There is an intense discussion in politics, economy and science about chances and risks of media fragmentation and segmentation of the audience. Other than in the US there are only few empirical studies for the German case regarding media fragmentation online. The aim of our project is to show the development of media and audience fragmentation online in Germany, to find determinants of fragmentation online, and to analyse chances and risks of media fragmentation for democracies.
Therefore, we are using an interdisciplinary strategy which combines social science and economic science. Based on the Media-Analysis Online data source with more than 730 commercial media channels online and a minimum of 30.000 respondents every year we are able to analyse the media market online and the audience structure of online media itself. Bringing together those two approaches enables us to get a broader picture of fragmentation in online media as well as its effects on democracies. Thereby, business models of online media will be an issue as well as media repertoires of online media user groups. Furthermore, looking at the audience and market structure at the same time, gives the ability to develop governance strategies.
The PhD projects are part of the Funding Program “Digital Society” of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the state of NRW. More details about the project can be found here.
Ansprechpartner
Prof. Dr. Olaf Jandura
Communication Studies
Prof. Dr. Olaf Jandura is an adjunct professor at the Department of Social Sciences at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, where he holds the chair of Communication and Media Studies II since October 2020.
In his research and teaching, he focuses on political communication, media content research, and reception research. In the context of DIID, he is concerned with the fragmentation of audience and market online.
Contact
Céline Fabienne Kampes
Communication Studies
Celine Fabienne Kampes is working as a research associate at the business studies department of the University of Applied Sciences Duesseldorf. She is doing her doctor‘s degree as part of the tandem-project ‘audience and market fragmentation online’ together with Inga Brentel from the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf. She studied communication and multimedia management at the University of Applied Siences Düsseldorf (B.A.) and technology and innovation management at the FOM Düsseldorf (M.Sc.). Within her bachelor thesis, she focused on the discrepancy between governmental data protection actions and its perception within e-administration. In her master thesis, she concentrated on requirements for certification standards within the voluntary offset market.
In her dissertation she is dedicated to the increasing influence of new advertising forms (“programmatic advertising”, “native advertising”) as well as their avoidance (ad blocking technology) on the business models and journalistic functioning of online media. Regarding the DIID, she is particularly interested in the evolving business models of online information offers and their impact on pluralism.
Private: Inga Brentel
Communication Studies
Inga Brentel is research associate for media and communication studies at the social science institut of Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf. There she is working on her doctoral degree as part of the tandem-project ‘audience and market fragmentation online’ together with Céline Fabienne Lücken working at the business studies department of the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf. She studied political science at the University of Mannheim (B.A.) and political communication at the Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf (M.A.). In her master thesis, she was concentrating on electoral coverage and its determinants.
With her dissertation, she is looking at audience fragmentation online, its determinants as well as its consequences for democracies. Regarding the DIID she is mainly interested in the attention of users to different media channels online. Thereby, political information channels and programs are focused.