Professorship of Digital Journalism

The chair of digital journalism is dedicated to advancing the understanding of how digital technologies transform journalism practices, audience engagement, and the overall media landscape. Focusing on key dimensions such as data-driven journalism, algorithmic influences, and the evolving role of journalists, Prof. Dr. Tobias Rohrbach and his team critically examine the interplay between emerging technologies and the shifting dynamics of public communication. Research encompasses diverse aspects of digital news production and dissemination, including innovative storytelling formats and online sourcing practices, while addressing the pressing challenges of misinformation (e.g., conspiracy theories), decilining trust in mainstream media, algorithmic biases, and questions of representation of minoritized groups. By exploring the roles of various actors—ranging from platform companies, institutional actors to alternative media and news influencers—this chair and its team investigate the complexities of how information about the world flows through modern communication ecologies.

Key areas of research and education:

  • Newsroom transformation through AI
  • Algorithmic curation in search engines
  • Representation of minority groups in online environments
  • Social inequalities and gender in journalistic news production
  • Dissemination (and prevention) of online misinformation
  • Understanding and restoring declining trust in journalism