Colin Porlezza

Dr Colin Porlezza is a Senior Lecturer at City St George's, University of London, where he joined in 2018, and serves as a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Media and Journalism (IMeG) at Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. A Swiss national from Zurich, he earned his doctorate, BA, and MA in Communication Sciences with a specialization in mass communication and new media at Università della Svizzera italiana. His academic journey includes previous positions at the University of Zurich and University of Neuchâtel.

His research focuses on the datafication and hybridization of digital journalism, media accountability and transparency, and governance and ethics in digital journalism. He currently leads the DMINR project funded by Google Digital News Initiative, which develops AI tools for news verification while studying AI's impact on journalism. His recent work includes analyzing political representation in Swiss public broadcasting and examining AI's effects on journalistic authority.

Porlezza has produced over 40 peer-reviewed publications including 20 journal articles, 25 book chapters, and two books with top publishers. His work spans critical areas including media accountability, accuracy in journalism, crowdfunding models, and entrepreneurial journalism. His research shows strong thematic continuity in examining how digital transformation affects journalistic practices and ethics.

• Principal Investigator of DMINR project (Google Digital News Initiative)
• Board member of Swiss Association of Communications and Media Research
• Former Co-Chair of Journalism Studies Section
• Advisory Board member of Austrian National Study of Journalists
• Member of international Network Innovamedia for journalism innovation

Prior to his academic career, Porlezza co-founded the European Journalism Observatory (2004-2013) and worked as a freelance journalist for German-language publications including Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He has delivered keynotes for organizations including the Swiss Federal Media Commission, Forum Alpbach Talks, and British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce. Fluent in French, German, and Italian, he maintains strong connections between Swiss and international media research communities.