Sina Blassnig

Curriculum vitae

01/2020 – present	Senior Research and Teaching Associate (Oberassistentin/Postdoc) at the Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
02/2020 – 06/2020	Lecturer at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern, Switzerland
07/2019	Visiting scholar at the Smart Family Institute of Communications, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Host researcher: Prof. Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt)
01/2016 – 12/2019	Research and Teaching Assistant at the Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
01/2016 – 12/2017	Employed in the Project „Populist Political Communication in Europe: Comprehending the Challenge of Mediated Political Populism for Democratic Politics” funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
10/2010 – 09/2015	Various positions as Student Research Assistant at the Institute of Mass Communication & Media Research, Divisions: International & Comparative Media Research and Media & Politics, University of Zurich
03/2013 – 08/2013	Junior Communications Manager at swissnex San Francisco
09/2012 – 12/2012	Communications Intern at the Communications Office of the Government Council, Canton of Zurich
10/2011 – 06/2012	PR Trainee at Weibel Communication AG, Zollikon

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Education

12/2019

PhD (Dr. phil) in Media and Communication Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland. Summa cum laude.

Thesis: Populist Online Communication. Interactions among Politicians, Journalists, and Citizens

Committee: Prof. Dr. Frank Esser, University of Zurich (first supervisor), Prof. Dr. Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (second supervisor).

09/2013 – 12/2015

Master of Arts in Communication Science and Media Research (Major) and Political Science (Minor), University of Zurich, Switzerland

09/2009 – 06/2012

Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science and Media Research (Major), Political Science (1^st Minor), and Theory and History of Photography (2^nd Minor), University of Zurich, Switzerland

Teaching and Research Interests

Digital political communication, digital journalism, populism, comparative media research

Current projects:

The role of news recommender systems in high-choice information environments (Link to project website)
Changing media logics in contemporary political affairs coverage
Populist online communication (Link to dissertation)

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Publications

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Blassnig, Sina; Udris, Linards; Staender, Anna; Vogler, Daniel (2021). Popularity on Facebook during election campaigns: an analysis of issues and emotions in parties’ online communication. International Journal of Communication, 15:4399-4419.
Blassnig, Sina (2021). Populist communication: content and style elements (self-presentation of political actors). Zürich: Hope.
Blassnig, Sina; Ernst, Nicole; Engesser, Sabrina; Esser, Frank (2020). Populism and social media popularity. How populist communication benefits political leaders on Facebook and Twitter. In: Taras, D; Davis, R. Power shift? Political leadership and social media. New York, 97-111.
Blassnig, Sina. Populist Online Communication – Interactions among Politicians, Journalists, and Citizens. 2020, University of Zurich, Faculty of Arts.
Blassnig, Sina; Ernst, Nicole; Engesser, Sven; Esser, Frank (2020). Populism and social media popularity: how populist communication benefits political leaders on Facebook and Twitter. In: Davis, Richard; Taras, David. Power shift? Political leadership and social media. New York, NY: Routledge, 97-111.
Blassnig, Sina; Engesser, Sven; Ernst, Nicole; Esser, Frank (2019). Hitting a nerve: populist news articles lead to more frequent and more populist reader comments. Political Communication, 36(4):629-651.
Blassnig, Sina; Wirz, Dominique S (2019). Populist and popular: an experiment on the drivers of user reactions to populist posts on Facebook. Social Media and Society, 5(4):1-12.
Blassnig, Sina; Ernst, Nicole; Büchel, Florin; Engesser, Sven; Esser, Frank (2019). Populism in Online Election Coverage : analyzing populist statements by politicians, journalists, and readers in three countries.. Journalism Studies, 20(8):1110-1129.
Ernst, Nicole; Esser, Frank; Blassnig, Sina; Engesser, Sven (2019). Favorable opportunity structures for populist communication: comparing different types of politicians and issues in social media, television and the press. International Journal of Press/Politics, 24(2):165-188.
Blassnig, Sina; Büchel, Florin; Ernst, Nicole; Engesser, Sven (2019). Populism and informal fallacies: an analysis of right-wing populist rhetoric in election campaigns. Argumentation, 33(1):107-136.
Ernst, Nicole; Blassnig, Sina; Engesser, Sven; Büchel, Florin; Esser, Frank (2019). Populists prefer social media over talk shows: an analysis of populist messages and stylistic elements across six countries. Social Media and Society, 5(1):1-14.
Esser, Frank; Stepinska, Agnieszka; Pekacek, Ondrey; Seddone, Antonella; Papathanassopoulos, Stylianos; Peicheva, Dobrinka; Milojevic, Ana; Blassnig, Sina; Engesser, Sven (2019). Event- , politics-, and audience-driven news: a comparison of populism in European media coverage in 2016 and 2017. In: Reinemann, Carsten; Stanyer, James; Aalberg, Toril; Esser, Frank; de Vreese, Claes H. Communicating populism : comparing actor perceptions, media coverage, and effects on citizens in Europe. New York: Routledge, 123-140.
Blassnig, Sina; Rodi, Patricia; Tenenboim-Weinblatt, Keren; Adamczewska, Kinga; Raycheva, Lilia; Engesser, Sven; Esser, Frank (2019). Dimensions, speakers, and targets: Basic patterns in European media reporting on populism. In: Reinemann, Carsten; Stanyer, James; Aalberg, Toril; Esser, Frank; de Vreese, Claes H. Communicating populism : comparing actor perceptions, media coverage, and effects on citizens in Europe. New York: Routledge, 71-101.
Blassnig, Sina; Ernst, Nicole; Büchel, Florin; Engesser, Sven (2018). Populist communication in talk shows and social media: a comparative content analysis in four countries. Studies in Communication - Media (SCM), 7(3):338-363.
Ernst, Nicole; Engesser, Sven; Büchel, Florin; Blassnig, Sina; Esser, Frank (2017). Extreme parties and populism: an analysis of Facebook and Twitter across six countries. Information, Communication and Society, 20(9):1347-1364.
Blassnig, Sina; Wüest, Bruno. Die Schweizer Tweetokratie : Welche Politiker und Parteien geben auf Twitter den Takt an? Eine Analyse des bisher umfangreichsten Datensatzes zum Schweizer Politnetzwerk auf dem Mikrobloggingdienst. In: Tages-Anzeiger, 14 October 2014, p.online.

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Contributions at Conferences

Understanding the ‘Logic of the Public’ in Contemporary Political Affairs Coverage. Sixth conference of the International Journal of Press/Politics, virtual due to COVID-19, 21-22 September 2020.

What triggers audience reactions on Facebook? An analysis of issues, emotions, and media references in parties’ campaign communication in Germany and Austria. Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast (AUS)/virtual due to COVID-19, May 21-26 2020.

Populistisch und populär: Ein Experiment über die Ursachen von Nutzerreaktionen auf populistische Facebook-Posts [Populist and popular: An experiment on the drivers of user reactions to populist posts on Facebook]. Annual Conference of the German Communication Association (DGPuK), München, March 10-12 2020.

Mehr Likes durch populistische Kommunikation? Eine Analyse von Facebook-Reaktionen im deutschen und österreichischen Wahlkampf 2017. [More likes through populist communication? An analysis of Facebook reactions in the German and Austrian election campaign 2017]. Annual Conference of the German Communication Association (DGPuK), Münster, May 9-11 2019 (presented by A. Staender).

Die Facebook-Resonanz deutscher und österreichischer Parteien im Wahlkampf. [The Facebook response to German and Austrian parties in election campaigns]. Annual Conference of the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research (SGKM), St. Gallen, April 4-5 2019.

Populism and Social Media Popularity: How Populist Communication Benefits Political Actors on Facebook and Twitter in Six Countries. Conference of the Research Section “Comparative Politics” of the German Political Science Association, Munich, March 21-23 2019.

The effect of populist communication on social media popularity cues: How political leaders use populist key messages on Facebook and Twitter. Presentation at the Bi-Annual Conference of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), Lugano, Switzerland, October 31 – November 3 2018.

Populism in Online News. How Politicians, Journalists, and Readers Disseminate Populist Messages during Election Times. Annual Conference of the ICA, Prague, Czech Republic, May 24-28 2018.

Where Populists Prefer to Spread their Messages. An Analysis of Social Media and Talk Shows in Six Countries. Annual Conference of the ICA, Prague, Czech Republic, May 24-28 2018 (presented by N. Ernst).

Populisten in den Medien. Eine Framinganalyse der AfD und FPÖ in deutschen und österreichischen Qualitäts- und Boulevardmedien. [Populists in the media. A framing analysis of the AfD and FPÖ in German and Austrian quality and tabloid media]. Annual Meeting of the Communication and Politics Division of the DGPuK, Fribourg, February 8-10 2018 (presented by R. Schwab & J. Haslach).

INVITED TALKS

Trends in der digitalen Kommunikation. Trends, Herausforderungen und Kennzahlen aus Sicht der Forschung. [Trends in digital communication. Trends, challenges and key figures from a research perspective.] Forum Digital Communication, Swiss Federal Chancellery, Bern, Switzerland, August 22 2019.

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Activities and Offices

Since 06/2020	Member of the coordination committee for organizational development of the Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Since 05/2020	Student and early career representative of the International Communication Association (ICA) Political Communication Division
Since 09/2019	PhD and Postdoc representative (Mittelbausprecherin) at the Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
2016 – 2018	Substitute Member of the Management Committee of COST Action IS1308 on “Populist Political Communication in Europe” URL: http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/isch/IS1308

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Grants & Awards

2020	SCM Top Paper Shortlist, Affiliate Journal-Session, International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast (AUS)/virtual due to COVID-19, 2020
2018	GRC Travel Grant by the University of Zurich for a research stay at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Host researcher: Prof. Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt
2016	Semester Award by the University of Zurich for outstanding scholarly work for the Master's thesis with the title „Populist Communication in the Self-Presentation of Politicians. A Comparative Analysis of Talk Shows, Facebook, and Twitter in Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States.“

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Teaching

Fall 2020	Lecture (BA-level): Einführung in die Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung [Introduction to communication science and media research], IKMZ, University of Zurich (co-teaching with F. Esser et al.)
Spring 2020	Block course (PhD level): Current Trends in Political Communication. Part IV: Populist Political Communication, Doctoral Program Democracy Studies, University of Zurich, Switzerland Proseminar (BA-Level): Digitale politische Kommunikation zwischen Likes, Shares & User Comments [Digital Political Communication between Likes, Shares & User Comments], Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern, Switzerland BA-Colloquium and Supervision of BA-Theses, IKMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland (co-teaching with A. Staender)
Fall 2019	Research Seminar (BA-Level): Wahlen 2019: Politische Kommunikation in der Schweiz [Elections 2019: Political Communication in Switzerland], IKMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland (co-teaching with A. Staender)
Fall 2018 & Spring 2019	Research Seminar (BA Level) and Supervision of Bachelor Theses: Populistische Kommunikation im digitalen Zeitalter [Populist Communication in Digital Times], IKMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland (co-teaching with N. Ernst)
Spring 2018	Seminar (BA Level): Politische Kommunikation zwischen Likes, Shares & User Comments [Political Communication Between Likes, Shares & User Comments], IKMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Fall 2017	Lecture (BA Level): Grundlagen der Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft I & II [Introduction to Communication Science and Media Research I & II], Co-teaching, IKMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland (co-teaching with F. Esser, N. Ernst, & B. Fretwurst)
Fall 2016 & Spring 2017	Research Seminar (BA Level) and Supervision of Bachelor Theses: Erfolgreiche Populisten in ganz Europa: Welche Rolle übernehmen die Medien? [Successful Populists Across Europe: What Role do the Media Play?], IKMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland (co-teaching with N. Ernst)

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Sina Blassnig, Dr.

Table of contents

Curriculum vitae

Education

Teaching and Research Interests

Publications

Contributions at Conferences

Activities and Offices

Grants & Awards

Teaching

Table of contents

Curriculum vitae

Education

Teaching and Research Interests

Publications

Contributions at Conferences

Activities and Offices

Grants & Awards

Teaching

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