معرفی
Matthias Künzler serves as Professor of Communication Policy and Media Economics at the Institute of Journalism and Communication Studies within Freie Universität Berlin's Department of Political and Social Sciences. His academic career spans Swiss and German institutions including FH Graubünden (2014-2021), Universität Zürich (2002-2013), and guest professorships at Universität Basel, Universität Zürich, Universität Fribourg, and Universität Salzburg. Current research focuses on Local Journalism and Municipal Communication in the Digital Transformation.
- Freie Universität Berlin (2021-present)
- FH Graubünden (2014-2021)
- Universität Zürich (2002-2013)
His research examines comparative media systems with emphasis on German and Swiss contexts, local journalism sustainability, public service media transformation, and broadcast regulation. Methodologically grounded in qualitative approaches and organizational theory, his work addresses news deserts, media convergence, and the societal role of local media infrastructure. Recent projects analyze Swiss local media business models, youth engagement with public service content, and municipal communication in digital environments.
Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals concentrated focus on local media crises (7 articles), public service media challenges (4 articles), and Swiss-German media system comparisons (12 articles). Key emerging themes include news desert mitigation strategies, innovative funding models for local journalism, and public value frameworks for entertainment programming in public service contexts.
Künzler serves as decentralized ombudsperson for scientific integrity at Freie Universität Berlin (since 2022) and previously chaired the Swiss Communication Science Association (2016-2022). He co-edits the "Medienstrukturen" book series (13 volumes published since 2012) and participates in editorial boards including Publizistik and M&K Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft.
His teaching covers German media systems, local communication, public service media innovations, and communication policy colloquia. Current doctoral supervision focuses on digital transformation impacts on local journalism and municipal communication. Leadership roles include advisory positions for Berlin's general career preparation program and research committees at FH Graubünden.
Research infrastructure includes the ongoing "Lokalmedien in der Schweiz und Liechtenstein" dataset series tracking Swiss local media (2022-2025), developed with Burger and Autenrieth. The "Local Journalism and Municipal Communication" project examines digital transformation impacts through comparative Swiss-German analysis.
