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This article presents a comparative study of investigative journalism in nine countries in the Central and Eastern European region (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia). The purpose is descriptive and analytical. Descriptively, the article charts the presence and provision of investigative journalism across the region and inventories and assesses the various funding forms that exist against the background of the recent (2008–2009) financial crisis. Analytically, the article focuses on assessing the relative autonomy (defined as autonomy from external actors) and effects (defined as the removal from office and sentencing of political actors revealed to be engaged in legal and moral transgressions, commonly various forms of corruption). The article finds investigative journalism across the region in general to be weak in terms of autonomy and effects, but stronger in countries that have had more stable and richer media markets (notably Estonia, Poland, and the Czech Republic). The article further finds that in some countries (notably Romania and Bulgaria), alternative news online sources play an increasingly important role as providers of investigative journalism.

Adding to the growing scholarship on the use and role of social media in election campaigning, this article examines and compares the character and determinants of Internet users' engagement with political party communication in 2013 and 2015 Parliamentary election campaigns in Czechia and Poland. Apart from the relationship between the thematic focus of party-produced content and the level of users' interactivity, the study also explores the way the tonality of users' comments is influenced by different types of party communication, as well as by users' gender. The results suggest that the level of support for a party status is largely independent of the content of the message in both countries. The type of content has, however, an effect on the intensity of criticism by the users, with policy-related subjects generating more negativity than mobilization- or campaign-oriented statuses. Finally, the study points to both gender gaps and gender as a strong predictor of user negativity, as female users – while constituting a minority of participants in both countries – tend to be significantly less negative in their comments towards the home party. Overall, the comparative study reveals both similarities and differences in the way Czech and Polish parties utilize Facebook as campaign platform, as well as in their respective Internet users' engagement with parties messages.

This paper was published in the journal European Journal of Communication and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323118810884. ; Adding to the growing scholarship on the use and role of social media in election campaigning, this paper examines and compares the character and determinants of Internet users' engagement with political party communication in 2013 and 2015 Parliamentary election campaigns in Czechia and Poland. Apart from the relationship between the thematic focus of party-produced content and the level of users' interactivity, the study also explores the way the tonality of users' comments is influenced by different types of party communication, as well as by users' gender. The results suggest that the level of support for a party status is largely independent of the content of the message in both countries. The type of content has, however, an effect on the intensity of criticism by the users, with policy related subjects generating more negativity than mobilization- or campaign-oriented statuses. Finally, the study points to both gender gaps and gender as a strong predictor of user negativity, as female users – while constituting a minority of participants in both countries – tend to be significantly less negative in their comments towards the home party. Overall, the comparative study reveals both similarities and differences in the way Czech and Polish parties' utilize Facebook as campaign platform, as well as in their respective Internet users' engagement with parties messages.

This paper is also available at http://www.genderonline.cz/en/issue/41-volume-17-number-2-2016-women-s-political-activism-in-history-central-europe/492. This paper is written in Czech. ; This paper elaborates on the authors' previous research on the relatively unexplored area of the gender aspects of online political participation. Quantitative content analysis is used to analyse communication on selected Czech political parties' Facebook profiles during the campaign for the parliamentary elections in 2013 and 2014. The article focuses on women's presence in political discussions and the relationship between their presence and the negativity of the communication in the forum, and presents a literature review offering possible explanations for the surprising difference in both the activity of men and women and the differences in the activity of female participants on the profile pages of different parties. The results of this research challenge some established assumptions about the alleged narrowing of the gender gap in the Internet environment and in social media specifically, as men turn out to be much more active than women.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Information Communication & Society on 25th September 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1088881. ; The article aims to contribute to the still relatively unexplored area of the relationship between gender and online political participation. Using two complementary methods – a representative, post-election survey of the adult Czech population and a content analysis of communication on the selected Czech political parties' Facebook profiles during the campaign for the 2013 Parliamentary Elections – we attempt to challenge some established assumptions regarding the allegedly equalizing effect of the Internet and social media on participatory behaviour of men and women. While survey data discovered subtle yet statistically significant differences between men and women in some online expressive activities on Facebook, mainly commenting on other users' statuses, content analysis further revealed that there are not only notable gender gaps among the Facebook users who commented on the campaign, but also differences in the tone of communication produced by the respective gender groups, with men posting more negative comments addressed to parties as well as to other Facebook users. We suggest that these results question the prevailing perception about the narrowing of the 'gender gap' in the online environment and call for a more nuanced methodological approach to different forms of online political expression.

Ovaj članak nastoji prikazati na istraživanju utemeljeno razumijevanje uloge medija u tranzicijskim zemljama. Naše se istraživanje fokusira na procese političke socijalizacije, na političko ponašanje i vjerodostojnost te daje primjere iz triju regija: središnje i istočne Europe, Latinske Amerike te Bliskog istoka i sjeverne Afrike. Pozornost smo skrenuli na neke od glavnih radova relevantnih za studije masovnih medija u tranzicijskom kontekstu s ciljem uvida u važne teorije dostupne u studijama o medijima i demokratizaciji. Svjesni ograničenja koja postavlja priroda i opseg uzorka pregledanih studija, identificirali smo i raspravili neke od potencijalnih ključnih prepreka razvoju teorije o političkoj socijalizaciji, političkom ponašanju i vjerodostojnosti u navedenim područjima te predložili alternativne pristupe u istraživanju. ; This article seeks to compile an empirically-based understanding of the role of media in countries in transition. The study focuses on the processes of political socialization, behaviour and accountability, and gives examples from three regions: Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East/North Africa region. We draw on some of the major works relevant to the study of mass media in these transitional contexts with the aim of discerning emergent theories available to the study of media and democratisation. While aware of the limitations posed by the nature and scope of the sample of the studies reviewed, we do identify and discuss some of the potentially key obstacles to theory-building and propose some alternative paths of enquiry.

This article seeks to compile an empirically-based understanding of the role of media in countries in transition. The study focuses on the processes of political socialization, behaviour and accountability, and gives examples from three regions: Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East/North Africa region. We draw on some of the major works relevant to the study of mass media in these transitional contexts with the aim of discerning emergent theories available to the study of media and democratisation. While aware of the limitations posed by the nature and scope of the sample of the studies reviewed, we do identify and discuss some of the potentially key obstacles to theory-building and propose some alternative paths of enquiry.

This book chapter is closed access. ; This case study analyzes the use of social media in the campaign for the historically first direct presidential elections in the Czech Republic in January 2013. Following a brief outline of the political context and outcomes of the elections, this study explores and compares the strategies of campaign communication of the nine presidential candidates on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Apart from mapping the dynamics of the campaign and the responsiveness of Facebook and Twitter users, we have used content analysis to examine basic formal characteristics of over one thousand messages posted on Facebook in the course of the campaign by the candidates and their teams. Additionally, this chapter also examines more closely the place of social media in the campaign of Karel Schwarzenberg, the eventual runner-up of the presidential race, whose team distanced all other candidates in both the extent as the level of sophistication of communication carried via the social networking sites. Overall, the presidential elections has revealed both the potential as well as limits of electoral mobilization through social networks, while at the same time it has demonstrated the continuing importance of more traditional means of campaign communication in the Czech Republic.

Political communication has been undergoing a profound transformation in recent years following the appearance and rapid spread of new media. The use of new media, such as social networking sites and other internet platforms, is increasingly being exploited by all types of political actors, but particularly by those involved in electoral campaigns. Attempting to explore the presence of these trends in the Czech Republic, this paper focuses on the Senate and Regional Council electoral campaigns that took place in October 2012 in the Czech Republic, with the primary aim of comparing the differences in new media usage between candidates. A comprehensive analysis was based on a dataset obtained by monitoring the use of various types of new media by candidates, namely traditional websites, blogs, and the online social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The results show that younger candidates in regional elections engage in online campaigning more intensely than older candidates. The findings also demonstrate that Senate candidates use new media more extensively than candidates for the Regional Council. The most commonly used new media in both types of elections were traditional websites and the online social networking site Facebook. Regarding the candidates' political affiliations, the analyses came to the conclusion that the usage of new media was generally similar for all major parties with one exception. The candidates from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia used new media very sporadically and, moreover, most of them used no new media platforms at all in either type of election campaign. Adapted from the source document.

As part of the EU Kids Online project, the network developed a methodology for hypothesis testing in a cross-cultural setting, building only on existing research. The aim was to be able to draw conclusions about commonalities and differences in children's online behaviour beyond providing
only individual country descriptions. In doing so the network relied on a systematic and theory-driven collection of information on a country level, which was then analysed in a thematic way and subjected to a series of quality control measures. The results from the analysis proved a significant
contribution to the knowledge base on children's online behaviour at a substantially lower cost than in a project aiming for the collection of primary data.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Information, Communication and Society on 24/12/2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.993679. ; This paper analyses strategic thinking around election campaign communication in a rapidly evolving media environment, characterized by the rise of digital communication channels and online social networks as new tools of political campaigning. Using an expert survey with campaign managers of 68 political parties within 12 European nations, representing both old and new EU member states, the study investigates the perceived importance of different types of communication platforms in meeting campaign objectives, especially with regard to differences between new and direct modes of campaigning in comparison to traditional campaign channels. The attributed significance to these various channels is then analysed against a range of variables on macro (country) level as well as meso (party) level. The results suggest that while some differences can be observed in regard to the perceptions of particular types of social media between individual strategists working for parties as well as between strategists working in new and old EU member states (e.g. Facebook is seen as more important in younger democracies), overall we can see a relatively high level of homogeneity in the perceived importance of campaign communication in the sample. The data point to the embedding of new communication platforms within election campaign strategies across most nations and parties; this indicates that the move towards 'hypermedia' campaign style, integrating both old and new campaign tools and communication platforms, is now becoming a standard feature of professional campaigning strategy in Europe.

This paper is closed access until 12 months after the date of publication. ; This paper analyses the contemporary public debate about vaccination, and medical knowledge more broadly, in the context of social media. The study is focused on the massive online debate prompted by the Facebook status of the digital celebrity Mark Zuckerberg, who posted a picture of his two-month-old daughter, accompanied by a comment: "Doctor's visit -- time for vaccines!" Carrying out a qualitative analysis on a sample of 650 comments and replies, selected through systematic random sampling from an initial pool of over 10,000 user contributions, and utilising open and axial coding, we empirically inform the theoretical discussion around the concept of the reflexive patient and introduce the notion of multi-layered reflexivity. We argue that the reflexive debate surrounding this primarily medical problem is influenced by both biomedical and social scientific knowledge. Lay actors therefore discuss not only vaccination, but also its political and economic aspects as well as the post-truth information context of the debate. We stress that the reflexivity of social actors related to the post-truth era re-enters and influences the debate more than ever. Furthermore, we suggest that the interconnection of different layers of reflexivity can either reinforce certainty or deepen the ambiguity and uncertainty of reflexive agents.

This paper was co-authored by Jurgen Maier, Thorsten Faas, Berthold Rittberger, Jessica Fortin-Rittberger, Kalliope Agapiou Josifides, Susan Banducci, Paolo Bellucci, Magnus Blomgren, Inta Brikse, Karol Chwedczuk-Szulc, Marina Costa Lobo, Mikolaj Czesnik, Anastasia Deligiaouri, Tomaz Dezelan, Wouter deNooy, Aldo Di Virgilio, Florin Fesnic, Danica Fink-Hafner, Marijana Grbesa, Carmen Greab, Andrija Henjak, David Nicolas Hopmann, David Johann, Gabor Jelenfi, Jurate Kavaliauskaite, Zoltan Kmetty, Sylvia Kritzinger, Pedro C. Magalhaes, Vincent Meyer, Katia Mihailova, Mihail Mirchev, Ville Pitkanen, Aine Ramonaite, Theresa Reidy, Marek Rybar, Carmen Sammut, Jose Santana-Pereira, Guna Spurava, Lia-Paschalia Spyridou, Adriana Stefanel, Vaclav Stetka, Aleksander Surdej, Róbert Tardos, Dimitris Trimithiotis, Christiano Vezzoni, Aneta Vilagi & Gergo Zavecz. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of European Public Policy on 20 January 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13501763.2016.1268643. ; For the very first time in EU history, the 2014 EP elections provided citizens with the opportunity to influence the nomination of the Commission President by casting a vote for the main Europarties' 'lead candidates'. By subjecting the position of the Commission President to an open political contest, many experts have formulated the expectation that heightened political competition would strengthen the weak electoral connection between EU citizens and EU legislators, which some consider a root cause for the EU's lack of public support. In particular, this contest was on display in the so-called 'Eurovision Debate', a televised debate between the main contenders for the Commission President broadcasted live across Europe. Drawing on a quasi-experimental study conducted in 24 EU countries, we find that debate exposure led to increased cognitive and political involvement and EU support among young citizens. Unfortunately, the debate has only reached a very small audience.

What are the major trends of media change in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)? How do these media transformations relate to economic, political, social and cultural currents in the region? After a decade of democratic optimism from the early 1990s to the 2000s, why did democratic media regimes in the region become recently so vulnerable? Why would the level of media freedom and pluralism in the CEE region remain significantly more limited than in Western Europe, despite supposedly shared European values and policies, and EU membership of the countries in the region? What explains variation in the level of media freedom within and across the former communist countries? What are the direct and indirect effects of the global financial crisis on the trends of democratization vs. authoritarianism in CEE? How could eminent newly democratized countries in CEE backslide dramatically to semi-authoritarian hybrid regimes that we usually find in former Soviet Eurasia? How do semi-authoritarian regimes control media in different CEE countries? Also, how could media studies of the region be reinvented to reflect on the shifting geopolitical balance of power, especially the emergence of BRICS, the growing influence of Russia, and the war in Ukraine? What could comparative post-communist media studies add to our analysis and understanding of the new CEE realities? These were some of the questions tackled by a recent public roundtable discussion entitled "Media, Democracy and Authoritarianism in Central and Eastern Europe", held at the Department of Media, Cognition and Communication at the University of Copenhagen on April 24, 2015.