Research

Current Research Project

“Stigma in the media: Investigating journalists’ perceptions and attitudes towards stigmatized minorities and developing an anti-stigma intervention”

I am really excited about our new research project on the “Stigma in the media: Investigating journalists’ perceptions and attitudes towards stigmatized minorities and developing an anti-stigma intervention”. Our upcoming research program, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation, in the framework of the operational programme “Basic Research Financing (Horizontal support for all Sciences), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Greece 2.0)”, aims to i) empower journalists and media professionals to improve media coverage of stigmatized minorities, with a focus on LGBTQ+ persons, refugees and migrants, and persons who experience mental health challenges, ii) make journalists aware of the impact of their work on people’s perceptions and attitudes towards discriminated outgroups and iii) help them shape a new, more inclusive information landscape that will reduce the scope for intolerant media representations. Our research team will consist of Christina Angeli (PhD Candidate) and myself (as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow). Christos Frangonikolopoulos (Professor of International Relations) will be the Principal Investigator of the project. Stay tuned!

Previous or Continuing Research Projects

  • Effects of Media Representations of the Immigrant and Refugee Crisis on Intergroup Perceptions and Attitudes between Greeks and Immigrants

    The overall objective of this project is to explore the effects of media representations of immigration and asylum issues on intergroup perceptions and attitudes between Greeks and immigrants/refugees. This general objective is answered, in a step by step process, by addressing three specific goals; (i) understanding up-to-date media representations of immigration and asylum issues, (ii) exploring how exposure of the social majority (Greek people) to news about immigration and asylum issues affects stereotypes and prejudice towards immigrants and refugees and (iii) examining how media messages about immigration affect perceptions and emotions of refugees and immigrants themselves, for their self- and collective identity and towards the social majority.

    This research program was funded by the European Social Fund within the framework of the operational program “Support of Researchers with an Emphasis in Young Researchers” (2020-21). It used an experimental approach to measure the consequences of media representations of migration and the refugee crisis on intergroup relationships (between Greeks and immigrants) as well as on social cohesion and on migrants’ integration. Our research team consisted of Christina Angeli (PhD Candidate) and myself (as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow) as well as academic advisors Antonis Gardikiotis (Associate Professor in Social Psychology and the Mass Media) and Christos Frangonikolopoulos (Professor of International Relations).

    https://www.mediarefugees.com/

  • Media Representations of Immigration and the Refugee Crisis in Greece (2011 - Ongoing)

    Based on framing and content analysis as theoretical and methodological tools, respectively, my previous research project used the theoretical approach of peace journalism, as an emerging research and teaching field, to explore the ways in which different Greek media outlets portrayed immigration in crisis-stricken Greece, and particularly in the years between 2011 and 2014. The project is going on as I am currently investigating media representations of the refugee crisis during the summer of 2015 and 2018.

  • Daily Monitoring of Media Representations of the Refugee Crisis in Greece, in 2017, in the framework of the Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia in the Media (Charter of Idomeni)

    In 2017, I supervised the research process of a daily media monitoring of the refugee crisis in Greece (from selecting the sample and setting the criteria for content analysis to data collection, analysis and interpretation) and coordinated a research team of eight graduate students and researchers.

  • Field Research on Media & Peace-building in Rwanda

    In 2012, Ι ran a field research project on media and peace-building in Rwanda, in collaboration with the Dutch NGO Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation, where Ι had the opportunity to observe the results of a breakthrough research project on media and reconciliation in a post-genocide society.