News
Reports, Publications, Projects, Blog Posts & Podcasts from the Institute
We Celebrate 75 Years of Media Research!
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 – in an interdisciplinary, practice-oriented manner and considering the democratic foundations of public communication.
Facets of 75 Years Hans-Bredow-Institut
With this brochure. we take a look at the institute's development since 1950. While we do not claim to provide a complete history, we aim to highlight some of the institute's unique characteristics, showcasing moments in the past when these features were particularly evident.
German Findings of the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025
Trust in the news remains high in Germany. 45% of the adult online population believes that most news is generally trustworthy. At the same time, the majority of respondents believe that news produced by humans is more trustworthy than news generated by AI.
From Radio to AI: Hans-Bredow-Institut Celebrates 75 Years of Media Research
The HBI is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a reception hosted by the Senate and a scientific event. Since the institute's founding in 1950, the media landscape has undergone significant changes. Through its research, the institute has kept pace with these changes and contributed to scientific development, as well as to the goal of providing relevant knowledge to politics, regulation, business, and civil society.
New Leibniz Research Network Strengthens Evidence-Based Science Communication
The Leibniz Research Network “Evidence-Based Science Communication” is set to counteract the increasing fragmentation of the research field from June 2025 onwards by strengthening the links between theory and practice. The HBI contributes its expertise in communication science to transfer research, including in the context of health communication.
How the Institute Got Its Name
On May 30, 1950, the Hans Bredow Institute was founded by the former Northwest German Broadcasting Corporation (the predecessor of NDR and WDR) and the University of Hamburg. This blog post describes the history of its founding and explains how the institute got its name.
M&K 2/2025 Special Issue “Media Structures Revisited”
Issue 2/2025 of Media & Communication Science has been published as a special issue entitled “Media Structures Revisited,” edited by Josef Seethaler, Marlis Prinzing, Petra Herczeg, and Mark Eisenegger. The entire issue is available open access via the Nomos eLibrary.
Right-Wing Influence on the Internet
The Research Institute for Social Cohesion has published four blog posts examining the mechanisms, strategies, and platform dynamics that enable the radical right to gain media space, as well as ways to counteract this. Their analyses focus particularly on the TikTok platform.
Congratulations, Leonie Wunderlich!
Leonie Wunderlich has successfully defended her dissertation on “Information-Related Practises of Young People in the Hybrid Media System.” Congratulations, Leonie Wunderlich!
Event dates
#LeibnizMediaLunchTalk
Far-Right Networking on Social Media
22. July 2025This Leibniz Media Lunch Talk is organized by the Hamburg section of the Research Institute Social Cohesion (FGZ). Azade Kakavand will present findings from her recently completed dissertation, which examines the networking and communication of right-wing extremists on social media platforms.
Universe of Media Education
19. September 2025Dr. Claudia Lampert will speak about the challenges of media education at this year's Universe of Media Education. The one-and-a-half-day event is themed "Back to the Future: Media Education for Today's Challenges."