Valerie Rhein

Associated Researcher in Public Law and Digitalization

From 2020 to 2023, Valerie Rhein was a doctoral student in the project “Coding Public Value” at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI). The project is located at the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, with the HBI participating as a consortium partner. From the HBI, she moved to Universität Hamburg, where she has been a research assistant at the professorship of Prof. Dr. Margarete Schuler-Harms since August 2023.

She is particularly interested in the interface between public law and the various facets of digitisation, which is why she volunteers to work on issues of network policy, freedom law and egalitarianism.

Valerie Rhein studied “Media and Communication” (B.A.) with a focus on communication-centered political theory at the Universities of Passau and Seville before taking her first state examination in law in Leipzig specializing in media law.

During her law studies, she gained further interdisciplinary and intercultural experience as a research fellow at the chairs of public law, political and constitutional studies and cultural studies at the universities of Jakarta, Malang and Leipzig, where she focused on the connections between architecture and the penal system.

During her studies, she worked as a research assistant in an agency for political communication and in a medium-sized media law firm, where she worked until May 2020 mainly in the fields of the freedom of expression and copyright law.

Veröffentlicht am: 05.07.2024

Works by Valerie Rhein

Cover of the book
Publikation Contribution to an Anthology

Health Communication

Claudia Lampert, along with Prof. Dr. Eva Baumann and Dr. Bettina Fromm, published an article in the Health Sciences handbook that provides an overview of health communication. The handbook is now in its eighth edition.

Cover of the article written by Anna von Garmissen published on January 10th, 2026 on the media platform of epd Medien: "Gefährliche Abwärtsspirale. Zur Lage des Journalismus in Deutschland"
Publikation Article in epd Medien

Studies on the State of Journalism in Germany

What is the state of journalism in Germany? In her article for epd Medien, Anna von Garmissen discusses three recent studies on the state of journalism in Germany. According to von Garmissen, the findings are thought-provoking and, when considered together, should be alarming to all of us.

Hände tippen auf Laptop-Tastatur, darüber eingeblendete Symbole für Text, Dokument, Lupe und Auszeichnung mit Häkchen.
Beitrag Media Research Blog Post

Platform Badges for Civic Communication

How can platforms address distortions in the digital attention economy without restricting free expression excessively? This blog post explores how new incentive structures can promote constructive communication on digital platforms and the potential of the Digital Services Act to facilitate such interventions.

Cover of the Publication
Publikation Chapter in Anthology

Contextualized Repertoire Maps in Media Usage Research

In their article, Dr. Lisa Merten and Prof. em. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink present contextualized repertoire maps as a method for recording media repertoires based on a study on news usage and discuss their possibilities and limitations in media usage research. Their article is part of the anthology “Researching Media, Data, and Networking Practices: Methodological Concepts and Research Software.”

Publication by Jan-Ole Harfst in the special edition
Publikation Special Edition of the Bonner Rechtsjournal

Communication Risks in Online Environments

How can German democracy remain resilient in the face of the communicative threats posed by the digital space? Jan-Ole Harfst's article shows that communicative threats on the internet cannot be countered at the national level alone, but require supranational protection of democracy, and assesses the significance of the Digital Services Act in this context.

Publikation Internet Policy Review

Can Quality Badges Improve Communication on Online Platforms?

A seal of approval for civil communication could promote successful public communication on online platforms while respecting users'freedoms. In their article 'Platform Badges for Civic Communication. An Interdisciplinary Discussion of a Risk Mitigation Measure Pursuant to Art.', Jan Rau, Jan-Ole Harfst and Dr. Tobias Mast examine various design options for such seals.

Cover of the publication
Publikation Open Access Publication

Global Media and Internet Concentration

The report offers a thorough overview of the development, economic importance, and market concentration of major companies in Germany's telecommunications, media, publishing, and internet sectors from 2019 to 2023. It places a particular focus on the growing dominance of digital platforms.

Cover der Zeitschrift "Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft" Heft 4/2025
Publikation Available Open Access

Issue 4/2025 M&K published

Issue 4/2025 of our open access journal “Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft" (M&K; Media & Communication Studies) has been published online via the platform Inlibra.

Cover of the Book Chapter
Publikation Chapter in Cohesion Report

The Climate Discourse on Social Media

The Social Media Observatory (SMO) examined the dynamics of climate discourse on social media for the Research Institute Social Cohesion's (RISC) second cohesion report. The study found that climate scepticism and misinformation are common in social media debates. However, it is evident that these views are significantly less prevalent in wider society.

The cover of the article "Fertility Preservation from the Patient's Perspective: Areas of Conflict and Information Needs in Social Media," published in the journal Die Onkologie
Publikation Article in the Journal Onkologie

Perspectives of Cancer Patients on Fertility Preservation Measures

Fertility preservation is a key challenge for cancer patients. A qualitative content analysis of social media posts offers insights into patient experiences and provides guidance for needs-based fertility counseling.

Cover of the Working Paper
Publikation Working Paper Available for Download

Algorithmic Competence of Young People on TikTok

A new qualitative #UseTheNews study by the Leibniz Institute for Media Research examines what teenagers and young adults know about how TikTok's algorithmic recommendation system works.

Cover of the publication
Publikation Open Access Publication

Information Systems and Troubled Democracy

Internet freedom has declined for 14 consecutive years. This publication examines how principles for regulating information ecosystems are being implemented, as well as the challenges faced by public institutions and other stakeholders in their efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation.

1 2 3 11

Page 1 from 11

Newsletter

Information about current projects, events and publications of the institute.

Subscribe now