Pieter Maeseele associate research professor

Research Pieter Maeseele

Research team

Expertise

Research and advice on the framing of social debates, with a specific focus either on technological and environmental risks (GMOs, climate change, energy, etc.) or economic and political crises Research and advice on science communication and the public understanding of science, technology and the environment Mediamonitoring research on social issues for diverse organisations

On Science, Media and Democracy. 01/09/2015 - 31/08/2025

Abstract

Contemporary events since 2008 have revealed that we are not only facing enormous democratic challenges on an ecological level, but also on an economic, political and social level. The financial-economic crisis and its numerous global and local ramifications, political events such as the political crisis in Belgium and the Arab Spring, rising levels of unemployment and poverty, the emergence of new social movements protesting austerity policies, etc., all raise the question to what extent media fulfill a role of encouraging a broad democratic debate, by reporting on the alternative analyses and policy programs at stake on each of these issues. However, as is the case with the research line on 'media and science', the question is again whether existing models of media and democracy sufficiently allow to address this, and consequently, enable a well-founded, substantive critique on the role and performance of media in 21st century liberal democratic societies, which could lead to recommendations on how to improve media reporting from a perspective of democratic politics. The previously developed framework promises great potential to reveal the extent of agonistic media pluralism in 21st century professionalized-commercial media landscapes on the one hand, while simultaneously identifying potential alternative spaces for agonistic media pluralism and democratic debate on the other, either outside or within commercial media systems, such as in the case of alternative media or particular entertainment media, respectively. The aim of this second mandate is to expand this research line on media and democracy, (i) by broadening it to other countries to allow conclusions on the extent of media pluralism within and between media systems, (ii) by deepening it through involving longitudinal, historical analyses on the one hand, and a systematic inclusion of new, alternative media as well as entertainment media, and (iii), by reinforcing the policy-supporting dimension of this work, focusing on the implications for a) journalistic routines, practices and values, and b) science communication organizations.

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  • Research Project

Media Discourses on Societal Crises. 01/11/2022 - 31/10/2024

Abstract

Current society faces multiple challenges that are perceived as crises. Recent examples include the COVID-19 health crisis, the climate change crisis, the global energy crisis and the 'trust crisis', eroding trust in government, science, etc. They constitute complex, 'wicked problems', which are hard to resolve, and are the object of divergent views. What becomes increasingly apparent is that knowledge of the facts does not suffice to understand discussions of these complex events and evolutions. The ways these challenges are spoken about, how they are represented and conceptualized, is what we understand here as crisis discourse. Rather than simply capturing reality, discourses give meaning, attribute causes and consequences, and express moral views. Consequently, discussions on societal challenges can be viewed as a discursive struggle where different views of reality compete for dominance. For example, in discussions on climate change, ecological discourses compete with economical and social ones. Media play a crucial role in this discursive struggle to make sense of these societal challenges and construct them as crises. Media act as meaning-making devices, giving sense to the complex reality that surrounds us. Social media immediately come to mind, as highly influential platforms spreading ideas. However, 'legacy' media, such as newspapers and TV, also continue to play a key role in broadcasting and legitimizing certain worldviews and discourses. All these media are strongly intertwined in our current digitized and 'mediatized' society, where media both reflect and impact societal events on an everyday basis. The aim of the challenge we propose is to better understand the workings of competing mediated discourses on current societal crises. Drawing on Harold Lasswell's classic definition of communication, we ask the question: Who says what, in which channel, to whom, and with what effect? The focus is on 'what': the way a certain topic is talked about and made sense of. Here, the candidate uses one or more of the methods the PI's are specialized in to analyze media content on a topic of their choice: quantitative and qualitative content analysis, framing analysis, discourse analysis and digital ethnography (see further 2.2). The aim is to chart the competing discourses on a particular societal challenge that is perceived as a crisis, and to get a grasp on the discursive landscape, which includes attention to 'who' (the actors uttering certain discourse, such as journalists, politicians, experts) and 'in which channel' (TV, newspapers, social media, ...). Optionally, the candidate may also investigate the audience side ('to whom'), aiming to understand how media users deal with competing media discourses, and how these affect them ('with what effect'). Contrary to the linear nature of Lasswell's communication model, the research will also acknowledge the complex interaction between these different aspects of the communication process (for instance, audience members also producing discourse by commenting on social media).

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  • Research Project

Journalism, media critique and online publics (CritJourn). 15/07/2020 - 14/07/2022

Abstract

CritJourn will examine how journalism is critiqued online and how journalists experience these critiques. Public critiques of journalism seem to have become more visible than they have ever been in the past. In particular, critiques of the legitimacy of mainstream media representations - from different ideological perspectives - have become an everyday feature of public discourse about journalism on digital platforms like Twitter. The overarching aim of this project will be to develop new concepts for understanding how journalism is critiqued, and how journalists negotiate and experience media critique, by different online publics. This research is timely and important because it will illuminate our understanding of the relationship between journalism and online culture in a political moment where the bonds that have historically sustained the relationship between journalism and the public have been weakened. The overarching aim will be supported by 4 specific objectives, 2 conceptual and 2 empirical. The conceptual supplements will put communication, media and journalism research into conversation with, first, interdisciplinary debates about the nature of critique and, second, radical democratic theories about the nature of ideological conflict. The first empirical element will undertake a (quantitative and qualitative) critical discourse analysis of how UK journalists and media institutions are critiqued on Twitter. The second will interview journalists in Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and UK about their experiences of media critique.

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  • Research Project

Rethinking journalism and ideology in contemporary media and political cultures (RejournID). 01/05/2019 - 30/04/2020

Abstract

The RejournID project will rethink the relationship between journalism and ideology in contemporary media and political cultures. The concept of ideology has been a longstanding concern of media and communication researchers ever since the Frankfurt School. However, the importance of the concept to the field has been displaced in recent decades, despite a revived interest in ideology among political theorists. This project will reinvigorate the place of ideology analysis in media research through an interpretivist study of how journalism and ideology intersect in four European countries: Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and UK. The project offers a combination of conceptual and empirical innovations. Conceptually, it will put the field of media, communication and journalism studies into interdisciplinary conversation with a theoretical literature on ideology that has been relatively under-explored in media and journalism research. The empirical dimension has two distinct strands. It will extend ideology analysis into the domain of comparative media research through an analysis of how Brexit has been represented in different media cultures. And, most significantly, it will interview journalists to see how they understand ideology and its potential impact on different aspects of their practice. I am well placed to do this project, because I am already internationally recognized for my work on the ideological dynamics of media. The research is important because it speaks to current societal challenges about the place of journalism in liberal democracies, as illustrated by increased public distrust of journalists, the colonization of journalism by economic logics, the emergence of more ideologically partisan media outlets, and intensified political attacks against media. From a training perspective, the fellowship will significantly advance my research programme and facilitate my reintegration within European research networks.

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  • Research Project

How alternative are alternative media? A multilevel and multimethod investigation into the contribution of online news startups to media pluralism in Flanders. 01/01/2019 - 31/12/2022

Abstract

In this current age of fake news and post-truth, traditional forms of journalism are under pressure. At the same time, online news startups are proliferating in today's digital media environment. These generally present themselves as alternatives to traditional, mainstream media and professional journalism. While past research has focused on content, production or interpretive strategies of the audience, there remains a gap in alternative media scholarship in terms of research that combines these three levels in a comparative design. The aim of this research proposal is to investigate if and how alternative media contribute to media pluralism in 21st century media landscapes. To this end, we put forward a highly innovative multimethod design, in which a quantitative and qualitative content analysis are used for the content level, interviews with the involved editors and contributors and document analysis for the production level, and online data streams and focus groups for the user level. In this way, this proposal not only puts forward a multi-methodological approach that combines the paradigm of cultural media studies with rigorous social-scientific research. It also makes this study comprehensive and able to triangulate its results into these different levels, thereby offering a multidimensional picture of how these digital media startups push the boundaries of journalism and also provide new ways of engaging the audience with the news.

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  • Research Project

Sometimes fake news is more real than real news. A study of television news satire as an alternative form of journalism and a resource of public engagement. 01/10/2018 - 30/09/2022

Abstract

In the current journalistic context, in which traditional conceptions of journalism are faltering, there is a strong need for research into alternative conceptions of journalism and news, which assesses the democratic potential of these new practices. This proposal provides a direct contribution in this respect by offering a comprehensive examination of satirical news in the Netherlands and Flanders, crossing disciplinary boundaries and combining different theoretical and methodological approaches. The aim of this proposal is to investigates if and how De Ideale Wereld ("A perfect world", Flemish public broadcaster) and Zondag met Lubach ("Sunday with Lubach", Dutch public broadcaster) function as alternative forms of journalism and as resources for public engagement, while assessing whether they realize the potential to facilitate democratic conversation, and contribute to media pluralism, in 21st century media landscapes. To this end, we put forward a highly innovative multi-method design, in which interviews with media professionals and professional journalists are used for the production level (WP1), online data streams and focus groups for the user level (WP2), and a qualitative content analysis for the content level (WP3).

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  • Research Project

What are we buying into?: A holistic empirical analysis of the production, circulation and reception of discourses on ethical consumption, with a focus on de-politicisation. 01/10/2015 - 30/09/2017

Abstract

Supplanting the current analyses of ethical consumption within society, the aim of this research proposal is to study ethical consumption in Flanders as a struggle between different discourses on ethical consumption, by focussing on the concept of de-politicisation. Merging the stringent empirical approach of the case studies with the critical aim of the theoretical analyses, we put forward ethical consumption as a concept which is above all discursive in nature. To study the (contingent) role of ethical consumption within society is to map existing discourses about ethical consumption by either organisations or citizen-consumers as diverse kinds of ethical consumptions and critically dissect the underlying assumptions of these discourses.

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  • Research Project

Science Communication in a global context. 05/11/2014 - 05/11/2015

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand Erasmus Mundus. UA provides Erasmus Mundus research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

A critical discourse analytic-approach to public and media discourses on genetically modified crops and food in Asia. 09/12/2013 - 09/04/2015

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand Erasmus Mundus. UA provides Erasmus Mundus research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

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  • Research Project

What are we buying into? A holistic empirical analysis of the production, circulation and reception of discourses on ethical consumption, with a focus on de-politicisation. 01/10/2013 - 30/09/2015

Abstract

Supplanting the current analyses of ethical consumption within society, the aim of this research proposal is to study ethical consumption in Flanders as a struggle between different discourses on ethical consumption, by focussing on the concept of de-politicisation. Merging the stringent empirical approach of the case studies with the critical aim of the theoretical analyses, we put forward ethical consumption as a concept which is above all discursive in nature. To study the (contingent) role of ethical consumption within society is to map existing discourses about ethical consumption by either organisations or citizen-consumers as diverse kinds of ethical consumptions and critically dissect the underlying assumptions of these discourses.

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  • Research Project

Research on the perception of young parenthood among vulnerable young people. 01/02/2013 - 31/05/2013

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract. The main objective is to investigate the media representation of young parenthood on Flemish television and its reception among socially vulnerable young people.

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  • Research Project

The Marketplace of ideas: Less owners, less ideas? An interdisciplinary study on the impact of media ownership concentration on media content, outlet and production diversity using a longitudinal and cross-national perspective. 01/01/2013 - 31/12/2016

Abstract

Combining insights from communication studies, political science and economics, the project aims to understand the characteristics of the current media concentration (and resulting media conglomerates) and its impact on content diversity in historical and cross-country comparative perspective to answer the question if concentration of media ownership limits the plurality of issues, actors, viewpoints and discourses in the media, undermining their democratic role.

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  • Research Project

The circulation and transformation of global climate change in public discourse: an investigation into frame sponsorship, news media representation and audience reception 01/07/2011 - 31/12/2015

Abstract

The aim of this research proposal is to analyze the circulation and transformation of meanings of global climate change in local public discourses, by focusing on the reflexive circuit between frame sponsors, news media discourses and audiences. This design allows to draw conclusions not only on the contribution of news media to facilitating democratic debate and democratic citizenship on the issue of global climate change, but also on how to communicate this issue more effectively from the perspective of democratic politics.

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  • Research Project

Platform of local authorities and communicators engaged in science (PLACES). 01/02/2011 - 30/11/2012

Abstract

PLACES is a four-year European project establishing and developing the concept of the European City of Scientific Culture. The project focuses on developing and strengthening City Partnerships, bringing together 67 science centres, museums, festivals and events, each partnering with local authorities, and 10 European regional networks. The project facilitates cooperation among these alliances to structure their science communication activities, sharing tools, resources and results. Within the framework of PLACES, the Universitat Pompeu Fabra coordinates an independent European committee of academic researchers involved in the field of Science in Society with the objective to measure the socio-economic value of various activities in order to extract concrete recommendations for future actions on the field of cities of scientific culture.

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  • Research Project

Climate change, news media and democratic debate: an investigation into frame sponsorship and media representation 01/01/2011 - 31/12/2012

Abstract

In the past years, it has been widely acknowledged that handling climate change is one of the greatest political challenges the industrialized world faces today. This brings forward important questions regarding the social role of news media in democratic societies and the relationship between media, power and democracy. Characterizing climate change as a risk conflict between various groups with competing values and interests, the research question of this proposal is whether and to what extent news media in Northern Belgium are found to facilitate democratic debate about climate change. To provide an answer to this question, this proposal combines two levels of analysis: in a first stage (§ 1), frame sponsorship is mapped of the various organizations in Northern Belgium having an interest in the representation of climate change. In a second stage (§ 2), a cross-media and cross-national comparison is made of the representation of climate change in: (i) the evening news broadcasts of the public channel één and the commercial channel VTM, (ii) a range of new and alternative media covering the politico-ideological spectrum (for example, DeWereldMorgen, Uitpers, In Flanders Fields, The Brussels Journal), and (iii) two local (De Standaard and De Morgen), two Dutch (NRC Handelsblad and de Volkskrant) and two American quality newspapers (The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times). The results of this study will be significant on three levels: (i) an empirical level, in terms of collecting important data on the role of local news media in the climate change debate today, (ii) a theoretical level, in terms of theory development concerning the role of media in risk conflicts in general, and (iii) a policy level, in terms of collecting important data for future strategies towards a broad social debate on science and technology.

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  • Research Project

Who sponsors climate change? An investigation into the representation and reception of climate change in news media. 01/09/2010 - 31/08/2015

Abstract

The objective is to further expand the research line on media and science -which was started in my doctoral research-, in the immediate future (i) by broadening it to the representation of climate change in the media, and (ii) by deepening it to include a reception analysis of climate change in the media. In the near future, many additional avenues for research come forward. This expansion benefits from my earlier work in two important ways: (i) the formulation of an alternative media-sociological approach to the relation between media and science, following an inventory and structuring of the theoretical and empirical studies on the domain of "media and science", which has opened up perspectives for a very elaborate research agenda, and (ii) the development of a methodological framework to adequately examine this research agenda, following the comparison of previously used methods.

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  • Research Project