{"id":6059,"date":"2025-06-27T11:16:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T09:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/?post_type=hbi-news&p=6059"},"modified":"2025-07-17T12:25:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T10:25:45","slug":"we-celebrate-75-years-of-media-research","status":"publish","type":"hbi-news","link":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/we-celebrate-75-years-of-media-research\/","title":{"rendered":"We Celebrate 75 Years of Media Research!"},"content":{"rendered":"

With numerous guests from the fields of science, politics, culture, and media, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) on June 17 and 18, 2025. Since 1950, the institute has been researching the development of media communication and its impact on society \u2013 in an interdisciplinary, practice-oriented manner and considering the democratic foundations of public communication.<\/p>\n

Festive Kick-Off with a Senate Reception at Hamburg City Hall<\/h2>\n

The festivities kicked off with a reception at Hamburg City Hall, hosted by Senator for Science Maryam Blumenthal<\/b>. Representatives of the founding institutions, the President of the Universit\u00e4t Hamburg, Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren<\/b>, and NDR Director General Joachim Knuth<\/b>, as well as the President of the Leibniz Association, Prof. Dr. Martina Brockmeier<\/b>, praised the development of the institute \u2013 from its founding in 1950 to its current role as one of Europe’s leading centers for interdisciplinary media research. Diemut Roether (epd medien) moderated the evening.<\/p>\n

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Group photo of the speakers Joachim Knuth, Wolfgang Schulz, Maryam Blumenthal, Hauke Heekeren, Martina Brockmeier, Diemut Roether<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All speakers emphasized the growing social importance of independent media research. Senator for Science Maryam Blumenthal: “Hamburg is proud of the Hans-Bredow-Institut and its unique success story. This is because it works on issues that are crucial for the future of our democracy \u2013 especially at a time when algorithms, echo chambers, and disinformation are becoming an ever greater challenge. The strategic expansion of the institute to include the field of computer science is therefore an important step forward for Hamburg as a center of science and for media studies in Germany overall. The Hans-Bredow-Institut has its finger on the pulse and exemplifies what makes science in Hamburg so profound: interdisciplinarity, practical relevance, and social responsibility.”<\/p>\n

To the press release of the Ministry of Science, Research, Equality, and Districts<\/a><\/p>\n

Scientific Symposium: Why Media Research?<\/h2>\n

The following day, the HBI hosted a scientific symposium at the NDR Conference Center in Hamburg Lokstedt. Under the title \u201cWhy Media Research? How the Discipline and Its Role in Society Are Changing,\u201d experts from various disciplines discussed key challenges and future prospects of a changing media society.<\/p>\n

In his opening speech, Hamburg’s Senator for Culture and Media, Dr. Carsten Brosda, called for a social debate on how communication works today \u2013 and how it should be shaped. He criticized the fact that public discourse on social networks is increasingly taking place in an economically dominated system in which any opinion seems to carry the same weight as years of research. Brosda warned against allowing oneself to be driven solely by the logic of the attention economy and called for greater social reflection on the foundations of democratic communication. In this debate, he said, the advisory capacity of independent research institutions such as the HBI plays a central role.<\/p>\n

\"Senator
Dr. Carsten Brosda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How Are the Central Key Concepts Changing, and What Does This Mean for Our Research?<\/h3>\n

This was followed by a discussion of fundamental questions in media research: How are the key concepts of communication, media, and norms changing?<\/p>\n

Dr. Lisa Merten<\/b><\/a> (HBI) and Prof. Dr. Chris Biemann<\/b> (Universit\u00e4t Hamburg) approached the meaning and modeling of communication<\/i> from social science and computer science perspectives over time. They vividly demonstrated that automation with artificial intelligence challenges conventional communication models, prompting the question: \u201cIs AI a tool, a conversation partner, or just a particularly eloquent parrot? And how much machine is still communication?\u201d<\/p>\n

On the key concept of media<\/i>, Prof. Dr. Barbara Hans<\/b> (Hamburg University of Music and Theatre) and Prof. Dr. Christoph Neuberger<\/b> (Weizenbaum Institute \/ Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin) emphasized that journalism has lost its monopoly in the digital public sphere, but has by no means lost its social relevance. Mass media has increasingly lost its role as a source of order due to the platform logic of social networks, where content is disseminated less according to journalistic criteria and more according to algorithmic visibility. “The internet is leading to a fluidification of media formats and usage,” says Hans. Nevertheless, journalism plays a central role as a cultural technique of doubt and verification. Because: “A resilient democracy needs resilient journalism.”<\/p>\n

Prof. Dr. Natali Helberger<\/strong> (University of Amsterdam) and Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders<\/strong> (CAIS \/ University of D\u00fcsseldorf) discussed how media actors, platforms, and users are changing their behavior in the digital public sphere. They also talked about the new questions of regulation and responsibility that are arising as a result.<\/p>\n

During an interdisciplinary discussion moderated by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz<\/b><\/a>, Dr. Gregor Wiedemann<\/b><\/a> (HBI), Prof. Dr. Michaela Pfadenhauer<\/b> (University of Vienna), and Prof. Dr. Sascha Dickel<\/b> (University of Mainz) talked about the implications of the outlined changes for media-related research and the requirements they place on theory, methods, and institutional practice. They illustrated this by discussing the work of the DFG research group on the automation of social communication<\/a>, of which the HBI is a part through several projects.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

In the second panel\u00a0 Dr. Maximilian M\u00fcller-H\u00e4rlin<\/b> (BMFTR), PD Dr. Jan-Hinrik Schmidt<\/b><\/a> (HBI\/RISC Hamburg), Eva Holtmannsp\u00f6tter<\/b> (NDR Media Research) and Nicola Wessinghage<\/b> (communications consultant) discussed the relationship between science, politics, the media and the public, moderated by Korinna Hennig<\/b> (NDR Info). The focus was on how scientific findings can be incorporated into social decision-making processes. A central aspect of the discussion was the need for a conscious positioning between contract research, the legitimization of political decisions, and a purely academic perspective. These roles must be rebalanced constantly. At the same time, the participants emphasized the importance of protected spaces for confidential exchang, especially where uncertainties can be acknowledged and different perspectives can be made productive. Successful exchange between science and society requires both sides to understand each other’s working methods, content, and communication logic, so that consultation becomes an interface for social understanding.<\/p>\n

\"Roundtable<\/p>\n

Review in the Evening<\/h2>\n

The anniversary celebrations concluded with an evening event at NDR Rotherbaum. The three former HBI directors, Prof. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink<\/b><\/a>, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem<\/b><\/a>, and Prof. Dr. Otfried Jarren<\/b>, reflected on the history of the institute and their respective roles as institute directors. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Hans-Ulrich Wagner<\/b><\/a> (HBI).<\/p>\n

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Live music by the Brazilian quartet Projeto Mistur e Manda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, Otfried Jarren, Uwe Hasebrink, and Hans-Ulrich Wagner during the talk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Balloons
Balloons from our partner institute HIIG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Outlook & Acknowledgments<\/h2>\n

The anniversary was not only an occasion to look back, but also to look ahead. With the approval of a strategic expansion by the Leibniz Association, the Hans-Bredow-Institut will receive additional funding starting in 2026 and will permanently have twice its current basic budget starting in 2030. This long-term boost will enable the institute to strengthen computer science as an equal disciplinary perspective and develop new, agile formats for transferring knowledge to society. By doing so, the HBI is establishing the structural conditions necessary to critically accompany future media change and providing impetus for a democratic public sphere in the digital age.<\/p>\n

We would like to thank all contributors, guests, and cooperation partners for their support, their tangible solidarity, and their numerous congratulations. We would especially like to thank the Leibniz Association, which welcomed us so openly and warmly into its community in 2019. Our sincere thanks also go to the Ministry of Science, Research, and Equality and Senator Maryam Blumenthal for hosting the Senate reception; to NDR for hosting the expert and evening events, and to the Hamburg Scientific Foundation and the Rudolf Augstein Foundation for financially supporting the expert event.<\/p>\n

Publications marking the anniversary<\/h2>\n