This study explores cinemediation, an innovative educational approach that integrates film language with mediation practices to foster conflict prevention and resolution in schools. Drawing on a comprehensive longitudinal case study spanning two years (“Cinema Without Conflicts Showcase” 2022–2023) involving over 5'000 participants in the Azores, Portugal, this research combines qualitative and quantitative methods. It integrates survey responses from 103 teachers with in-depth interviews conducted with nine educators across subjects such as science, maths, arts, and philosophy. Findings indicate that educators recognize and perceive carefully selected short films as effective tools, especially when discussed under teacher guidance. They agree that these films help stimulate reflection on complex social issues, such as bullying, diversity, and self-esteem, while also enhancing students’ empathy, communication, and conflict resolution skills. Quantitative data confirm educators’ positive perceptions, with high mean ratings for the relevance of cinema to citizenship education (M = 5.35/6) and conflict prevention (M = 4.95/6). Crucially, the study highlights the pivotal role of the teacher-mediator in facilitating dialogue and transforming film screenings into meaningful learning experiences. Cinemediation emerges as a promising complement to existing pedagogical strategies, offering schools a practical tool to promote emotional literacy, social skills, and citizenship education. By linking cinematic narratives to students’ lived experiences, this approach enriches educational practice and fosters more inclusive, reflective, and empathetic school environments.
The personalization of political communication has intensified in recent years, particularly on social media, where politicians increasingly expose their personal lives. This development raises questions about its democratic implications and makes it necessary to analyze how citizens receive and process such content. However, reception studies in this field rarely simultaneously consider socio-cognitive processing, the affective evaluations that may result from it, and interindividual differences. Based on thirty semi-structured interviews conducted in France, the findings highlight a three-step process of reception: reaction to personalized political content, reaction to the encouragement to establish a parasocial relationship, and, finally, the evaluation of the politician. Additionally, the study identifies three categories of receivers, differentiated by the degree of sacralization attributed to the political function. Affective receivers mainly rely on heuristic processing, accept personalization, and integrate it positively into their evaluations. Indifferent receivers favor central processing based on political arguments and distance themselves from personalization. Institutional receivers combine central and heuristic processing but reject personalization, which they perceive as a devaluation of the political function. By emphasizing the diversity of reception processes, this research invites a nuanced interpretation of the links between personalized political communication on social media and democracy.
The article provides a comprehensive overview of journalists in Switzerland based on the most recent wave of the Worlds of Journalism (WoJ) survey conducted in 2023. The study investigates the demographics, working conditions, role perceptions, and safety concerns of Swiss journalists. Building on past survey waves from 2008 and 2015, this study extends the analysis to 1 179 journalists across all three language regions. The findings highlight trends, including an increase in female journalists and higher levels of academic qualifications. Notably, the study also identifies persistent challenges, including gender disparities in management roles and specific journalistic beats, increasing economic pressures, the growth of part-time work, and declining job satisfaction. Additionally, the article addresses the risks journalists face, including workplace bullying and threats, which influence their likelihood of remaining in or endorsing the profession. This research underscores the importance of understanding the evolving professional landscape of journalism, informing both academic discourse and practical measures to support the industry.
In a landscape increasingly preoccupied with the societal implications of digital technologies, from the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence (AI) to the dynamics of platform power, Paula Bialski’s Middle Tech: Software Work and the Culture of Good Enough (Princeton University Press, 2024) offers a timely intervention that looks at the nature and technical origins of these issues. Amidst different narratives that often oscillate between techno-utopianism and dystopian alarmism, Bialski’s ethnographic study provides a counter-narrative that reconsiders the foundations upon which digitalization is built, together with the digital communication tools and platforms that dominate it. For researchers trying to make sense of the opacity of “black box” technologies (Carabantes, 2020; Olesen, 2025), the vulnerabilities inherent in digital systems (Ananny, 2023; Barassi, 2024), and the complex interplay between human agency and technology, Bialski’s book is a valuable contribution to the field of media and communication studies, science and technology studies (STS), and digital sociology.
Should we succumb to technopanic or embrace techno-optimism in this so-called post-truth era? In his latest book, Technopanic (currently available only in Italian), Alberto Acerbi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Research at the University of Trento, suggests a cautious middle path. Drawing on his background at the interface of cultural evolution, psychology, anthropology, and sociology, Acerbi provides a timely and, one might argue, much-needed, empirically grounded reflection on the contemporary anxieties surrounding digital technologies. Although some examples refer to the Italian sociopolitical context, the book’s arguments are highly transferable to broader international debates.
In der Politikwissenschaft gilt die dezentrale Struktur föderaler Staaten als Möglichkeit, komplexe politische Massnahmen im kleineren Massstab zu testen, bevor sie landesweit umgesetzt werden. Auch für die Medienpolitik könnte dies zutreffen, es fehlt jedoch an entsprechender Forschung. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, welche Massnahmen zur Förderung von Medien einzelne Kantone konkret ergreifen und wie die entsprechenden medienpolitischen Prozesse auf kantonaler Ebene abliefen. Basierend auf teilstandardisierten Experteninterviews und einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse von Dokumenten wurde die Medienförderung in den Kantonen Bern, Freiburg, Genf, Graubünden und Waadt untersucht. Obwohl Medienförderung derzeit ausschliesslich in diesen fünf Kantonen existiert, zeigen die Befunde eine grosse Spannbreite implementierter Massnahmen, verfügbarer Fördersummen und Zuständigkeiten. Im politischen Prozess bestehen Gemeinsamkeiten mit Blick auf die Initiierung durch parlamentarische Vorstösse und auf die Notwendigkeit von Fördermassnahmen, die bis weit in die politische Mitte hinein Unterstützung erhalten. Nichtsdestotrotz zeigen sich auch Unterschiede mit Blick auf die Einbindung verschiedener Stakeholder in den Entscheidungsfindungsprozess und rechtliche Grundlagen für die Umsetzung. Diese Erkenntnisse können wichtige Impulse für die eidgenössische Ebene, insbesondere mit Blick auf die Implementierung von Massnahmen zur digitalen Transformation, liefern.
This article focuses on how Europe is discursively constructed across its institutional and popular dimensions, in content published on social media, in the Czech Republic. The research combines quantitative content analysis and discourse-theoretical analysis to explore both broader patterns and varied nuances of the institutional and the popular in the discursive construction of Europe. The analysis shows the hegemonic presence of institutional aspects and dimensions in articulating Europe, while the Europe of the people, of values and ideas, is not conspicuous. The discursive mechanisms of reduction and contestation activate specific articulations of the institutional and the popular, weakening the signifier Europe as a potential identity marker for Czech citizens. These mechanisms are activated by Eurosceptic populism, exacerbated during the research period of elections, in the Czech context that bears a post-socialist load in articulating national and European identities.
Blum legt mit seinem Band eine quellengesättigte, anschaulich geschriebene, reich illustrierte und gut lesbare Geschichte der Basellandschaftlichen Zeitung vor, die im Titel des Buchs als «Blatt der Patrioten» bezeichnet wird. Im Vorwort erklärt er, das Buch sei auf Initiative der Familie Lüdin entstanden, die das Blatt über 150 Jahre lang herausgegeben hat – bis es 2010 an die Familie Wanner verkauft wurde. Zugleich betont Blum, ihm sei «jedwede inhaltliche Freiheit vertraglich zugesichert» worden. Für Blum ist die Geschichte der heutigen bz und deren langjährigen Verlegerfamilie deshalb besonders spannend, weil das Blatt über Jahrzehnte eine klare politische Linie vertrat. In der Bevölkerung sei es schlicht als «d Lüdi-Zytig» bekannt gewesen – ein publizistisches Sprachrohr mit Wirkungskraft, das die politische Kultur des Baselbiets mitprägte.
Cet article présente un portrait des journalistes scientifiques québécois en soulignant les éléments de l’identité et les rôles professionnels de cette spécialité journalistique. Il se fonde sur des réponses à un sondage mené en 2023 auprès de 39 journalistes scientifiques qui résident ou travaillent au Québec. Les données suggèrent que ce segment est majoritairement féminin, relativement âgé et très éduqué. Les résultats révèlent une dualité dans la configuration du marché de travail au Québec. La base de la pyramide salariale est composée surtout par des journalistes indépendants qui gagnent moins que leurs pairs qui travaillent dans d’autres spécialités. Au sommet de cette pyramide se placent les journalistes scientifiques qui ont un emploi permanent généralement dans le système public de radio et télévision. Le rôle de courroie de transmission, responsable de traduire des informations scientifiques à destination d’un public non spécialisé, domine le segment des journalistes scientifiques. Les résultats suggèrent une diversification des rôles secondaires, avec un poids relativement important attribué par les répondants aux dimensions de décideur de l’ordre du jour, chien de garde, connecteur et amuseur. Cet article innove en proposant une typologie des rôles professionnels adaptée au segment du journalisme scientifique.This article presents a profile of science journalists in Quebec, highlighting the identity and professional roles of this “segment” of journalism. It is based on responses to a survey conducted in 2023 among 39 science journalists living or working in Quebec. The data suggest a predominantly female, relatively old, and highly educated segment. The results reveal a duality in the configuration of the labour market in Quebec. At the base of the salary pyramid are mainly freelance journalists, who earn less than their counterparts in other segments of journalism. Science journalists, who have permanent jobs mainly in the public broadcasting system, are at the top of the pyramid. Within the segment of science journalists, the role of conductor, responsible for translating scientific information for a non-specialist audience, emerges as dominant. The results suggest a diversification of secondary roles, with respondents giving relatively high weight to the dimensions of agenda-setter, watchdog, connector, and entertainer. This article breaks new ground by proposing a typology of professional roles adapted to the science journalism segment.
Instagram is an increasingly important platform for news consumption. While initial research has examined the characteristics and types of news content on Instagram, little is known about its usage and evaluation. This study explores how adults in Switzerland who frequently use Instagram consume news on the platform; how often they encounter news and whether this is intentional or incidental, their motives for (not) following news accounts; their evaluations of Swiss news accounts; and the role of political interest. Findings show that Instagram is mainly used for entertainment; news consumption is mostly incidental. Higher political interest is associated with more news consumption on Instagram, both intentional and incidental. Respondents with moderate political interest prefer entertainment-oriented outlets. Overall, the findings suggest that adapting to Instagram’s entertaining nature could help media companies to reach larger audiences and inform them on hard news topics such as politics.
The internal interdisciplinarity of Information and Communication Sciences (Sciences de l’information et de la communication, SIC) in France has often been discussed in an effort to apprehend how various academic inputs and scholarly traditions have integrated to form SIC. However, the external interdisciplinarity of SIC, or cross-disciplinarity, i.e., its connections and collaborations with other disciplines, has received comparatively less attention. The present contribution seeks to address this gap through the prism of editorial collaborations. Our dataset consists of a list of collective publications covering the period 2012–2018, published in 2019 (Dynamiques des recherches en sciences de l’information et de la communication) under the coordination of the Permanent Conference of Directors of Research Units in Information and Communication Sciences (CPDirSIC). In this dataset, narrow interdisciplinarity is observed within France. Outside France, joint editorial endeavors mostly bring together researchers who are already located in the field of information-communication. The study also suggests the significance of linguistic proximity, with the majority of international collaborations concerning countries with French-speaking areas. Finally, the thematic area within SIC also plays a role in the way interdisciplinarity materializes. Given the limitations of the dataset, however, these findings should be interpreted with caution and must not be generalized or extrapolated beyond the specific scope of this study.
Thirty years ago, the Society for the German Language chose “multimedia” as its ‘Word of the Year 1995,’ positioning it as a guiding word for the journey into the brave new media world. At the time, multimedia referred to the integration of various modes of communication—including text, images, audio, video, and interactive elements—within a single, often digital, medium. Today, such integration has become an essential part of political communication, encompassing both traditional forms like election posters and flyers, as well as contemporary formats like politicians’ TikTok videos and political memes circulating across digital platforms.
The widespread adoption of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT in higher education has sparked global debate about their impact on student learning. While ChatGPT’s potential to enhance academic performance is recognized, concerns remain about overreliance and ethical risks. This report presents insights into how students at the University of Zurich (UZH) use and experience ChatGPT in academic contexts. Drawing on data from a global survey initiative, I analyzed responses from 446 UZH students across disciplines. The report outlines patterns of use, perceived cognitive and educational capabilities, emotional responses, and concerns about ethical implications. Quantitative analyses reveal that ChatGPT is widely used for tasks like summarizing, proofreading, and coding, with notable differences by study field and learning setting. Most students perceive ChatGPT as helpful and report positive emotional experiences, yet remain cautious about its reliability and motivational benefits. Frequent users tend to evaluate the tool more positively and express fewer concerns. Our findings highlight a complex balance between opportunity and risk. While generative AI holds promise for enhancing learning and skill development, institutions must provide clear guidelines, foster AI literacy, and ensure ethical integration. These efforts are essential for preparing students to navigate AI-enhanced academic and professional environments responsibly.
Digital technologies pervade the lives of many people in Switzerland. This increasing digital datafication brings opportunities but also risks like algorithmization, dataveillance, and related to this, threats to subjective well-being. In my dissertation, I argue that individuals cope with such risks by engaging in different practices. To investigate these practices, I use a mixed-methods research design. Using representative surveys, I show that social inequalities are related to digital skills and internet usage over time, and also that being aware of a risk, feeling affected by it, and having the necessary skills are crucial for applying self-help strategies to cope with it. Using qualitative interviews, I show that individuals’ dataveillance imaginaries play a central role in the self-inhibition of digital communication, and also that resistance to digital technologies can be a way to deal with their omnipresence. From these findings, I derive an integrated conceptual framework, which illustrates that internet users actively negotiate their use of digital technologies through digital practices and sheds light on the factors associated with this process. By doing so, this dissertation advances critical discussions around individuals’ digital technology use and provides the basis for evidence-based policy strategies aiming at a more inclusive digitized society.
Amid growing scholarly calls highlighting the theoretical importance of parasocial processing (PSP) for enabling closer accounts of users’ cognitive, affective, and conative reactions to media characters, communication research lacks a comprehensive short survey instrument for capturing PSP. The article overcomes this gap by introducing the PSP Short Inventory – a parsimonious short-scale measuring PSP as a multifaceted concept with nine items. Building on existing theory, PSP and its three components of cognitive, affective, and conative PSP are defined and conceptualized. A selection of items was derived to start the scale development, which then progressed through three preregistered studies (with 500 participants each). The analyses of the three studies combined exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and covered various reliability analyses and analyses of discriminant, convergent, and nomological validity. Based on the three studies, we find strong empirical evidence that the PSP Short Inventory provides a valid, reliable, and practicable PSP measure for future parasocial research. The theoretical and methodological advances enabled by the measure are discussed.
Military operations are a sensitive political issue, particularly in Germany, where a cautious attitude toward the use of armed forces prevails due to the country‘s historical legacy after World War II. As a result, the Ministry of Defense must justify its involvement in military operations to the German public. In this context, social media has become a common tool that plays a role in legitimizing military actions. Previous research has shown that different forms of heroism can contribute to the legitimation of military interventions. This paper examines the Bundeswehr’s presence on Facebook to explore how German soldiers participating in the peacekeeping mission MINUSMA are portrayed as heroes. Despite the growing relevance of military issues in Europe, there has been little research on how the Bundeswehr communicates. To address this gap, Facebook posts about MINUSMA published by the Bundeswehr were analyzed using a qualitative framing analysis to explore how heroic figures are verbally and visually constructed. The analysis reveals that heroism is a central theme, and that the specific portrayal of heroic figures reflects Germany’s political commitments – namely, to protect civilians, secure peace, and promote freedom from violence. Furthermore, the communication surrounding MINUSMA is designed to bridge the gap between soldiers and civilians.
In the recent past, more attention in research has been drawn to local media (use). However, there are still blind spots in this area of research. Knowing from the news desert research that information on a subnational level is very important for a functioning democracy, insights in the use of information sources and local media is of high relevance. Especially in times of digital transformation with a growing amount of possible information news sources that compete with a ubiquitous amount of other content. This paper presents an analysis of a distinctive data set that offers insights into the subnational political information repertoires of the Bernese citizens (canton in Switzerland) and the role of local media. Four political information repertoires can be found: the informed socializers, the traditionalists, the wooed ones, and the online readers. Local media are still being used – more strongly by the older than the younger and by men than women. Local media use has no significant effect on voter turnout here, although it does have an effect on “Swiss split-ticket voting” (panaschieren). The findings from this work should both lay the groundwork for further research and provide insights for practitioners (local media professionals and politicians).
The use of podcasts has grown steadily in recent years, with entertainment podcasts in particular becoming increasingly popular. However, the content of these podcasts remains largely unexplored. This is notable because regular listeners may develop parasocial relationships with podcast hosts, whereby the content conveyed may influence attitudes and behaviour. These potential effects are particularly important in times of socio-political crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study therefore uses a standardised content analysis to examine how often political content was addressed in three popular German entertainment podcasts and how the COVID-19 pandemic was framed. The analysis shows that political content accounts for up to 15 percent of the content discussed in entertainment podcasts. It is also clear that four thematic issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic dominated the podcasts: political discussion, pragmatic proposal, critical criticism and solution-oriented recommendation. Overall, it is clear that the podcast hosts identified the population's handling of the policy measures to combat the pandemic as the dominant problem, and therefore they regularly addressed recommendations for action directly to the population, some of which they underpinned with personal experiences. This shows that popular German entertainment podcasts supported the political measures taken and held the population more accountable than journalistic reporting.
The increasing importance of social media in political communication since Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign has led to a highly productive, dynamic, and ever-growing field of scholars researching the use of social media by politicians. However, academic literature in recent years has also featured debates about the heterogeneity of research in this area. It is commonly assumed and critically discussed that these studies primarily revolve around a U.S. context and use Twitter as a primary source of data, and that research time frames focus on election campaigns and neglect communication outside of election times. Yet, we still lack the data to support these assumptions. Against this background, we systematically analyze, document, and discuss the diversity of existing research on politicians’ use of social media between 2004 and 2020. In this context, we investigate the research objects of the existing studies, the theoretical backgrounds and methods used, and where they were conducted.
