MediaAcT

The European Union supported the MediaAcT project with 1.5 million euros. A team led by Prof. Dr. Susanne Fengler investigated media self-regulation and the transparency of the media in Europe. For three and a half years, the focus was on the opportunities offered by innovative instruments of media self-regulation, such as blogs or online ombudsmen. MediaAcT was the only media-related project coordinated by a German institution to receive funding under the 7th EU Research Framework Program.

In addition to the researchers from Dortmund, eleven partners from Eastern and Western European countries and one partner from the Arab world were involved. From Finland in the north to Tunisia in the south, the research teams analyzed and compared the development and influence of different forms of media responsibility. In a broad-based field study, they wanted to find out which established and which innovative forms of media self-regulation are represented in the different countries. One aim of the project was to develop political recommendations for EU legislators in the field of media. The researchers also took cultural differences into account and researched which forms of media self-regulation have become established in which media and journalism cultures.

Das MediaAcT-Projekt startete mit der Auftakt-Konferenz im Februar 2010 in Dortmund. Weitere Workshops und Konferenzen folgten in Estland, Polen und der Schweiz.