Simran Agarwal is a doctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Excellence for Culture Industries and Artistic Creation (LabEx ICCA), Sorbonne Paris Nord University in France. Her research looks at the various forms, mechanisms, and impacts of state and platform governance on the digital news landscape in India. She has previously led and worked on research projects exploring the political economy of free speech in India, including the Media Influence Matrix at MJRC.
Free time: pet sitting, reading, art in all forms, hiking, and adventure games
Minna Aslama Horowitz is a Docent at the University of Helsinki, a researcher at the Nordic Observatory for Digital Media and Information Disorder (NORDIS), and a Fellow at St. John’s University, New York. She is also a member of the Think Tank of the Nordic Council of Ministers to address platformization in the Nordics. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki and has taken part in several international research activities in the past decade.
Free time: dogs, horses, yoga, some jogging, true crime podcasts
Haris bin Aziz is currently postdoctoral visiting fellow at the Department of International History, London School of Economics and Political Science. He earned his Ph.D. in European Studies from Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi and remained visiting doctoral scholar at the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, King’s College London and University of Bologna. He worked as a journalist with renowned Pakistani organizations since 2005.
Free time: reading books, writing poetry and prose, travelling and knowing about different cultures
Emma L Briant is Associate Professor at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. She writes, researchers and teaches on contemporary propaganda and information warfare, its governance in an age of mass-surveillance and its implications for democracy, security, inequality and human rights. She is now finalizing her third book the Routledge Handbook on the Influence Industry (edited with Vian Bakir) and working on the fourth, Propaganda Machine: Inside Cambridge Analytica and the Digital Influence Industry.
Free time: dog-walking, swimming, friends, enjoying live music and spending too much time online
Hilde Van den Bulck is a Professor of Communication Studies and Head of the Department of Communication at Drexel University (USA). She combines expertise in media structures, processes and policy, especially the impact of digitization on legacy media and on public service media, with expertise in media cultures. For many years was vice-chair of the Flemish Media Council that provides media policy advice to the Flemish government. She holds a Ph.D. from the KULeuven (B).
Free time: painting, crochet, reading, friends, more painting
Luis Miguel Carriedo is a professor of journalism and communication theories at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana- Unidad Xochimilco in Mexico. Luis Miguel is also an investigative journalist specializing in media analysis and elections in Latin America. He has been an electoral advisor on matters of transparency and access to public data. In 2007 he was awarded the German Walter Reuter Prize for Journalism.
Free time: diving, guitar, dogs and more dogs
Iulian Comanescu is a communication consultant and author based in Brussels. He has collaborated with organizations such as OSF/OSI, IREX, the Center for Independent Journalism in Romania and Moldova, Activewatch Romania and the US Department of State, both for various reports and studies on a variety of topics such as the right to information, market landscapes, ethical standards or discrimination, and as a trainer. Iulian wrote several books including “How to become a Nobody – celebrity circuits, personal brands and the Romanian media landscape” (in Romanian, at Humanitas, Bucharest, 2009).
Free time: old-school street photography and translating current affairs books for the Humanitas publishing house, to keep his mind awake and up to date.
Alessandro D’Arma is Reader in the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster in London and Director of its CAMRI PhD Programme. He is the Co-President of the International Association of Public Media Researchers. Alessandro’s research interests revolve around communications policy and the political economy of media industries in the context of the development of a platform economy, with a particular focus on issues around the sustainability of public service media.
Free time: tennis, reading, watching films, music (playing and listening)
Zsuzsa Detrekői is a TMT lawyer and a part-time academic. She was a consultant of OpenNet Initative at Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University for several months in 2007 and 2008. Zsuzsa was the general counsel of major Hungarian online content provider Origo.hu. She also provides legal support for the Association of Hungarian Content Providers. Her research area is online content and internet related regulations about what she wrote her thesis on and achieved PhD in 2016.
Free time: sailing, podcasts
Marius Dragomir is the Founding Director of the Media and Journalism Research Center, which continues the work of the Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS). Marius led CMDS etween 2016 and 2022. He previously worked for the Open Society Foundations (OSF) for over a decade where he managed the research and policy portfolio of the Program on Independent Journalism (PIJ), formerly the Network Media Program (NMP), in London.
Free time: cycling, reading biographies, playing football
Boryana Dzhambazova is a freelance journalist based in Sofia, Bulgaria. She reports on a wide range of topics – from economic and political developments, to social affairs and human rights issues. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Economist, and Politico Europe, among others. Boryana has taught classes on ethical guidelines for reporting on children and solutions journalism at the American University in Bulgaria.
Francesca Fanucci is an Italian/British lawyer who has worked in international and EU law for over 20 years. She currently serves as Senior Legal Advisor at the European Center For Not-Not-Profit Law (ECNL) where she mostly works on projects at the UN, Council of Europe and EU level aimed at developing standards and regulatory frameworks addressing the impact of new and emerging technologies on civic freedoms, including freedom of expression and right of peaceful assembly online and offline.
Free time: raising feisty teenage son, reading, gardening, watching movies (Netflix addict), training for triathlon, playing the piano, listening to jazz music
Liana Ganea is a freedom of speech activist. For the past 25 years, she has been working with ActiveWatch, a human rights NGO and media watchdog in Romania. She is co-author and editor of analyses, guides and research reports on media freedom related issues. Liana holds a BA in Journalism, an MA in Communication Sciences (both from the University of Bucharest) and an MA in Human Rights (from the University College London). She is currently the president of ActiveWatch.
Free time: swimming, furniture refurbishing, travelling
Dr. Michał Głowacki is an Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, Poland. He has conducted research projects funded by the European Commission, the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Swedish Institute, the Research Council of Norway, Poland’s National Science Center, the National Agency for Academic Exchange and the Polish-American Fulbright Commission. Michał was the Programme Advisor to the Advisory Group on Public Service Media Governance at the Council of Europe in 2010. He is Editor in Chief of the “Central European Journal of Communication”.
Free time: street art, electronic music, retro
Rodrigo Gómez is professor in communication industries and policies at the Communication Department in Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Cuajimalpa. His work has focused on cultural industries, media systems, media policies and media companies from a political economy of communication perspective. He is co-editor of Routledge book series Global Media Giants. He is also associate researcher of the Latin American Think Tank Observacom.
Free time: hiking in natural parks
Peter Gross has a Ph.D. in Mass Communication/International Communication from the University of Iowa where he is now an adjunct professor. He is professor emeritus and former Director of the University of Tennessee’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media (2006-2016). He frequently served as consultant to the International Media Fund, The Freedom Forum, Freedom House, the U.S. Information Agency, and Voice of America. His latest book, The Cultural Core of Media Systems – The Romanian Case, wad released in 2023.
Free time: reading spy novels, biographies, and history books, weight training, movies, soccer
Mihaela Groza works as the Communications Manager at MJRC supervising social media activities as well as managing both internal and external communications. Prior to this role, Mihaela served at CMDS (at CEU), where she took on diverse responsibilities including administration, project management, and research. Since 2017, she has been actively engaged as a climate policy and climate data researcher under Horizon 2020 schemes administered by Central European University.
Free time: gardening (orchards in particular), reading utopian and dystopian novels, museums.
Peter Hanák is a journalist and a university teacher. He holds a PhD in media studies from Charles University Prague and an LL.M. in economic analysis of law from Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Haifa universities. As a researcher, he cooperated with several leading NGOs, including the International Press Institute (IPI). As a journalist, he witnessed the political capture of the Slovak public service broadcaster. Since 2018, he has worked at Aktuality.sk, Slovakia’s most visited news website. He was awarded the Slovak Journalism Award twice.
Free time: movies and film festivals, books, podcasting and travelling.
Giorgi Jangiani is a results-driven media policy professional with research expertise in disinformation, media business, and digital policy. He holds an MA in European Public Policy from the University of York and Central European University (CEU) and previously led the USAID-funded Strengthening Democratic Resilience in Georgia Program at People in Need. He is a consultant for the Brussels-based Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD).
Free time: travel, reading self-development books, playing basketball, and enjoying cooking.
Nevena Krivokapić Martinović is a lawyer specializing in online media, freedom of expression in the digital environment and information privacy. As of 2013, she has been a member of non-profit SHARE Foundation in Serbia as its Coordinator for freedom of expression and online media where she dedicates her work to exploring new features of the media ecosystem and the position of online media in the implementation of human rights standards in the digital environment.
Free time: travel, bike riding and Netflix
Juan S. Larrosa-Fuentes is in charge of ETIUS: Observatory of Communication & Culture in the Department of Sociocultural Studies at ITESO, the Jesuit University of Guadalajara. Since 2019 he has been a member of the National Research System. He has published in journals such as Latin American Research Review, International Journal of Communication, Media, War & Conflict, Tripodos, Comunicación y Sociedad, Global Media Journal México, and several books on political communication.
Free time: fiction reader, runner, soccer
Katja Leifheit is a research assistant and Ph.D. candidate at Stuttgart Media University. The main focus of her dissertation is the impact of generative artificial intelligence on the media industry. She holds a B.Eng. in Media Technology and a M.A. in Media Management from Stuttgart Media University. Furthermore, Katja has a great understanding of diversity management in media due to her time working as a Diversity Manager for a German public broadcaster.
Free time: caring for a growing number of houseplants, yoga, photography and travel
Danai Maragoudaki is a Greek journalist based in Athens. She started working in the media in 2015 and today she works for the independent investigative outlet Solomon. Her reporting focuses on transparency, finance, and digital threats. She has studied political science and translation.
Free time: trying not to work
Răzvan Martin is a freedom of speech activist. Since 2002, he has been working with the Romania-based human rights NGO ActiveWatch on issues including press freedom, public media, access to information, protection of journalists, and hate speech. He has contributed to reports and studies related to media freedom in Romania, the local media market, media ethics, and the situation of public service broadcasting.
Free time: sports, international affairs, podcasts
Guillermo Mastrini has a PhD in Information Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and a degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). He is a professor of the Social Communications Degree at the National University of Quilmes, where he was the Director of the Cultural Industries Masters, a professor of the Communication Sciences Degree at the Faculty of Social Sciences (UBA), and a research fellow at the National Scientific Research Council (CONICET).
Free time: football, cooking, wine
John Masuku is a broadcast journalist, media consultant and radio trainer, the UNESCO World Radio Day 2023 International Campaign Coordinator. John started his broadcasting career at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) in 1974 as a radio announcer and producer rising through the ranks to become general manager of radio services. In 2002 he joined Radio VOP, an independent alternative radio station. John holds an MPhil in Journalism from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
Free time: storytelling, reading about anything, writing biographies, gardening
Argelia Muñoz Larroa is a researcher at Center for Studies in North America, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Her research has focused on the sustainability of audiovisual industries and effective policies to enhance regional economic development and cultural diversity. She has a PhD in management from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; an MA in international affairs; and a BA in history from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
Free time: horticulture, stray dog support, and watching international public OVoDs
Adriana Mutu is a University Professor in the Departments of Humanities and Market Research at ESIC Business & Marketing School in Barcelona, where she also serves as the Head of Academic Quality. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a MA in Journalism and Communication Sciences from the University Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Iasi, Romania. She has conducted research at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Helsinki. Adriana is founding member of MEDEA (Mediterranean Europe and Africa) and provides expertise to the Council of Europe and the European Commission.
Free time: traveling, attending the opera, diving into anthropology books, exploring topics like body language, behavioral profiling, and psychoanalysis.
Robert Nemeth had a 15-year-long career in journalism, with diverse roles at different Hungarian TV stations and online media outlets, ranging from journalist to senior editor and news producer. He was also guest lecturer at the Department of Media and Communication at Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary. He actively participates in various research projects, including leading the MJRC’s collaborative project with Philea on producing the Journalism Funders Forum newsletter.
Free time: travelling, news addict, movies, soccer and football
Tim Outshoorn is a philosopher and researcher at the Fontys School for Journalism in Tilburg (the Netherlands). He has written on topics such as queer chosen families and equality in the courtroom.
Free time: reading, writing, playing video games
Vibodh Parthasarathi maintains a multidisciplinary interest in media policy, digital transitions, and policy literacy. Associate Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, he has been a visiting scholar at the University of Queensland, KU Leuven, University of Helsinki, and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Parthasarathi has been at the forefront of media policy research in India and a winner of numerous grants including from the Ford Foundation, IDRC, and University Grants Commission. Currently, he is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Digital Media and Policy.
Free time: reading ancient history, music concerts, cricket (any) and football (live)
Dr. Courtney Radsch is a fellow at UCLA’s Institute for Technology, Law & Policy and a strategic advisor for mission-driven media development and human rights organizations. As a global thought leader on the intersection of technology, media, and human rights whose perspective is shaped by her experience as a journalist, scholar, and press freedom advocate, she regularly publishes and provides commentary and analysis in top media outlets and participates in expert consultations with tech platforms and policymakers.
Free time: singing, hiking, travel, yoga, cooking and reading
Damian Radcliffe is the Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism, a Professor of Practice, an affiliate faculty member of the Department for Middle East and North Africa Studies (MENA) at the University of Oregon. He is also a three-time Fellow of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, and an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies (JOMEC). Damian has worked in editorial, research, policy and teaching positions for the past two and a half decades in the UK, Middle East and USA.
Free time: (what free time?) watching TV and movies, spending time with my young family, travel, podcasts, doomscrolling!
Dr. Andrei Richter is Researcher Professor at Comenius University in Bratislava and Adjunct Professor of the Webster University in Vienna. In 2011-22 he served as Director and a Senior Adviser at the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. Richter holds university degrees in law, journalism and foreign languages, a doctorate of philology in Russia and a habilitated professorship in media studies from Slovakia. He has authored more than 250 publications on media law and policy in 12 languages.
Free time: spending time with family, raising son, reading Russian novels and watching TV shows
Marta Rodríguez-Castro is Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Sciences of the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC) in Spain. Her main research lines include public service media and media policy. She was visiting fellow at the Center for Media, Data and Society in Budapest and in the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institute (Hamburg, Germany). She is part of the leadership team of the International Association of Public Media Researchers (IAPMR).
Free time: Galician traditional dance, plants, movies and wine
Dagmara Sidyk-Furman is a media studies scholar and legal expert specializing in media regulation and monitoring, particularly in the context of digital media in Europe. She holds a master's degree in journalism and media studies (2016), and a master's degree in law (2019) from the University of Warsaw, Poland. She has extensive experience in academic research and teaching, having collaborated with the University of Warsaw since 2016, where she conducts courses on media markets, systems, regulation, and policies. She has been involved in numerous national and international research projects and has contributed to various scientific publications and reports on topics such as media regulation, fact-checking, and audiovisual policy.
Free time: swimming, travelling, playing trivia and cooperative board games, postcrossing
Zoltán Sipos is a journalist in a slow but steady transition into a managerial role. He is editor-in-chief and manager of Átlátszó Erdély, an investigative journalism outlet targeting the Hungarian community of 1.2 million living in Transylvania, Romania. His main responsibilities are fundraising, growing the project in a sustainable way, and experimenting with new ways to reach out to the community. Zoltán teaches Investigative Journalism Techniques at the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania.
Free time: being in nature, preferably in a forest either on a bicycle, walking or running
Norina Solomon graduated from the Brasov-based University Transilvania in Romania with a double major in English and Romanian language and literature. She studied documentary production at the London Academy of Media, Film and TV. Norina has worked as journalist and editor. She is now in charge of MJRC’s publications portfolio, managing assignments of reports and articles for the center.
Free time: reading literature and news, crime thrillers, dogs, swimming
Filip Świtkowski is a researcher at the University of Warsaw. He has a PhD in political science and administration and a master’s degree in law. His research activity is focused on contemporary political and media systems and the impact of new media on shaping public policies. Currently, he is a member of the research team of the CHANSE project “Public Service Media in the Age of Platforms”. He is also an attorney-at-law trainee in the Bar Association in Poland.
Free time: basketball, travels, movies and long walks
Jonáš Syrovátka‘s main research interest is the intersection of emergence of non-democratic ideologies, transformation of contemporary politics and proliferation of disinformation in the online space. For the last ten years he analysed these topics as a member of several civil society organisations in the Czech Republic. In 2024, he obtained a Ph.D in Political Science from the Masaryk University in Brno.
Free time: reading, movies, hiking
Eva Vajda, a former award-winning Hungarian investigative reporter with nearly two decades of experience, is now based in London, working for the Thomson Foundation and participating in EU media development projects as a trainer and mentor. She has also worked with Amnesty International in London. She has over a decade of teaching journalism at Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE) in Budapest and has an MA in Political Science from the Central European University (CEU).
Free time: having rabbits, swimming,walking in the parks in London, travelling to new places, reading literature, writing stories, watching good movies, spending time with friends
Martín Vaz-Álvarez is a post-doctoral researcher at the University Pompeu Fabra. He has a PhD in Contemporary Communication and Information from the University of Santiago de Compostela, and is a member of the Novos Medios Research group and MEDIUM research group, where he works on technology and journalistic values, artificial intelligence, co-creation and innovation in Public Service Media. He is also deputy director for innovation at the RTVE-USC chair.
Free time: playing piano, electronic music, etymology books, and good wine
Bouziane Zaid obtained his Ph.D. (2009) in Communication from the University of South Florida. He is currently associate professor at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. He presented his research in more than 20 countries in North and South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Dr. Zaid authored and co-authored two books and numerous journal articles, country reports, and book chapters. He has served as a consultant for UNESCO, Freedom House, Open Society Foundations, and other international organizations.