Chris Liebold
From 7 to 11 September, five members of the CCS group travelled to Brno, the Czech Republic, to attend the 11th European Communication Conference (ECC11), organised by the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA).
The conference brought together communication scholars from Europe and beyond to exchange research findings, discuss current developments and develop new perspectives on contemporary communication and media processes. The CCS Group was represented with research papers on the use of political information, digital behavioural data, far-right communication networks and populist narratives in alternative and mainstream media.
Milin Zhang, together with Emese Domahidi, presented their research on the panel ‘Cross-Platform News Exposure and Digital Trace Methods’. In their paper ‘Comparing Subjective and Objective Measures of Online Political Exposure: A Validation Study from Survey and Web Browsing Data’, they examined the measurement of political information consumption and its significance for empirical research. The study contributes to the current debate on how exposure to political information can be measured and how subjective measurements based on survey data compare with behavioural data from web browsers.
Maximilian Zehring presented his research on far-right actors and communication networks on Telegram.His presentation, ‘Far-right settlers on Telegram: Connections, locations, and communication’,examined how far-right actors on the platform are connected and communicate with one another. Particular focus was placed on the structures and the spatial dimension of these networks.
Jingyuan Yu, together with Christine Wendo King’ang’i and Emese Domahidi, presented their research in the panel ‘Populism, Nostalgia, and Political Memory’. Their paper, ‘Virtue and villainy: A comparative study of populist narratives in alternative and legacy media during the federal election period in Germany’, examined how populist information is communicated in alternative and established media. It compared narratives and patterns of information dissemination across the different media environments.
In addition to their own presentations, ECREA offered the CCS group numerous opportunities for academic exchange with colleagues from various countries and fields of research. The conference provided a valuable space for constructive discussions about our research projects, the exchange of ideas, and the cultivation of existing and the establishment of new academic contacts.
We are delighted to have had the opportunity to present our research, meet old and new colleagues, and take part in the stimulating discussions.
We are already looking forward to the next ECREA!