• Since October 2015 – Professor of Communication (Strategic Communication), Department of Communication, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
  • 2013–2014 – Acting Professor of Communication (Political Communication), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Winter Semester).
  • 2009–2015 – Senior Lecturer / Assistant Professor, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
  • Research and teaching stays at the University of Sheffield, University of Gothenburg, and Venice International University.
  • 2006–2009 – Research Associate, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen–Nuremberg; earned Ph.D. (Dr. rer. pol.)
  • 2000–2005 – Studies in Media and Communication Studies, Psychology, and Law, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

  • Strategic Communication – with a focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA), greenwashing, informal communication, and crisis communication
  • Persuasive Communication – with a focus on advertising effects, repetition and credibility effects
  • Relationship between Journalism and Public Relations – with a focus on the blurring boundaries between journalism and PR, as well as brand journalism
  • Media Reception and Media Effects
  • Head and academic coordinator of the Master’s programme in StrategicCommunication
  • Chair of the Division for Reception and Media Effects Research, German Society for Journalism and Communication Studies (2015–2019)
  • Reviewer for numerous national and international conferences and peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Human Communication Research, Media Psychology, European Journal of Communication, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Media Psychology, New Media & Society, Information, Communication & Society, Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, and Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, among others
  • Active involvement in academic self-governance, serving as chair and member of various university committees and commissions
  • Member of the International Communication Association (ICA), European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), and German Society for Journalism and Communication Studies (DGPuK)
  • EUPRERA Best Paper Award 2025 (1st place) for the paper “The Diversity Washing Dilemma: How Diverse Corporate Self-Presentation and Product Communication Enhance Image and Credibility – And How Misalignment Can Backfire” (co-authored with Sandra Mechler and Nora Denner)
  • JCM Distinguished Paper Award 2025, for „Opinion leaders in organizational change processes: Insights from a large-scale quantitative survey to identify, characterize, and classify influential employees within a multinational corporation.” in Journal of Change Management (co-authored with Claudia Fortkord)
  • Top Paper 2025, Environmental Communication Division, International Communication Association (ICA), for “What is Greenwashing? A Scoping Review of Greenwashing Definitions and a Conceptual Model of Its Causes, Emergence and Consequences” (co-authored with Nora Denner)
  • Top Paper, Communication Theory & Methodology Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), for “Media’s Influence on Judgments of Truth: Why People Trust in Bad Rather Than Good News” (co-authored with Christina Peter)
  • Top Paper, Annual Conference of the Division for Reception and Media Effects Research, for “Backfire Effect: Why Correcting Misinformation Can Produce Opposite Effects” (co-authored with Christina Peter)
  • Top Paper, Annual Conference of the Division for Reception and Media Effects Research, for “When Silence Is Golden: An Analysis of the Paradoxical Effects of Strong and Weak Arguments” (co-authored with Magdalena Obermaier)
  • Communication Research — Award for Outstanding Service as a Reviewer (2017)
  • Six Excellence in Teaching Awards

Complete List of Publications
ResearchGate
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