Maria Elisabeth Nilsson

Maria Elisabeth Nilsson is an Associate Professor at the Department of Media Studies, Stockholm University. She has held academic positions at the University of Iowa (Ph.D. in Communication Science, MFA in Nonfiction Writing), Uppsala University, and Mid Sweden University. Her research focuses on visual communication, particularly photography, examining representation, credibility, and agency in media practices across post-authoritarian Spain and contemporary Sweden.

• Current project: Fact-checking and ethical considerations of war imagery in Ukrainian conflict reporting.
• Past work: Leadership in Sweden’s first study on digitalization’s impact on photojournalism (2013-2016), funded by the Ann Marie and Gustaf Anders Foundation for Media Research at DEMICOM Research Center (Mid Sweden University).

Her scholarship spans visual journalism, editorial processes, digital media ethics, and crisis reporting. Key article trends include analyzing visual strategies in migration representation, organizational challenges in photojournalism, and ethical frameworks for citizen-sourced imagery in terrorism coverage. Recent publications address the role of news images in war reporting, refugee narratives, and evolving newsroom routines amid structural changes.

Nilsson’s work has appeared in Journalism, Journalistica, Imaginations, and Fotografihistorier: Bildbruk och fotografi i Sverige. She collaborates with major Swedish media outlets like Dagens Nyheter (DN), Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), and Aftonbladet (AB) on empirical studies of visual storytelling and media ethics.