The international scientific The scientific research project “Digital media technologies and socio-educational changes” (III 47020) has been ongoing since 2010 and brings together more than 40 researchers from the fields of journalism, pedagogy, communication, sociology, philology, informatics, management and technical sciences.Funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the research created within the project follows the processes of change that digital technology brings in the sphere of education, media and communication in Serbia. The interdisciplinary nature of the team, which uses various theoretical approaches and methods to understand contemporary changes, is a key feature of this long-term scientific project. The results of the research are presented in numerous articles, as well as in thematic anthologies published by the Department of Media Studies since 2011.
The international scientific conference “The Role of Media in the Normalization of Relations in the Western Balkans” was held annually from 2014 to 2019, and it was organized by the Department of Media Studies of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad. The conference focuses on the stance of media on nationalism, extremism, facing the wartime past in the Western Balkans, the culture of remembrance, religion, the migrant crisis, populism, media sensationalism, media of civil society as an alternative to tabloidization, media pluralism, etc. The result of each conference were conference proceedings, which included scientific and expert papers: The Role of Media in the Normalization of Relations in the Western Balkans; The Role of Media in the Normalization of Relations in the Western Balkans 2; Politics of Remembrance and Frozen Conflict – the Wider Context of Former Yugoslavia Region; Populism, Migrant Crisis, Religion, Media; Media of Civil Society as an Alternative to Media Populism, Sensationalism and Fake News; Media and Public Politics – Between Proclaimed and Practice. The conference was planned for 2020 as well. However, it was not held, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Its intended topic was Media Pluralism in an Online Environment: The Perspective of Users, Journalists and Media.
The research project “The EU in the media and on social networking sites” (2016), funded by the Regional Research Promotion Programme in the Western Balkans (RRPP), gathered researchers from Novi Sad and Sarajevo. Continuing the work on the analysis of mediated representations of the process of Europeanization, the project aimed at providing new data for longitudinal comparative analysis of media reporting in B&H and Serbia and identifying changes in media narratives about EU-related issues four years later. Following the workshop held by Digital Humanities Lab of Aarhus University, the research also provided data on how EU info centres, as the key actors for disseminating information about the EU to the wider public, use Facebook as a two-way communication tool. The project findings are presented in the special issue of the Belgrade journal CM: Communication and Media and numerous other publications.
The regional project “Europe, here and there: Analysis of Europeanization discourse in the Western Balkans media” (2012-2013) was supported by the Regional Research Promotion Programme in the Western Balkans (RRPP). The project aimed to provide in-depth analyses of country specific mediated Europeanization discourses, and to provide comparative insights using the historical connectedness of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and the inter-connection of their media systems as a starting point. The main objective of the research was to analyze, deconstruct and identify characteristics of the discourses about Europeanization in the Western Balkan media, as well as to examine to what extent mediated representations of the relations between the EU/Europe and the Western Balkan countries foster deliberation and dialogue about the EU integrations. The teams from four countries have analysed print, radio and television news, as well as online news and user comments, to identify the scope of reporting about the EU and Europenization of the Western Balkan, the EU/Europeanization representations in the media, salience of aspects, issues and themes related to the Europeanization, and prominence of different social actors of the process.
The research project “Media discourse of poverty and social exclusion” (2010-2011) was conducted with the support of the Regional Research Promotion Programme in the Western Balkans (RRPP). The research intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of media representations and mediated articulations of social inequalities in Serbian society, in which 7.9% of population lived under the absolute poverty line. It was based on the view that mass media have the potential to act either as facilitators of dialogue leading to social change or, in the opposite direction, as a key force for preservation of the status quo. Social exclusion, as a multidimensional issue, is strongly related to lack of participation and representation, which in modern times is achieved primarily through mass media. In the first cycle, the team analysed news stories in 21 media outlets, printed newspapers, TV and radio news bulletins, and conducted one focus group with journalists. In the second cycle, online news and user comments were added to the analysis. The project resulted in one scientific conference, edited volume, research reports and numerous articles.
Research “Freedom of expression and human rights of journalists in Vojvodina in 2007” conducted by the Provincial Ombudsman in cooperation with the Department of Media Studies Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad. The aim of this research was to investigate the current social position of journalists and the journalistic profession in Vojvodina. Through field research with the help of a structured, semi-open questionnaire, the attitudes of 454 working journalists from 65 media were investigated. The topics covered were the exercise of human rights, freedom of expression, privatization of the media and the safety of the journalistic profession. Research results are available here.
The project “Place and importance of media studies for regional cooperation” (HU-RO-SCG-1/286) was realized in 2007 within the Interreg III Cross-Border Cooperation Program. The project brought together researchers from the University of Novi Sad, the University of Szeged and the Western University of Timisoara. During three meetings, in each city, teachers involved in the education of journalists exchanged experiences and examples of good practice. Based on these gatherings, two publications were created.