Welcome to the Department of Communication (IfK) at the University of Münster.

Dr. Bernadette Uth is now part of the new spokesperson team of the Journalism Studies/Journalism Research Section of the German Association for Journalism and Communication Studies (DGPuK). The results of the election for the spokesperson team were announced last week. 91 percent of participants voted for the team of spokespersons. Uth will lead the specialist group together with Dr. Valerie Hase and Prof. Dr. Jonas Schützeneder (Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences).

Former student and doctoral candidate at the Department of Communication, Dr. Matthias Potthoff, was granted the venia legendi for the field of communication science by the Faculty Council 06 at the University of Münster on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. This marks the successful completion of his postdoctoral qualification process initiated in October 2023, which included a cumulative dissertation and a postdoctoral lecture with a colloquium.

As concerns of fake news continue to rise in the digital age, more attention has been placed on how this issue might be addressed by actions of the community or the state. In a guest lecture on Wednesday, May 5, Dr Shangyuan Wu from the National University of Singapore evaluates the effectiveness of civic and legislative interventions for decreasing the spread of fake news.

Hydrogen is discussed in political discourse as one of the key technologies for the energy transition. Stakeholders from various industry sectors also see it as a means to achieve the goal of climate neutrality. At the same time, politics and industry attribute to hydrogen the potential to address recurrent economic issues in the German economy. But how is hydrogen discussed in social discourse? What potential and challenges are attributed to hydrogen? Who are the voices in this discourse, and how do these stakeholders evaluate hydrogen's sustainability and capacity for innovation?

In the summer semester 2024, PD Dr. habil. Kathrin Friederike Müller joins the IfK as an interim professor for Communication Studies, while Prof Dr Volker Gehrau in on research sabbatical.