INFORMATION FOR THE PRESS
Bios, contacts and quotes
- Dublin City University (DCU) - Project Coordinator
- European Neighbourhood Council (ENC)
- Centre for Social Studies (CES)
- Center for Social Sciences (CSS)
- Corvinus University of Budapest
- Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech)
- Antonio de Nebrija University (UANE)
Dr Tetyana Lokot (PI, Project Coordinator)
Dr Tetyana Lokot (PI, Project Coordinator) is Associate Professor in the School of Communications, DCU. She is an expert on digital media, hybrid media systems and Eastern European media and politics. She also researches internet governance and internet freedom. She has published in leading international peer-reviewed journals, including Information, Communication and Society, Social Media + Society, and Digital Journalism. She has received research funding from the Irish Research Council and SSSHARC and has been involved in projects funded by H2020 and ESRC, among others. Her most recent book is Beyond the Protest Square: Digital Media and Augmented Dissent (Rowman and Littlefield International).
Contact: Tanya.Lokot@dcu.ie
The MEDIATIZED EU project comes at a crucial time for Europe. As the European Union seeks to reimagine its future, our research will provide much-needed insights into what forces shape media discourses on Europeanization and how those discourses impact perceptions of the European project. We will address the key threats posed by polarisation and misinformation, but also identify opportunities offered by the hybrid media environment. We hope to contribute to a deeper understanding of how engaged citizens and informed policymaking can propel the European project towards a more inclusive, progressive and informed future.
Dr. Alessio Cornia
Dr Alessio Cornia is Assistant Professor at the School of Communications, DCU and Research Associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford. His research interests include news industry developments, political communication, digital news, social media platforms, comparative media system research and EU journalism. He has participated in several international research projects including the EU-FP7 and EU-FP6 projects. He has published a monograph on EU journalists in Brussels and several articles in academic journals including Journal of Risk Research, Media, Culture and Society, the International Journal of Press/Politics, the European Journal of Communication, Journalism, and Journalism Studies.
Contact: alessio.cornia@dcu.ie
The media coverage of the EU debate has always affected citizens’ perceptions of the EU. Previous research has shown how media organisations – based in national contexts and addressing local audiences – tend to cover EU matters by adopting a national perspective that emphasises domestic actors and arguments. We also know that the way the EU is represented is the result of established journalistic routines and the way national media systems and news organisations are structured. Our project aims at understanding how a changing media environment – which is becoming increasingly digital, fragmented, polarised and dominated by big tech platforms – is leading to major changes in how the EU is communicated to and perceived by its citizens.
Dr. Roderick Flynn
Dr Roderick Flynn is Associate Professor in the School of Communications in DCU. He specialises in media policy in Ireland and the wider European Union. He has published extensively in the area and is co-author (with John Horgan) of “Irish Media: A Critical History” (Four Courts, 2017). He has acted as Irish Principal Investigator for four iterations of the EU-funded Media Pluralism Monitor, was the local PI for the Reuters Institute project on Media Tax Policy, and has contributed chapters on Media Accountability, Media Pluralism and State support for Media Industries to books from Routledge, Wiley-Blackwell and Springer.
Contact: roderick.flynn@dcu.ie
Samuel Doveri Vesterbye
Samuel Doveri Vesterbye is the Managing Director at the European Neighbourhood Council (ENC). He specialises in qualitative and quantitative analysis on policy areas including media, deliberation, disinformation, preventing radicalisation and vulnerable communities across the European Union (EU), Turkey, Central Asia and the Middle East. He oversees ENC research and local projects across the neighbourhood, including the coordination of Academic Council Members and regional strategies, including geo-economic. His research areas also focus on EU-MENA and EU-Turkey relations in trade, accession, security, migration, and regional neighbourhood policy. He is the author of numerous research studies, including Palgrave Macmillan’s Managing Security Threats along the EU’s Eastern Flanks.
Contact: samuel@encouncil.org
Deliberation is shown to depolarise our societies. We now need to test and research the extent to which this can support new democratic governance in the age of disinformation.
Andreas Marazis
Andreas Marazis is Project Manager and Researcher specializing in the Eastern Partnership countries and in Central Asia. His research is concerned with the post-Soviet space, particularly socio-political developments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Andreas Marazis is also affiliated researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and associate researcher for EUCAM. Before joining ENC, Andreas worked as a Junior Researcher and EUCAM Programme Officer for FRIDE, and as Project Manager for Eurasian Dialogue. Andreas holds a MLitt in Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asian Security Studies from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland, UK) and an MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies from the International Hellenic University (Thessaloniki, Greece). He is fluent in English and Greek.
Contact: amarazis@encouncil.org
Engaging in dialogue with citizens and young students, and providing interdisciplinary educational programmes on fact-checking and the use of social media are the best remedies in countering information manipulation.
Prof. Dr Gabriella Ilonszki
Prof. Dr Gabriella Ilonszki (F) is political scientist, professor emerita at Corvinus University of Budapest. Her main interest covers processes of institutionalisation in East Central Europe focusing on the role of different actors. She has been involved or/and has been principal investigator in numerous national and international research studies, among others in the EU-funded FP6 INTUNE project on the role of elites in EU integration. Her more recent publications include Coalition Governance in Central Eastern Europe. (co-editor with T. Bergman and Wolfgang C. Müller). Oxford University Press, 2019; Opposition Parties in European Legislatures. Conflict or Consensus? co-editor with E. De Giorgi) Routledge Studies on Political Parties and Party Systems, London and New York, 2018. She has published numerous chapters and journal articles, including pieces in East European Politics, Electoral Studies, Politics and Gender.
Contact: gabriella.ilonszki@uni-corvinus.hu
This project will give new insight about how the elite political and policy agenda will influence public views through the media discourse. The connectedness between elite and media is crucial in the formation of public views and thus might influence the agenda itself.
Prof. Dr. György Lengyel
Prof. Dr. György Lengyel: I am Professor Emeritus at the Corvinus University of Budapest, head of the Centre for Empirical Social Research (CESR). We participated in FP 5, 6 and 7 projects and most recently in a H2020 research (Mediatized EU). I directed elite-and public opinion surveys, deliberative polls, civic discussions, experimental and online Delphi research. I received the Róbert Angelusz Prize of the H. Sociological Association (2015) and the Albert Szent-Györgyi Prize of the Ministry of Education (2009).
Contact: gyorgy.lengyel@uni-corvinus.hu
To understand the public perception of elite and media discourses concerning European integration, this is a challenging task.
Tanel Kerikmäe
Tanel Kerikmäe is Professor of Law and Director of the Tallinn Law School, Tallinn University of Technology. He holds academic degrees in law, political science, and governance from Tartu, Tallinn, and Helsinki, and was awarded Doctor of Laws honoris causa at the Jaroslav Mudryi National Law University and honorary professor at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law. He has taught at Nagoya, Luzern, and Riga, serves as a board member of several prestigious law journals, such as the Baltic Yearbook of International Law, is the chief editor of the TalTech Journal of European Studies, has been published by Ashgate, Springer, Kluwer, Oxford, and Cambridge, among others, and is an elected foreign member of the National Academy ofLegal Sciences of Ukraine. His research interests and expertise lie in the field of European law and policy, specifically legislative drafting, legal analysis, and institutional reform. He notably served as the head of the research group preparing the legal strategy for the Estonian Artificial Intelligence for Government Office and has been involved in several other law and technology-related initiatives and development projects. He has also been active as an expert consultant to various international organisations such as UNESCO, WHO, ICF, and Deloitte, and has been an invited speaker at various high-level forums including Brussels, Tokyo, Beijing, Budapest, and Auckland.
Contact: tanel.kerikmae@taltech.ee
Media, the most powerful communication instrument reaches more minds than ever. Both Euroeuphoria and Euroscepticism are baked in large parts in information channels and often gobbled down without hesitation or caution by many of us. It is still true that media raises the public awareness but may, however, directly manipulate the attitudes of media consumers who are far from being homogeneous. Also, the cultural differences in diverse societies may play a significant role in producing, disseminating and interpreting information. Therefore, it may be that the same news can have quite different effects due to their timing, context but also the socio-cultural environment. We are ready to conduct a cross-country comparative study covering seven States to find out the elements of the phenomenon that is certainly more than “the mirror of society” falsely expected to reflect “the reality”.
Prof. Katrin Nyman-Metcalf
Prof. Katrin Nyman-Metcalf is is adjunct professor of communications law and legal expert on e-governance, doing research as well as consulting on legal aspects of e-governance and other uses of ICT tools, including data protection, ethics of technology use, regulatory issues, harmonisation of laws, freedom of expression, etc. Katrin has published extensively on these issues as well as on regional integration matters. She cooperates with the Estonian e-Governance Academy as a legal expert. Her career of more than 30 years has included academic and practical work in more than 40 countries. Her Phd (1999, Uppsala University) is in the field of outer space law.
Contact: katrin.nyman-metcalf@taltech.ee
Media and communications are increasingly important in the debate around our security in the broad sense. Cyberattacks do not only threaten infrastructure but fake news and disinformation aim to destabilise societies. The perception of the EU is a common target for such attempts, which is why the project on mediatization and the EU includes cybersecurity.
Dr. Archil Chochia
Dr. Archil Chochia
is a Senior Researcher at TalTech Law School of Tallinn University of Technology. Dr. Chochia obtained his doctoral degree from Tallinn University of Technology in 2013. He has more than 90 academic publications and is a co-editor of the books “Political and Legal Perspectives of the EU Eastern Partnership Policy” (Springer, 2016), “Brexit: History, Reasoning and Perspectives” (Springer, 2018) and “Russian Federation in the Global Knowledge Warfare – Influence Operations in Europe and Its Neighbourhood” (Springer, 2021). Archil is a managing editor of TalTech Journal of European Studies. Archil is a Senior Fellow of Weinstein International Foundation.
Contact: archil.chochia@taltech.ee
Media has increasing influence on our societies and plays an important role in creating our perceptions. The same is true about how the citizens of the European Union understand and perceive the organisation and Europeanisation process as such. The MEDIATIZED EU project brings together a team of scholars from different parts of continental Europe with the aim to study how the European project is framed in the media and represented in public opinion.
Prof. Thomas Hoffmann
Prof. Thomas Hoffmann is a Professor of Private Law at the Department of Law (TalTech Law School) at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. Thomas’ research focusses on comparative private law, here especially in insolvency law, private international law, contracts in digital environments and consumer law. He provided comprehensive research on Estonian, German and international law to various stakeholders within numerous EC tenders. Additionally, he has researched on EU citizenship policies, and has edited the book “Russia and the EU – Spaces of Interaction” (Routledge 2020, together with A. Makarychev). Thomas keeps track with forensic issues by serving as Of Counsel for the firm bnt Attorneys-at-Law in Tallinn. A list of his publications is available at http://bit.ly/1fz4RkT
Contact: thomas.hoffmann@taltech.ee
The sophisticated comparative approach taken by the MEDIATIZED EU project promises valuable insights into the effects of media discourses on Europeanisation on two levels: Firstly, the national media landscapes of the selected EU member states themselves are highly diverse in matters of region, media culture and time of EU accession. Additionally, some of the researched media landscapes include large proportions of non-EU language media – partly explicitly addressing non-EU audiences -, where attitudes towards Europeanisation may deviate even starker from EU discourse standards on the matter. Setting these multifarious ways of reflecting Europe in media into context will definitely help us to understand why Europe is perceived as it is – and hopefully also where some emerging misconceptions of the European ideas are rooted in.
Dr. Holger Mölder
Dr. Holger Mölder is Estonian political scientist, Associated Professor in International Relations and Security Studies at the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). He has PhD in Political Sciences from the University of Tartu and MA in International Security and Civil Military Relations from the US Naval Postgraduate School. Previously, he worked nearly 20 years for the Estonian Ministry of Defence and the Estonian Military Academy. His main research interests cover various international security issues, political cultures, influence and information operations, and psychological warfare. His most recent publications are Culture of Fear: The Decline of Europe in Russian political imagination in Krouwel, A.; Önnerfors, A. (Ed.). Continent of Conspiracies: Conspiracy Theories in and about Europe (Abingdon-on-Thames, England, UK: Routledge) and a book The Russian Federation in the Global Knowledge Warfare – Influence Operations in Europe and Its Neighbourhood. Springer Nature (edited with A. Chochia, T. Kerikmäe and V. Sazonov).
Contact: holger.molder@taltech.ee
MEDIATIZED EU is a timely project with a permanent global information warfare emerging, while the increasing populist wave has created popular narratives based on cultural, historical, and religious myths, which often describe the European Union (EU) as a declining phenomenon created by political elites, and suffering under the influence of liberal and tolerant values. Europe has become one of the central battlegrounds in status-related conflicts between the Western liberal democracy and its ideological contenders. Therefore, studying public attitudes during the time of change would offer an important challenge for understanding rapidly developing processes around us and the revolutionary role of communication and media in changing social discourses.
Dr. Branislav Radeljić
Dr. Branislav Radeljić
is Professor of International Relations, and Director of Internationalization at Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey. He also serves as Visiting Professor of European Politics at Antonio de Nebrija University, Spain. His scholarly interests focus on European Union, East European, and Western Balkan political and socioeconomic developments. As the author and (co-)editor of numerous publications, Professor Radeljić has presented his findings at numerous conferences and workshops, and has regularly been invited to give talks and commentary to different media outlets. Outside academia, Professor Radeljić conducts research and provides consultancy services within his area of expertise. He is also a registered expert witness for asylum, refugee, and immigration cases. He covers Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Russia.
Contact: bradeljic@nebrija.es
The project Mediatized EU, while taking place at a critical point of the European integrationist project, offers an in-depth examination of the highly polarizing media discourses. Be it about Brexit, enlargement, refugee crises, geopolitics of vaccine, or future economic challenges, the media have occupied a key role between the ruling elites and their respective publics. Accordingly, their discourses have managed to incentivize or discourage citizen participation, and by doing so, to shape their general standpoint toward the so-called European values, solidarity, and coexistence.
Dr. Gracia Abad
Dr. Gracia Abad
is Associate Professor in International Relations, Research Coordinator at the Social Sciences School and Coordinator of the PhD Programme on Security and Risks and Conflicts Managemente, at Nebrija University. She has also taught undergraduate, graduate and specialisation courses at Comillas University, Saint Louis University, Complutense University of Madrid and University of Salamanca, among others. Dr. Abad has been visiting fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London; the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels and the Rajaratnam School of Internacional Studies in Singapore and guest lecturer at the Richmond and Syracuse Universities, in London. Dr. Abad’s main research interests are European and Asian security, International Institutions, Multilateralism, Asia-Europe relations and Chinese foreign and security policy.
Contact: gabad@nebrija.es
Alongside traditional security threats, over the past decades we have seen a number of new security challenges emerge. Among these new challenges are those related to the use of cyberspace. This new reality means that EU member states need to devise effective strategies to address these new challenges, not only in isolation, but also in a concerted manner.
Dr. Sonia Boulos
Dr. Sonia Boulos is an assistant professor of international human rights law at the department of International Relations, Nebrija University. She is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship for her doctoral studies. Her teaching and research interests focus on international protection of human rights. She has participated in various research projects on issues related to the application of international human rights standards in local settings. She has published in high-impact journals such as The Journal of Business Ethics and Women & Criminal Justice.
Contact: Sboulos@nebrija.es
Developments in the field of communications have created unprecedented opportunities for ordinary citizens to engage in the public sphere and in public debates over central political, economic and cultural issues. But at the same time, these developments created more opportunities to manipulate and distort information in a way that hinders citizens’ ability to engage in informed debates over crucial issues on the public agenda. The MEDIATIZED project provides a unique opportunity to study, in depth, the challenges and opportunities embodied in the media, and their impact on the future of the European integration project. This, without losing sight of the centrality of free speech and freedom of the press in the European legal order.
Dr Marcos Mayo-Cubero
Dr Marcos Mayo-Cubero is Associate Professor and Director of the MA in Television Journalism at Nebrija University. His research interests include journalism, disinformation, social media, digital journalism, and crisis communication. As an early-career researcher, he has published several articles in JCR academic journals indexed in Scopus. He also has professional expertise as a TV journalist for over twelve years at one of Spain’s most relevant news outlets with a specialization in political and economic news.
Contact: mmayo@nebrija.es
The MEDIATIZED EU project explores the discourse of Europeanization in the elite-media-public triangle by a seven-country comparative analysis. We seek to improve the understanding of the main threats to the European project and develop policy recommendations for national and EU policymakers. The research team seeks rigorous and reliable scientific evidence to tackle disinformation and political polarisation.
Dr. Luis Miguel Pedrero Esteban
Dr. Luis Miguel Pedrero Esteban is Full Professor and Principal investigator of the INNOMEDIA Research Group at Nebrija University. He is focused on digital transformation and new production and commercialization models in the audiovisual system. He has been a journalist and consultant a variety of media (Cadena SER, COPE, Onda Cero, Los 40, Radio Blanca, RTV Canarias, Onda Madrid). He teaches about Audiovisual Production and Programming, Communication Structure, and Transmedia Narrative. Visiting lecturer at several universities in Europe (UK, Italy, Portugal) and Latin America (Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela). Author of the books Music Radio in Spain; The Audiovisual and Advertising Industry in Castilla y León (with A. Badillo & M. Fuertes) and TV and Children (with J. Muñoz). Co-editor of The digital transformation of radio (with J.M. García-Lastra) and Mapping post-digital communication: media and audiences in the COVID-19 society (with A. Pérez Escoda). Content curator of digital magazine Screens, Waves, Frames y Bits.
Contact: lpedrero@nebrija.es
The digital transformation of the audiovisual system not only changing the production and distribution models of information and entertainment, but also the consumption habits and even the users behavior. The perception of the world and the citizens opinion is increasingly mediatized by online channels and social networks. This is why MEDIATIZED EU is so important to identify the keys to the construction and reception of media discourses about the European identity.
Dr. Ana Pérez Escoda
Dr. Ana Pérez Escoda
is Associate Professor in Antonio de Nebrija University, researcher in the INNOMEDIA Research Group. She is an expert on digital literacy, digital media and digital communication. She also published about digital competences and innovation in the field of communication and education. She has participated in several national and international competitive research projects related with media literacy and digital literacy. She has published several chapters, books and journal articles. She has editorial expertise for been associate editor during four years in a first quartile journal (indexed in Journal citation Report in Q1 all along her collaboration). Her most recent book, Mapping post-digital communication: media and audiences in the COVID-19 society (Thomson Reuters, Civitas).
Contact: aperezes@nebrija.es
In the era of Internet with global participation, media discourses and citizens perceptions are more crucial than ever in the social and political construction. MEDIATIZED EU project will give the needed background to policy makers and stakeholders to truly understand media discourses on Europeanization in order to enhance citizens engagement. Results could be crucial for Europe’s future strategy.
Dr. María-José Establés
Dr. María-José Establés
is lecturer and researcher in INNOMEDIA research group at Nebrija University (Spain). She has earned a Ph.D. in Communication (Pompeu Fabra University). She teaches “Communication Theory”, “Media History” and “New Technologies and Information Society”. Her areas of research are currently focused on audiences and fan studies, with a special interest in the creation and dissemination of discourses for social, educational, and political matters. In addition, she has published academic articles on digital learning, transmedia storytelling, and digital journalism. She has published in several indexed journals and publishers such as “Learning, Media and Technology”, “Routledge”, “Profesional de la Información”, “Tirant lo Blanch”, “Thomson Reuters Aranzadi”, “Prisma Social” and “Historia y Comunicación Social”. She has also been a visiting researcher at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland), Bournemouth University (United Kingdom), and the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain).
Contact: mestables@nebrija.es
The H2020 Mediatized EU project opens the opportunity to have a deep understanding of how the audiences analyze the discourses, and in particular, what means for them what is to be a European citizen. That is a very valuable tool to encourage stakeholders and Governments to spread useful discourses about the issues that are really important issues for EU citizens.
Dr. Susana Ferreira
Dr. Susana Ferreira
Susana Ferreira is a lecturer at the António de Nebrija University and the Director of the master’s degree in Risk Management in Conflicts and co-director of the master’s degree in International Relations. She is also an associate researcher at the Portuguese Institute of International Relations (IPRI-NOVA). Her research interests and publications focus on international migration, border management, security studies, and European policies and the Mediterranean.