Team Science Communication

The Science Communication Team bridges the gap between research at the HBI and the society for which this research is conducted. It makes scientific findings visible and accessible, brings them into public debates, and creates spaces for exchange between academia, the media, politics, the professional community, and the general public.

The team adapts research topics and findings for different target audiences and formats and supports the institute’s researchers in communicating their work. It is responsible for the HBI’s press and public relations work, as well as for communication via the institute’s website and social media channels.

The team’s responsibilities include providing editorial support for the journal “Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft” and the HBI’s publication series “Working Papers”, as well as conceptualizing and organizing public events such as the Lunch Talks, the Media Lectures, and the Hamburg Media Symposium. With our podcast BredowCast and the Media Research Blog, the team offers additional formats in which research topics are addressed, contextualized, and made accessible to different target audiences.

Overview

Leaders

Last update: 24.09.2026

Blog Articles, News, Projects, Publications, Podcast Episodes

Kira Thiel mit Doktorhut und Blumen
Successful Doctorate

Congratulations, Kira Thiel!

Kira Thiel successfully defended her dissertation on "How Adolescents Cope with Stressful Online Experiences: A Process-Oriented Analysis of Stress and Coping." Congratulations! Prof. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink and Prof. Dr. Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw supervised the dissertation.

Mädchen mit Down Syndrom sitzt auf der Counch surft mit ihrem Tablet im Internet
The Perspective of People with Disabilities

What People with Disabilities Say About Solidarity

An analysis conducted by Jan-Hinrik Schmidt and Milena Braun on behalf of Aktion Mensch shows that people with disabilities place less trust in private media outlets and social media than the general population does. The study also examines other aspects of social cohesion in Germany from the perspective of people with disabilities.

Illustration mit Plattform-Logos. Menschen vorm Bildschirm, Häusern vor dunklem Grund
Volkswagen Project in Video

Regulatory Reasoning on Algorithmic Systems

An innovative project at the intersection of media law and computer science sheds light on how news spreads on digital platforms. A team of researchers from the HBI and the Department of Informatics at the University of Hamburg carried out the project, which was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Logo "Was Deutschland verbindet" in front of a blurry group of people talking
Dialogue Project “What Unites Germany”

Can We Still Talk to Each Other?

In a two-day experiment, ARD invited 84 people to engage in an open discussion with one another on camera, transcending differences in age, background, and political views. The HBI is supporting the initiative with a multi-part survey. Jan-Hinrik Schmidt examined how participants rated the dialogue project and what they took away from it.

Illustration mehrerer Personen, die über das Smartphone, TV, Radio, Zeitungen und einen Computerbildschirm Nachrichten nutzen
Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026

News Consumption through Social Media Is Increasing

News consumption via social media is increasing: 36 percent of German internet users now access news through various social media platforms. AI chatbots continue to play only a minor role in news consumption as a source of news, with five percent of respondents reporting that they use them. These are findings from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026, for which the Leibniz Institute for Media Research in Hamburg is responsible for the German sub-study.

an runden Tischen diskutieren Menschen
Results from Our Research Clinic

The Productive Power of Doubt

Doubt serves as an interface between knowledge, trust, and action: it points to structural problems in information and regulatory systems while simultaneously constituting a key resource for critical judgment in a complex digital public sphere. As part of the HBI Open House, we conducted a Research Clinic on the topic of doubt. The findings are summarized in this blog post.

Recently Published

Visualizing Regulatory Ecosystems: The AI Act as a Case Study

The article by Magdalena Stratmann, Tobias Mast, and others was developed as part of the STEAM project, "Informing Regulatory Reasoning on Algorithmic Systems in Societal Communication with STEAM." It introduces Architectural Ecosystem Modeling, a visual method that makes the institutional structures of the AI Act visible. This method analyzes responsibilities and dependencies and identifies gaps, overlaps, and opportunities for coordination within the regulatory framework.

eine Frau hinter einem Tisch mit ablehnender Haltung gegenüber Zeitungen auf dem Tisch.
New Project!

Practices of News Avoidance and Their Implications for Public Connection

What are the effects of news avoidance on belonging to different publics and on political participation? And to what extent do these dynamics contribute to the fragmentation of public spheres? This study examines the effects of different practices of news avoidance on individuals‘ public connection.

BMFTR Project

Podcasts: Actors, Topics, and Misinformation

As audio media, such as podcasts, become more widely used, the risks of them distributing misinformation, disinformation, and fake news increase. The collaborative project “Systematic Observation of New Auditive Risks” (SONAR) examines the structure of online audio media offerings and develops methods for identifying relevant narratives and manipulation strategies.

Event Recap

That Was Our Open House

On Friday, April 17, we opened our doors to our supporters and partners, as well as to our new neighbors. We truly enjoyed presenting our research activities and outreach programs, as well as giving visitors a firsthand experience of our new location, which is designed for agile working methods and cutting-edge research.

Merz issue and Podcast Available!

Thoughts on the Debate Over Media Bans

Dr. Claudia Lampert, together with Klaus Lutz (Parabol Media Center), edited the latest issue of the media education journal “merz” (2/2026). The issue is titled “Everything Under Control? Thoughts on the Debate Over Media Bans.” Dr. Stephan Dreyer also contributed an article.

Available for Download

Annual Report 2023-2025

Evaluation, growth, our 75th anniversary, and a new building. The years from 2023 to 2025 were challenging yet fruitful. Our research output was impressive, and our social impact was significant. This annual report provides a brief overview of our activities.

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