News
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Journalism, audiences, and platform power in the age of transformation
Tjaša Turnšek and Rok Smrdelj presented their papers at the CEECOM communication conference in Zadar.
The Citizens’ Parliament on media and democracy in Slovenia is ending, but the implementation of its demands is just beginning
his last gathering focused on the topic of media and participation and featured guest speaker Kaja Jakopič, the Digital content director at Radio Television Slovenia, a public service media.
International Study Seminar Divided Societies on Autocracy
In her lecture “The Authoritarian Playbook: Media Instrumentalisation and the Struggle for Autonomous Journalism,” Mojca Pajnik analyzed strategies of media instrumentalisation in regimes with authoritarian tendencies.
Media freedom report 2025
EU media freedom in deepening crisis amid rising authoritarianism.
Media Instrumentalization from Transition to Authoritarian Populism
An article authored by Fanni Toth, Mojca Pajnik and Lana Zdravković has been published in the journal Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.
Citizens’ Parliament in Slovenia continues the discussion: representation, media responsibility, and 12 new demands
To help introduce the topic, the session featured guest speaker Matija Stepišnik, editor-in-chief of Večer, one of Slovenia’s largest and oldest newspapers.
Projects
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Affective Media: Transformations of Public Communication
The study examines the “affective turn” in the media which has marked a series of changes, ranging from the digitalisation of newsrooms and new forms of employment to the...
Mapping Media for Future Democracies
Establishing an up-to-date overview and understanding of the state of democracy in the European Union, its challenges, strengths and threats, and the roles and functions of media and journalism...
Our Media: A civil society action to generate media literacy and activism, counter polarization and promote dialogue
Increased media activism and participation of CSOs in policymaking.
Defending and strengthening the role of civil society and journalists in protecting democracy in Slovenia
Defending and strengthening the role of civil society and journalists in protecting democracy in Slovenia.
Defending watchdog role of civil society and journalists in Slovenia – extended project phase
The project aims to increase resilience of civil society organisations and journalists in Slovenia to sustain their watchdog role.
Resilience: Civil Society for Media Free of Hate and Disinformation
The project ‘s aim is to reaffirm media freedom and counter disinformation and hateful propaganda in Western Balkans and Turkey’.
Publications
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Article / Media Instrumentalization from Transition to Authoritarian Populism
The study explores media instrumentalization in Central and Eastern Europe through the perceptions of journalists in Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia. Authors: Fanni Toth, Mojca Pajnik and Lana Zdravković.
Structural Masculinism and Women’s Media Ownership in the Context of Authoritarian Populism
An article co-authored by Marlene Radl, Burçe Çelik, Mojca Pajnik & Birgit Sauer on structural masculinism and women's media ownership in the context of authoritarian populism has been published...
Enhancing the hybrid media system model: The role of critical theory in media and communication research
The main contribution of the article is to show that critical theory strengthens the explanatory power of the current eclectic-empirical media models without fundamentally undermining their foundations.
Article / Professionalizing Emotions as Reflective Engagement in Emerging Forms of Journalism
The author analyses how journalists articulate emotions as "special effects" with the potential to motivate and engage the public in the age of hybrid media.
Chapter / Transformations of the Media Sphere: Amplifying Opportunity Structures for Populism
The chapter addresses the links between populism and the media by shifting the focus from understanding "media populism" as a political style to addressing structural changes in the media...
Article / Theorizing and mapping media ownership networks in authoritarian-populist contexts: a comparative analysis of Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Turkey
The article aims to contribute to the ongoing discussions on authoritarian populism and the media, from the lens of the political economy of ownership.