Jun.-Prof. Dr. Niklas Venema

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Niklas Venema

Junior Professor

Communication and Media Change (JP)
Zeppelinhaus
Nikolaistraße 27-29, Room 3.03
04109 Leipzig

Phone: +49 341 97 - 35715

Abstract

Niklas Venema is a junior professor for communication and media change at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies at Leipzig University since April 2022. His research and teaching focuses on journalism, media policy and political communication in a long-term historical perspective. He is currently researching counterpublics in view of political and media change. Before moving to Leipzig University, he was a research assistant at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at Freie Universität Berlin from 2016 to 2022. In 2021, he received his doctorate with a thesis on the history of on-the-job training in journalism (the so called Volontariat).

Professional career

  • since 04/2022
    Junior Professor for Communication and Media Change at the Institute for Communication and Media Studies at Leipzig University
  • 04/2016 - 03/2022
    Research Associate at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at Freie Universität Berlin

Education

  • 04/2016 - 08/2021
    Doctorate (Dr. phil.) in Media and Communication Studies at Freie Universität Berlin
  • 10/2009 - 03/2016
    Studies in Communication and Media Science at Leipzig University

The junior professorship is dedicated to the change of media and society as a research focus of the institute in a historical perspective and thus contributes to the characterization and understanding of current transformations. In examining past transformations and their social conditions and consequences, the relevant fields of journalism, media policy and political communication, as well as the public sphere as a whole, are the main focus of attention. In addition, the history of communication and media studies analyzes the changes in scholarly reflection that accompanied the media and political changes. Methodologically, the research work of the junior professorship combines historical source work with social scientific, especially qualitative, approaches.

  • The Public Sphere and the Labor Movement: Democratic Discourse as Ideal and Danger
    Venema, Niklas
    Duration: 03/2024 – 03/2027
    Funded by: Stiftungen Inland
    Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Kommunikations- und Medienwandel
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more projects

  • Venema, N.
    Counterpublics and structural change in media and politics: A theoretical framework on transformations within a long-term historical perspective
    Javnost - The Public. 2024. 31 (2). pp. 231–252.
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  • Venema, N.
    International cooperation on (counter)publics between tradition and reorientation: Social democracy and its media in the Cold War era
    Communications - The European Journal of Communication Research. 2023. pp. 1–21.
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  • Venema, N.
    Medien und Propaganda 1933
    Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte. 2023. 73 (4). pp. 49–54.
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  • Venema, N.
    Das Volontariat: Eine Geschichte des Journalismus als Auseinandersetzung um seine Ausbildung (1870–1990)
    Köln: Herbert von Halem. 2023.
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  • Löblich, M.; Venema, N.
    Press “taboos” and media policy: West German trade unions and the urge to gain media attention during the era of press concentration
    International Journal of Communication. 2022. pp. 4543–4562.
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more publications

  • Andere Stipendien/Forschungspreise: Nachwuchsförderpreis Kommunikationsgeschichte
    Venema, Niklas (Kommunikations- und Medienwandel)
    awarded in 2022 by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, Fachgruppe Kommunikationsgeschichte.
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more awards

  • Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe Kommunikationsgeschichte der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft
    Von Emanzipation zu Desinformation? Gegenöffentlichkeiten und ihre Bewertung im Wandel
    Kommunikations- und Medienwandel
    Event Organiser: Venema, Niklas
    28/03/2023 – 30/03/2023
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more events

The teaching focus of the junior professorship is on the transformation of the public sphere, journalism and structures of the media system from the 19th century to the recent past. The courses illustrate the interrelations between media and social change using the example of specific shifts as well as in an overarching long-term perspective and frame the content with a reflection on critical theories of the public sphere and the media. The research-oriented teaching of the junior professorship also introduces the application of qualitative social scientific methods to questions of communication history.

  • The media system of the GDR and the transformation since 1989

    The seminar deepens the examination of the German media system with regard to the development in the GDR and the upheaval of 1989/90. Following debates on memory, the framework conditions of political control, the organization of press and broadcasting and the role of journalists and users are analyzed. Based on the historical development, the consequences for media structures and uses up to the present day are discussed.

  • Visual political communication using the example of right-wing populism

    The module introduces the theory, methodology and empirical research of visual political communication using the example of right-wing populism. After an overview of theories such as visual framing and the current state of research, participants will develop their own ideas for the conception, implementation and evaluation of small research projects, either alone or in groups. 

Research fields

Communication and media studies

Specializations

Communication and media change in a long-term and historical comparative perspective

Contact for media inquiries

Phone: +49 341 97 - 35715

Di 13-14 Uhr, Anmeldung per E-Mail