Hug, Theo, Dr. phil. (born in 1960), took classes in psychology, pedagogy, mathematics and philosophy, and finished his postdoctoral qualification in 1996 at the University of Innsbruck (LFU).
Since 2011, he has been full professor of Educational Sciences (with emphasis on Media Education and Communications Culture), a founding member and coordinator of the interfaculty focal research group Innsbruck Media Studies.
His areas of interest include media education and media literacy, mobile learning and micro-learning, medialization education, knowledge and communication, methodology and the philosophy of science.
Missomelius, Petra, Assoz.-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr., studied modern German literature and media, European ethnology, and cultural research, as well as fine arts at Philipps University in Marburg, where she obtained her doctorate in 2006 with a thesis entitled “Digital Media Culture. Media configuration and perception.” Starting in 2001, she was employed as a research assistant at the Institute for Media Studies of the Faculty of German Studies and the Science of Art at Philipps University in Marburg, researching the artistic use of media, film analysis and knowledge, digital photography, and imaging methods in the natural sciences, as well as media education.
Since 2012, she has been at the Faculty of Education of Leopold Franzens University and working in the area of media education and communication culture. She is Chief Editor of education/policy at the online journal “Medienimpulse – Beiträge zur Medienpädagogik” (“Media Impulses – contributions to media education”). Furthermore, she is the Deputy Head of Institute and Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences.
Her research fields are: media theory, (moving) image cultures and media practices, theories of the body and technology, media and science/education.
Her habilitation thesis "Bildung in transformativen Medienkulturen. Bausteine zur mündigen Orientierung im Binären" [Education in transformative media cultures. Building Blocks for a Responsible Orientation in the Binary] was published in 2021 with the title "Bildung - Medien - Mensch. Mündigkeit im Digitalen" with FWF publication funding in print and online. The new publication is available for download in the GEI repository. Click here to access the work on the publisher's website.
Russmann, Uta is Professor of Media and Communication Studies with a focus on democracy research. Before joining the Department of Media, Society and Communication, she was FH-Professor and Senior Researcher at the Department of Communication at FHWien of the WKW for the study programs Journalism & Media Management and Communication Management from 2012 to 2022. Prior to that, she was a postdoctoral researcher in FWF-funded projects at the University of Vienna in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2007-2009) and at the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck (2009-2012). Uta Rußmann received her PhD from the University of Vienna in 2007.
Her research and teaching focuses on political communication, media and election campaigns, digital communication, (visual) social media, public relations and strategic communication.
2012 Highly Commended Award (Emerald Literati Network)
Peer-Review Activities
2021– Ad-hoc Reviewer, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) 2020– Editorial Board Member, European Journal of Health Communication 2020– Ad-hoc Reviewer, Journal of Communication 2018– Ad-hoc Reviewer, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (Top Reviewer 2019) 2017– Ad-hoc Reviewer, Science Communication 2014– Ad-hoc Reviewer, International Journal of Press/Politics
Zeitel-Bank, Natascha, Dr. studied sociology at the university Mannheim with focus on European comparative social research and finished her doctoral thesis in political science at the university of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany (European Regional Policy and the impact of economic and political interests).
Beside her academic career, Dr. Zeitel-Bank worked more than ten years as journalist in the context of European affairs (ZDF, Deutsche Welle, Bavarian television) in Mainz, Munich, Berlin and Brussels. In this field she is still active. She worked also for five years as project leader for marketing and PR in France and Italy at the Tyrolean Tourist Board, GST (2003-2007).
During her studies and professional experiences she completed research and study stays at the Graduate School of Business in Cape Town, South Africa, the University of Indiana, Institute for Development Strategies, Indiana, USA and University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Forster, Andreas studies computer science in his Bachelor's degree at the University of Innsbruck. He joined the Department of Media, Society and Communication as the technical specialist in mid-September 2021.
Penz, Jasmin BA studies "Medien im Master" as well as "Politikwissenschaften" at the University of Innsbruck. She works as a student assistant at the department since March 2022, where she organises the "Medientag" as well as the related "Ringvorlesung" and also works on the DigiVis project.
Kathrin Jarosik, studies "Lehramt Französisch mit Spezialisierung Medienpädagogik" and works at the department since March 2022 as a student assistent.
Ali, Habib, received his PhD in Public Relations from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia in 2018 with a dissertation titled: "Using public relations in organizing activism against gender-based violence in Bangladesh: A study of NGOs". He is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. His research interests include PR, crisis and conflict management, strategic communication, and communication campaigns. For the winter semester 2021/22 he joined our department as an external lecturer and taught a course on Digital Communication.
Adolf, Marian,Prof. Mag. Dr. is a media and communication scientist with a focus on media sociology. He especially devotes his work to the social and cultural aspects of media development. He has researched and taught at numerous different universities and most recently held the professorship for media culture at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen. His publications include "Die unverstandene Kultur" (Transcript 2006), "Ist Wissen Macht?" (with Nico Stehr, Velbrück 2018) and "New Complexities for Communication Research and Media Analysis" (with Christian Katzenbach et al. 2018).
Blasch, Lisa, Mag. studied Applied Linguistics (focus on discourse analysis) at the University of Vienna. She is writing her dissertation in the field of visual political communication at the University of Innsbruck. In 2020, she published her first monograph with the title "Politiker*innen als Figuren in der digitalen Mediengesellschaft". From 2016 to 2020, she was a University Assistant at the Department of German Studies / Media Linguistics at the University of Innsbruck. Since the winter semester 2020, she has been a lecturer at the Institute for Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna and will also be joining the team of external lecturers at our department from the summer semester 2021.
Beinsteiner, Andreas, Dipl.-Ing. Mag. Dr. studied computer science and philosophy in Innsbruck, Bergen, and Freiburg im Breisgau before earning his PhD in 2017 with a thesis in media philosophy. His current research deals with the technical and phenomenological theoretical foundations as well as the societal-lifeworld implications of the digital transformation; a focus here is on questions of power and subjectification. He teaches philosophy, media studies, and ethics at various universities.
Conradi, Tobias, Dr. received his PhD on the topic of the representation of crisis and catastrophe events at the University of Paderborn. He is currently a senior researcher in the SNF project "Interactive Documentary Film and the Mediality of Decision" at HSLU Lucerne. Previously, he worked as Senior Scientist at the University of Vienna, as Max Kade Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Cincinnati, and as Postdoc at ZeM Brandenburg and HBK Braunschweig. He researches discourse theory and analysis, politics of representation, and the relationship between crisis, critique, and decision.
Fleig, Michael, Dr. phil, studied media studies, sociology and political science at the University of Regensburg. He has been a research assistant with the university since 2012 and completed his doctorate in 2018 with a thesis on the French film director Michel Gondry. His main areas of expertise are: Media theory, media history, Early Cinema and Alice Guy, film, analogue/digital tensions, time and media, music videos, digital images. He is currently writing a thesis on "Das Jenseitige der Medien" for his habilitation. Since 2010 he has also been one of the organisers of the International Short Film Week Regensburg and writes film reviews for critic.de
Hetfleisch, Patricio is head of marketing and communications at Tirol Werbung GmbH (Tyrol's regional tourism organisation). He is mainly responsible for the marketing campaigns of the holiday destination. He began his career as a freelance editor and later as editor-in-chief at the Neue Zeitung für Tirol before moving to the Tiroler Tageszeitung. There, he first served as editor-in-chief of the online section. Later, as Head of Digital at Moser Holding, he was responsible for the digital strategy of Austria's third-largest print publishing house. Since the summer semester 2020, he has also been one of the external lecturers at our department.
Horaczek, Nina, Mag., born 1977, is a political scientist, book author and chief reporter for the Austrian weekly newspaper "Falter". Her work has won several awards, including the Concordia Prize and the Dr. Karl Renner Journalism Prize. In 2019, her article "Propaganda War Europe: The Far-Right Media" was nominated for the European Press Prize in the Investigative Research category. Together with lawyer Sebastian Wiese, she published a book on media and media criticism in 2018: "Informiert euch! Wie du am laufenden bleibst ohne manipuliert zu werden" (Czernin Verlag).
Klein, Thomas, PD Dr. habil. (born 1967), received his doctorate in film studies from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 2004 and habilitated in Media Studies at the University of Hamburg in 2014. From April 2018 to November 2019, he was a visiting professor at the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Hamburg. He currently works as a freelance film critic, as a speaker and lecturer on education for sustainable development and media literacy, and in sustainability communication with a focus on storytelling. Since 2021, he is co-spokesperson of the Partner Network Media, a committee in the "ESD for 2030" program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. He lives in Berlin.
Lamp, Christian, Mag., studied International Economics at the University of Innsbruck and in Alicante, Spain. His professional focus is in the area of sustainable digital marketing. The question of the sustainable impact of digital touchpoints accompanies him in his present area of responsibility as Head of Digital Fundraising at SOS Children's Villages as well as in various teaching activities at universities and in adult education.
Pfeifer, Andreas was ORF correspondent in Bolzano, Washington and Rome. Since July 2007 he has been head of the foreign affairs department of the Austrian broadcaster ORF. He comments on international events and developments for "Zeit im Bild" and reports as a special correspondent. He is also active as a trainer in ORF's internal journalism training programme.
Pig, Clemens,Dr. is chairman of the management board and managing director of APA - Austria Presse Agentur. In 2008, Pig joined the Management Board, initially serving as Head of Marketing and Sales and as Managing Director of the APA subsidiary APA-DeFacto Datenbank & Contentmanagement GmbH. In 2014, Pig was appointed managing director of the APA Group and took over as chairman in 2016. In his scientific work, Pig addresses political communication in the digital transformation process of the media in a number of publications and book chapters. Pig received the Austrian Science Award of the PRVA - Public Relations Verband Austria in 2013 and was named "Media Manager of the Year" by the industry magazine "Der österreichische Journalist" in 2018. More information about Clemens Pig https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemens_Pig
Sauer, Benedikt, Dr., studied German and History in Innsbruck (doctorate) and at the Scuola Superiore di Giornalismo in Urbino (I). He is a lecturer in journalism and media communication at the University of Innsbruck: from 1996 to 2008 at the Departments of German Literature, Contemporary History and Political Science, since 2020 at the Department of Media, Society and Communication. Since 2013, he has also been in charge of the training editorial department for radio journalism at "Freirad".
As a journalist: from 1991 to this day Austria correspondent for Rai Südtirol, as well as 1996-2008 at Der Standard, 2008-2018 columnist for the Tiroler Tageszeitung. More information about Benedikt Sauer: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedikt_Sauer
Robin is our departmental virtual assistant. As a chatbot, Robin can answer all kinds of questions concerning studies or our department in general. At the same time, Robin is constantly learning. Robin's core areas and his ability to find helpful answers to questions are constantly expanded manually as well.
Pallaver, Günther born in Bozen-Bolzano (1955), doctor of philosophy (PhD) and doctor of civil and canon low (J.U.D), is professor of Political Science with a special focus on media and political communication. He studied in Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna, Verona and London. State examination of journalism in Rome in 1991, journalist from 1989-1995. Since 1995 he has been at the University of Innsbruck.
Visiting professor at the Universities of Trento and Bozen-Bolzano. Co-founded the research team Mediawatch (Innsbruck) for media monitoring and media analysis in 1996. Freelance collaborator with various print media. Co-organizer of the Summer School in European Studies Innsbruck-Trento (2001-2010) and co-organizer of the Winter School in Federalism and Governance (since 2010). Member of the Advisory Board of Contemporary Austrian Studies (Innsbruck-New Orleans) and member of the European Centre for Research on Federalism (University of Tübingen). President of the South Tyrolian Society for political science.
Research fields: Comparative politics, political communication, federalism, ethnic minorities and (ethno)regional parties. More information about Günther Pallaver:
