Dr Marina Morani

Ph.D. in Journalism Studies, Cardiff University

M.A. in Communication Sciences. Pathway: Semiotics, University of Bologna (Italy)

M.A. Exchange Programme Erasmus+ at Institute of Cognitive Semiotics, Århus University (Denmark)

B.A. in Philosophy. Pathway: Ethics, University of Bologna

• Date
• Type
• Selected

Teaching Assistant on the following BA modules:

• Media, Racism and Conflict
• The Making and Shaping of News
• Doing Media Research. Theories and Methods
• Media, Power and Society
• History of Mass Communication and Culture
• Advertising and the Consumer Society
• Understanding Journalism Studies 

Guest lecturer:

• The Making and Shaping of News
• PhD research methods and workshop on Multimodality

Current position: Research Associate

I am a Research Associate on the two-year AHRC-funded research project "Countering disinformation: enhancing journalistic legitimacy in public service media investigating the production and output of disinformation reporting led by Professor Stephen Cushion and Dr Maria Kyriakidou at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture.

As part of my role as Post-doctoral Research Associate I will develop an in-depth content analysis of their news across TV, online and social media, and carry out 18 focus groups with news users. The project will also interview senior editorial staff at leading public service media and Sky News in the UK,. The aim of the study will be to find editorial solutions to countering disinformation in routine reporting, identifying the ways in which the legitimacy of journalism can be enhanced according to news users. In collaboration with leading public service media (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) and a commercial news organisation (Sky News), the project will be the most in-depth UK comparative study of its kind.

Doctoral research: Constructing an inter-cultural discourse through alternative digital media platforms

New Italians and digital media: an examination of intercultural media platforms - The thesis presents a critical investigation of ‘intercultural digital media’ in Italy from 2000 to 2016. In this, it focuses on the diverse digital media platforms (largely web-portals and collective blogs) that have offered alternatives to mainstream media discourses of immigration and cultural diversity in Italy, and which have involved people of immigrant background as media producers. Through a focused, in-depth study of website content mainly published in 2014, including mission statements, thematic structures and discursive strategies, as well as the contextual and organisational structures, processes and roles of content producers and editors, the thesis offers a critical insight into the discourse of intercultural digital media in practice. Combining Critical Discourse and Multimodal Analysis approaches with Cultural Studies and digital citizenship theories of identity, representation and belonging, the research aims to explore the possibilities for constructing alternative, ‘intercultural’ discourse through these platforms.

Past Research Assistant / Associate positions: 

• News media Content Analysis 2019 (Ofcom-funded)

• Content Analysis of UK General Election 2017 Media Coverage (ESRC-funded)

• UNHCR report: Press Coverage of the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in EU: A Content Analysis of Five Countries

• BBC Trust 2016 Impartiality Report (Follow-up Review)

• BBC Trust 2015 Impartiality Report

• UK 2015 General Election: A Content Analysis