Laura Ahva
Senior Research Fellow, 1 August 2017–11 June 2020
(on leave 5 May 2018-15 March 2019
Office: Atalpa 215
Tel.: +358 (0)50 5099 219
Email: laura.ahva@tuni.fi
Twitter: @laahva
Homepage at the Faculty of Communication Sciences
Background and research interests
I have my background in journalism and media studies. The themes that I have been interested in throughout my research career are:
- the democratic and constructive role of journalism in society
- the relationship between journalists and the audience
- journalistic work practices, and how to improve them
- participation in the media: why and how people use the media so that they sometimes want to take part in producing it, e.g. through commenting, sending photos, giving tips or publishing on their own
- the changing nature of journalism, and how to theorize it
Projects
During my IASR period, I will conduct research on the dispersing nature of journalism. My study focuses especially on how (a) business of journalism has dispersed (e.g. freelancing, entrepreneurship, co-ops), and how (b) technology drives journalism to disperse (e.g. mobile apps, coding, algorithms). The project will draw from practice theory.
I am also the principal investigator in a “Conciliatory Journalism Project” conducted at Tampere Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET) and funded by Kone Foundation. This action research project develops methods for covering conflict-sensitive issues in a way to would avoid polarization.
Publications
Please go to SoleCRIS, the Current Research Information System at the University of Tampere