internet – a representative survey study on the prevalence and correlates of the addiction-like use of sexual online content“. Jahrestagung der DGPuK, München, .
    • Reer, Felix; Wehden, Lars-Ole; Tang, Wai Yen; Janzik, Robin; Quandt, Thorsten (): ‘The slippery path to total presence: How using an omnidirectional VR treadmill influences the gaming experience’. Digital Games Research Section Symposium (ECREA 2019), Rotterdam, Niederlande, .
    • Hlacer, Erik; Wehden, Lars-Ole (): „Rather Poldi's wife than Gauland's swim shorts?: An experimental analysis of tabloidization of sports and political coverage as an influence factor of reciepients' evaluations“. 2. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe „Mediensport und Sportkommunikation“ in der DGPuK, Leipzig, .
    • Wehden, Lars-Ole; Schröer, Nathalie (): ‘Golden news?: Analysis of summarizing coverage of the Olympic Winter Games 2018 on German TV’. 69th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Washington/DC, USA, .
    • Reer, Felix; Wehden, Lars-Ole; Janzik, Robin (): ‘A representative study on prevalence rates and correlates of problematic smartphone use in Germany’. 69th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Washington/DC, USA, .
    • Reer, Felix; Wehden, Lars-Ole; Janzik, Robin; Quandt, Thorsten (): „Süchtig nach dem Smartphone? Eine Repräsentativbefragung zu Verbreitung und Korrelaten problematischer Smartphone-Nutzung in Deutschland“. Jahrestagung der DGPuK-Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung 2019, Mainz, .
    • Wehden, Lars-Ole; Schröer, Nathalie (): „Golden News? - Examining the short coverage about the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang 2018“. 1. Jahrestagung der DGPuK-Fachgruppe Mediensport und Sportkommunikation, Salzburg, Österreich, .
    • Stoltenberg, Daniela; Wehden, Lars-Ole (): ‘So Far, Yet So Close: Examining Translocal Twitter Audiences of Regional Newspapers in Germany’. 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Prague, Czech Republic, .
    • Stoltenberg, Daniela; Wehden, Lars-Ole (): „Regional journalism without borders? Spatial placement of regional newspapers’ follower on Twitter“. Jahrestagung der DGPuk-Fachgruppe Digitale Kommunikation, Hochschule Macromedia, Stuttgart, Deutschland, .