
Dr Marina Morani
Research Associate
School of Journalism, Media and Culture
- moranim@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 79486
- Room 2.35, Two Central Square, Central Square, Cardiff, CF10 1FS
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am currently a Lecturer and Co-ordinator of the module: Reporting Conflict and the Civil Sphere (BA, Year Three).
Previously, I worked as Research Associate on the two-year AHRC-funded research project "Countering disinformation: enhancing journalistic legitimacy in public service media (Jan 2020 - Jan 2022) investigating the production and output of dis/misinformation reporting.
I hold a doctoral degree in Journalism from JOMEC researching alternative media platforms, citizenship and interculturalism and a M.A. in Communication Sciences from the University of Bologna.
Alongside my PhD research, I have gained solid research experience, having worked as Research Assistant/Associate on several projects of media content analysis awarded to Cardiff School of Journalism and commissioned by important organisations including UNHCR, BBC Trust, and Ofcom.
Biography
Ph.D. in Journalism Studies, Cardiff University
M.A. in Communication Sciences. Pathway: Semiotics, University of Bologna
M.A. Exchange Programme Erasmus+ at Institute of Cognitive Semiotics, Aahrus University
B.A. in Philosophy. Pathway: Ethics, University of Bologna
Publications
2022
- Cushion, S., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2022. (Mis)understanding the coronavirus and how it was handled in the UK: An analysis of public knowledge and the information environment. Journalism Studies 23(5-6), pp. 703-721. (10.1080/1461670X.2021.1950564)
2021
- Morani, M. 2021. Introducing Italy's intercultural digital media: mapping the landscape. Journal of Intercultural Studies (10.1080/07256868.2022.2010676)
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2021. Reporting from the front line: the role of health workers in UK television news reporting of COVID-19. In: Lewis, M., Govender, E. and Holland, K. eds. Communicating COVID-19: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 41-58., (10.1007/978-3-030-79735-5_3)
- Cushion, S., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2021. Why media systems matter: A fact-checking study of UK television news during the Coronavirus pandemic. Digital Journalism (10.1080/21670811.2021.1965490)
2020
- Morani, M. and Willimngton, L. 2020. 'A bit more human?'?: trends in TV news coverage of BAME people during the pandemic. [Online]. LSE COVID-19 Blog: London School of Ecnomics and Political Science. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/06/26/a-bit-more-human-trends-in-tv-news-coverage-of-bame-people-during-the-pandemic/
- Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2020. The 'hospectacle' of reporting from ICUs: what does the public want to see?. [Online]. LSE COVID-19 Blog: London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/05/29/the-hospectacle-of-reporting-from-icus-what-does-the-public-want-to-see/
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2020. Government and media misinformation about COVID-19 is confusing the public. [Online]. LSE Blogs: LSE. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/05/07/government-and-media-misinformation-about-covid-19-is-confusing-the-public/
- Soo, N., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Cushion, S. 2020. Research suggests UK public can spot fake news about COVID-19, but don’t realise the UK’s death toll is far higher than in many other countries. [Online]. LSE Blogs: LSE. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/04/28/research-suggests-uk-public-can-spot-fake-news-about-covid-19-but-dont-realise-the-uks-death-toll-is-far-higher-than-in-many-other-countries/
2018
- Cushion, S., Kilby, A., Thomas, R., Morani, M. and Sambrook, R. J. 2018. Newspapers, impartiality and television news: intermedia agenda-setting during the 2015 uk general election campaign. Journalism Studies 19(2), pp. 162-181. (10.1080/1461670X.2016.1171163)
2017
- Morani, M. 2017. 'New Italians' and digital media: an examination of intercultural media platforms. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2016
- Cushion, S., Thomas, R., Kilby, A., Morani, M. and Sambrook, R. J. 2016. Interpreting the media logic behind editorial decisions: Television News Coverage of the 2015 U.K. General Election Campaign. International Journal of Press/Politics 21(4), pp. 472-489. (10.1177/1940161216664726)
- Morani, M. 2016. Italy (Chapter 10). Project Report. [Online]. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/56bb369c9.html
Teaching
Lecturer / Module Co-ordinator:
- Reporting Conflict and the Civil Sphere (BA), Spring 2022
Guest Lecturer:
- The Making and Shaping of News (BA)
- Introduction to Multimodal Analysis (PhD Research Methods)
- Introduction to Political Communication (MA)
- Practice in Public Service Leadership and Innovation (Cardiff Business School)
Seminar Tutor 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
Research Associate
Research Associate on the two-year AHRC-funded research project "Countering disinformation: enhancing journalistic legitimacy in public service media (2020-2022) 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.
The aim of the study is to find editorial solutions to countering disinformation in election, routine and pandemic 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. As part of my role as Research Associate I led the design of systematic content analyses of broadcast and online news output alongside conducting extensive audience research including focus groups and surveys.
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 as alternative media platforms involving practitioners of diverse ethnic minority backgrounds as well as Italians of single heritage as content producers. Through a focused, in-depth study of digital media content, including mission statements, topic categories and self-representation strategies, as well as the contextual and organisational structures, processes and roles of content producers and editors, the thesis offers an in-depth and all-round examination of content and production practices of a scarcely explored alternative media landscape. Combining Critical Discourse and Multimodal Analysis approaches with Cultural Studies and Digital Citizenship theories, the research explored the potential as well as limitations of constructing an inter-cultural politics of representation through alternative media spaces.
Past Research Assistant / Associate positions:
- News Media Content Analysis 2019 (Ofcom-commissioned)
- Content Analysis of UK 2017 General Election (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-commissioned)
- BBC Trust 2015 Impartiality Report (BBC Trust-commissioned)
-
Content Analysis of UK 2015 General Election