Media History

The “Media History” research group examines the role of communication and the media in social and societal processes from two perspectives within the history of media and communication – on the one hand, as communication in the past, and on the other, as communication about the past.

In the first case, media providers, communicators and communicative processes are examined in terms of their significance for historical processes of transformation. One example of this is the project on the history of Hessischer Rundfunk in the post-war period.

In the second instance, studies are being carried out on the valuation of the past, based on the fundamental changes in the constellation of actors and communicative practices in digital interactive media. This research into practices of remembrance and a ‘digital media history’ is being carried out in close collaboration with the Leibniz Research Network ‘Value of the Past’ in its 2nd phase (2025–2029) and Research Group 3 ‘Participation and Appropriation’, which is part of it.

Head of the research group: Dr. Hans-Ulrich Wagner

Photo by Pablo García Saldaña on Unsplash

Overview

Last update: 16.09.2026

Blog Articles, News, Projects, Publications, Podcast Episodes

Spielfiguren und Playmobil-Gegenstände auf einem Haufen: Radio, Laptop, Fernseher, Kamera, Buch und Zeitung.
International Cooperation

Transnational Media Histories

Relationships between media and by media do not stop at borders. The cooperative project with the Macquarie University in Sydney investigates such transnational histories of media.

Drei Menschen stehen an einen Maschendrahtzaun gelehnt. Einer blickt ins Smartphone
Subproject Research Institute Social Cohesion

Media Use and Social Cohesion

How do people in different social situations use different kind of media? And how do they contribute to the creation of public spheres and social cohesion?

Junger Mann im Café mit Laptop und Smartphone
Subproject Research Institute for Social Cohesion

Transfer Office “Media and Social Cohesion”

The transfer office “Media and Social Cohesion” is coordinating all transfer and research acitivities of the projects, which the HBI contributes to the Research Institute Social Cohesion.

Junge Frau mit Kopfhörern schaut ins Smartphone.
Study for Hamburg Senate and dpa

Use the News

In the "Use the News" project, the Leibniz Institute for Media Research is researching the news literacy of the population under the age of 30.

Nahaufnahme eines Netzes
Rules in Digital Communication Spaces

Norms of the Net

The framework project bundles research activities in the area of the structural perspective investigation of rule formation in digital communication spaces.

Illustration einer jungen Frau mit Laptop vor einer Deutschlandkarte mit Medienlogos
Study Findings in Video

People Who Use Media Also Trust Them – But Not Unconditionally

In Germany, trust in established news sources can best be explained by age: Older internet users tend to place more trust in the news than younger ones. There are also differences regarding political orientation.

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Open Access!

Longitudinal Upstream and Downstream Effects of Political Participation

Judith Möller and fellow researchers have published an article in the international political science journal "Acta Politica". It examines the question of whether low-threshold political activities make people participate more in democratic processes such as elections or less.

Cover of the publication "Sozialer Zusammenhalt vor Ort"
RISC Publication

Social Cohesion at the Local Level

A new volume in the series published by the Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) brings together contributions on the topic of “Social Cohesion at the Local Level.” Among the contributions is an article by PD Dr. Jan-Hindrik Schmidt and Hannah Immler, RISC researchers at the Hamburg section of the HBI, on "Local Media Repertoires and Cohesion-Related Attitudes."

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Scientific Accompanying Research

Repository for Policy Documents

Our institute provided scientific support for the development of this specific information and consulting infrastructure.

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