Johanna Burger's dissertation deals with local media coverage in Switzerland and its connection with voter turnout at the municipal level.

Academic career:

08.2007-07.2013: Gymnasium Glarus (High school). Main subject: Latin. Additional subject: Computer science

09.2013-07.2016: Bachelor's degree at the University of Zurich. Major: Journalism and Communication Minor: Political Science

09.2016-01.2021: Master's degree at the University of Zurich, Monomaster: Political Science with focus on "Swiss Politics.

Since 10.2021: Project staff member/Doctoral student SNF at the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden.

Since 10.2021: Lecturer/PhD student at the Free University of Berlin

Since 07.2022: President of the Program Commission SRG Ostschweiz

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Offices:

Since 07.2016: Member of the Program Commission SRG Ostschweiz

Since 09.2020: Member of the Board SRG Ostschweiz

Since 04.2021: Vice-President of the Association for Urban Culture Graubünden

Since 04.2023: Spokeswoman (Co-Fachgruppensprecherin) of the Journalism Research Section SACM - Swiss Association for Communication and Media Research

Since 04.2024: Member of the steering committee and co-chair of the European Consortium for Political Research, section for political communication

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Secondary employment:

Freelance journalist at Somedia AG

Summer semester 23:

28846: News deserts - Forschung (News deserts - research)

Winter semester 21/22:

28621: Akteure der Lokalkommunikation und ihre Leistungen (Local communication actors and their services)

Summer semester 22:

28554: Strukturen der Lokalkommunikation (Local communication structures)

Since 2021: Collaboration in the international, interdisciplinary research project "Local Journalism & Municipal Communication in the Digital Transformation", funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation

Presentations (selection):

• 02.11.2018: European communication conference ECREA, co-presenting: “How to reach the young audience? Interviews with Public Service Media officials in Switzerland before and after the attack on the license fee (‘no billag’)”, Lugano, Switzerland.
  
  
• 04.04.2019: "Reaching the young audience - but how? The SRG's view before and after No Billag" at the SGKM 2019 in St. Gallen (CH) together with Dr Corinne Schweizer
  
  
• 21.04.2022: Conference of the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research, co-presenting: “Neue Zugänge = neue Chancen? Eine Analyse der Schweizer Regional- und Lokalmedien zum aktuellen Stand audiovisueller Innovationen”, Zurich, Switzerland.
  
  
• 03.02.2023: Swiss Political Science Association (SPSA) Annual Congress, presenting: “Deserts and oases in Swiss democracy - The coverage of local media and the political and social consequences of news deserts and news oases in Switzerland”, Basel, Switzerland.
  
  
• 16.02.2023: Conference of the German Communication Association, specialist group communication and media ethics, presenting: “Neugestaltung der Lokalkommunikation zum Erhalt von Demokratien?”, St. Pölten, Austria.
  
  
• 23.06.2023: SFSIC Doctorales (Société Française des Sciences de l'Information & de la Communication) PhD Conference, poster session: “Voter dans les déserts et les oasis d'information - La couverture des informations régionales et locales et son influence sur le vote communal en Suisse”, Dijon, France.
  
  
• 20.04.2023: Conference of the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research, presenting: “More deserts, less attention for politics? Nachrichten-Oasen, Nachrichten-Wüsten und deren Stellenwert für die kommunale Wahlbeteiligung in der Schweiz”, Lucerne, Switzerland.
  
  
• 30.05.2023: ICA post conference Novel Directions in Media Innovation and Funding by the Global Journalism Innovation Lab, presenting: “Innovations in local media (funding) in Switzerland and neighboring countries”, Toronto, Canada.
  
  
• 09.02.2024: Conference of the German Communication Association, specialist group communication and politics, presenting: “Which medium is the message? Lokalmediennutzung vor Regierungs- und Grossratswahlen”, Berne, Switzerland.
  
  
• 22.02.2024: Conference of the German Communication Association, specialist group communication and media ethics, presenting: “Innovation und Überleben: Facetten der Nachhaltigkeit in Schweizer Lokalmedien – eine Strukturübersicht”, Munich, Germany.
  
  
• 15.03.2024: General Conference of the German Communication Association, presenting:  “Replik auf die Kritik an der news desert Forschung und neue methodische Überlegungen zum Fortbestand des Forschungsstrangs”, Erfurt, Germany.
  
  
• 05.04.2024: Annual Conference of the Midwest Political Science Association MPSA, presenting: “Rethinking news deserts - a response to recent criticism and further methodological development of the research strand on the example of Switzerland", Chicago, USA.