SComS: Studies in Communication Sciences

The latest Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS) issue, 25/1, is now available. This issue features three general section articles: a study on media effects in Swiss direct democracy using panel data and content analysis by Guillaume Zumofen 🗳️, an analysis of decentralized media policy innovation in Swiss cantons following the rejection of a national subsidy plan by Anja Noster and Manuel Puppis 🏛️, and a discourse-theoretical examination of how “Europe” is constructed on Czech social media by Vaia Doudaki et al. 🇪🇺. Also included: a book review on Roger Blum’s "Das Blatt der Patrioten," offering a rich reflection on 150 years of local journalism and political agency 📚 #SComS #OpenAccess @SGKM_SSCM @SAGW_CH hope.uzh.ch/scoms/issue/vi…

Johanna Burger examines how people in the canton of Berne inform themselves about local politics — identifying four political information repertoires and showing how local media use relates to voter turnout and split-ticket voting. doi.org/10.24434/j.sco…

New Issue Out Now: Studies in Communication Sciences 25/2! Our thematic section on Multimedia Political Communication includes the Guest Editorial by Franziska Oehmer-Pedrazzi & Stefano Pedrazzi and five research articles on social media, podcasts, Instagram news use, political memes, and local information practices. #platinumopenaccess #communicationscience Many thanks to the guest-editors, authors, and reviewers @SeismoVerlag.

“News usage on Instagram: Frequency, motives, evaluation, and the role of political interest” A survey of 494 frequent Instagram users in Switzerland shows that news exposure is widespread—mostly incidental—and strongly shaped by political interest. doi.org/10.24434/j.sco…

“From ‘War Hero’ to ‘Peace Hero’?” by Judith Reinbold analyzes how the Bundeswehr’s MINUSMA mission is portrayed on Facebook — showing how heroism frames shape public narratives of soldiers as protectors and peacekeepers. doi.org/10.24434/j.sco…

Tasmin Kaltschmitt et al. analyse how popular German entertainment podcasts discussed politics and framed COVID-19 — showing that up to 15% of their content was political and often included direct recommendations to listeners. doi.org/10.24434/j.sco…

“More of the same or manifold perspectives?” by Klinger et al. offers the first broad systematic review (2004–2020) of research on politicians’ use of social media — revealing clear patterns, blind spots, and a strong Western and Twitter-centric bias. doi.org/10.24434/j.sco…

🎓🏆 The SComS Best Paper Award 2024 goes to Benjamin P. Lange, Stefanie Lörch & Frank Schwab! Their study shows how linguistic complexity in Tagesschau, RTL aktuell & logo! shapes knowledge and trust in news. 📺🧠🔍 🔗 hope.uzh.ch/scoms/announce… #Commscience #MediaStudies #NewsResearch #OpenAccess

📘 Studies in Communication Sciences now encourages open data sharing 📊✨ With our new Open Data Policy, authors can support transparency and reproducibility by publishing their data in trusted repositories. 🔍📂 Learn more 👉 hope.uzh.ch/scoms/opendata… #OpenScience #FAIRdata #AcademicPublishing

🆕 Online First-Article in Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS)! #platinumopenaccess 📄 Guillaume Zumofen (Univ. of Bern) explores how media content influences voting in referendums 🗳️ 📰📺 Newspaper vs. TV – who shapes voter choice? Read the article: hope.uzh.ch/scoms/article/… #OpenAccess #CommunicationResearch #PoliticalCommunication #PlatinumOpenAccess

Benjamin P. Lange (U of Würzburg & IU Internationale Hochschule), Stefanie Lörch (U of Würzburg), and Frank Schwab (U of Würzburg) present their study, "Between knowledge acquisition and perceived credibility: Effects of different linguistic forms in the television news programs Tagesschau, RTL aktuell, and logo!" hope.uzh.ch/scoms/article/… #AIME #TVnews #verbalproficiency

Ilya Sulzhytski (U of Innsbruck), Olga Matveieva (Dnipro U of Technology and Ruhr-University Bochum), Vasil Navumau (Ruhr-University Bochum), and Johan Skytte (U of Tartu) present a study titled “Comparing Russian and Ukrainian media frames during the war: A mixed-method semantic network approach.” hope.uzh.ch/scoms/article/… #mediaframes #Telegram #networkanalysis

The latest Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS) issue, 24/3, is available. This issue includes three general section articles: an analysis of the impact of digital press archives on media history research 📰, an examination of media framing during the Russo-Ukrainian war 🇺🇦, and a study on linguistic styles in TV news and their effects on audiences 🎥. Also included: A workshop review on strategies to minimize research bias and a book review on innovations in journalism 📚 #SComS #OpenAccess. @phippukopter @sina_jb @KLobinger @SAGW_CH @ICPP_USI @SGKM_SSCM hope.uzh.ch/scoms/issue/vi…

📰How does media coverage shape gender perceptions in politics? Tobias Rohrbach's dissertation explores the complex dynamics of media-based evaluations of male and female politicians. His findings challenge common assumptions, revealing that media often portrays both genders similarly—and sometimes even favors women who emphasize expertise. A nuanced look at gender bias in political communication. #PoliticalCommunication #GenderBias #OpenAccess hope.uzh.ch/scoms/article/…

👥How do gender stereotypes shape influencer preferences among 🇨🇭 Swiss youth ? Lilian Suter & Tim Eggli's study reveals that boys favor gaming and comedy influencers, while girls lean toward style and music. Both genders prefer influencers who share personal insights, underscoring the role of social media in shaping adolescents’ identities. #Youth #Influencers #GenderRoles #OpenAccess hope.uzh.ch/scoms/article/…

SComS issue 24/02 is now available #OpenAccess! 💫 Explore the Thematic Section on “Digital innovations in the competition for attention” and dive into a dissertation summary in our Community Section. Read it here: hope.uzh.ch/scoms/issue/vi…