Dr. Marlene Strehler-Schaaf does research in the field of Political Communication and Journalism Studies. Her current projects focus on the dynamic relationships between social movements, protest movements, and news media and social media, the interactions between journalism and activism, and media-mediated citizenship norms. She also investigated media influences on decision-making processes of political and economic elites.

Media and protest: (strategic) communication of protest movements, media coverage of protests and activism, and media influences on protest mobilization
Journalism and activism: Interactions between journalists and activists, new forms of journalism
Media and citizenship norms: mediated citizenship norms, effects on citizenship norms and political participation

2024: Award from the German Communication Science Association (DGPuK) for the best conference submission by doctoral candidates and students (3rd place)
2019: Master's Award Communication Science from the Alumni Foundation for the best final thesis

2025
- (Inter)dependency Between Journalism and Activism? What Journalists and Activits Think About Each Other and How They Experience Their Relationship. Presentation at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Denver, USA (June 2025), together with Löb, C.
- The Two Challenges of Sustainble Journ alism: A Systematic Literatur Review. Presentation at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Denver, USA (June 2025), together with Goncalves, I. & Quiring, O.
2024
- The Inclusion of Voices in Independent Environmental Journalism: Beyond Negativity and Polarization in News Reporting. Presentation at the joint annual conference of the subject group "International and Intercultural Communication" of the German Communication Science Association (DGPuK) and the DFG network Cosmopolitan Communication Science (November 2024), together with Gonçalves, I. & Quiring, O.
- Paving the way or accompanying visions for a better life? Studying role perceptions of journalists reporting
  on social disruptions. V Presentation at the 10th European Communication Conference of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Ljubljana (Slovenia), (September, 2024), together with Löb, C.
- Unveiling Emotional Spirals in Digital Affect Cultures of Social Movements. Presentation at the 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, Australia (June 2024), together with Döveling, K.
- Sympathy, empathy, dislike or even hate? The relationship between activists and journalists. V Presentation at the Journalism Studies Section Conference of the European Communication Conference of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Sheffield (UK), (April, 2024), together with Löb, C. & Quiring, O.
- Visions for a better life - but please always with strong images and in the press style? An investigation into mediatization of protest movements. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK (March 13-15, 2024, Erfurt).
2023
- Between clicktivism, digital surveillance, & following social media logic - opportunities& challenges of using ICTs by social movements. V Presentation at the annual conference of the Institute for Protest and Movement Research (ipb) in cooperation with the Interact Center for Interdisciplinary Peace & Conflict Research in Berlin (October, 2023).
- Faulty news coverage causes a bad mood how media coverage subtly affects the negotiation outcomes o f political conflicts. Presentation at the Political Communication Section Conference of the European Communication Conference of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Berlin, (August/September 2023), together with Viehmann, C., Weber, M., & Quiring, O.
- Saving the planet with school strikes is fine, but gluing himself to streets is over the line? How German newspapers cover different climate movement organizations. Presentation at the annual conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) in Lyon (July, 2023), together with Löb, C.
- Convincing journalists, posting on Instagram and being authentic at the same time – challenges in communicating climate change for activists. Presentation at the IAMCR Preconference 'Climate mis/disinformation in a post-factual era in Lyon (July, 2023).
- It's all about mood. How media shape decision-making of political conflicts. Presentation at the joint annual conference of the subject group "Communication and Politics" of the German Communication Science Association (DGPuK), the working group "Politics and Communication" of the German Association for Political Science (DVPW) and the subject group "Political Communication" of the Swiss Association for Communication and Media Research (SGKM) (June 2023), together with Viehmann, C.; Weber, M. & Quiring, O.
- Purposeful Bypassing or Simply Slacktivism: Social Media as a Mobilization Tool and Their Challenges for Protest Movements. Presentation at the 73rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) in Toronto, Canada (May 2023), together with Quiring, O.
- Unfolding a mediatized decision-making strategy. How decision-makers evaluate political news coverage and the consequences for their strategic actions. Presentation at the 73rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) in Toronto, Canada (May 2023), together with Viehmann, C., Weber, M., & Quiring, O.
2022
- Powerful through perceptions – considering professional communicators’ perceived power (dis)balance with the media when explaining their strategic choices in communication behavior. Presentation at the 9th European Communication Conference of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Aarhus/Denmark, (October 2022), together with Viehmann, C., Weber, M., & Quiring, O.
- Is it more about the media than the issue? Empirical findings on the relationship between political decision making and media activities. Presentation at the 9th European Communication Conference of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Aarhus/Denmark, (October 2022), together with Viehmann, C., Weber, M., & Quiring, O.
- „Between compromise and conflict – How decision-makers evaluate political journalism and its consequences for decision-making" Presentation at the joint annual conference of the subject group "Communication and Politics" of the German Communication Science Association (DGPuK), the working group "Politics and Communication" of the German Association for Political Science (DVPW) and the subject group "Political Communication" of the Swiss Association for Communication and Media Research (SGKM) (September 2022), together with Viehmann, C.; Quiring, O. & Weber, M.
- „It doesn't work with them, but it doesn't work without them either? How protest movements deal with media and how media attention affects them”. Video contribution at the annual conference of the German Communication Science Association (DGPuK), virtual conference (February 2022).
2021
- „Leaking of confidential information to the media and the multiple roles of trust in negotiations”. Presentation at the 8th European Communication Conference Online of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) (September 2021), together with Viehmann, C.; Weber, M. & Quiring, O.
- The mediatization of protests movements and how media impacts themselves. Presentation at the PhD Preconference Political Communication as part of the 71st Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), virtual conference (May 2021).
- "Media & Protest – but what is in-between? – The importance of various sources of information, media-related perceptions and political effectiveness for protest behavior" Presentation at the joint annual conference of the subject group "Communication and Politics" of the German Communication Science Association (DGPuK), the working group "Politics and Communication" of the German Association for Political Science (DVPW) and the subject group "Political Communication" of the Swiss Association for Communication and Media Research (SGKM) (February 2021, digital), together with Viehmann, C.
2020
- „Mediatized protest or moving media impact”. Presentation at the colloquium of the young researchers network political communication (NAPOKO), virtual conference (November 2020).
- „A risky strategy: Instrumentalizing public opinion in societal decision making”. Presentation at the 73rd Annual Conference of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), virtual conference (October 2020), together with Viehmann, C; Weber, M. & Quiring, O.
- „’Now more than ever!’ – Public opinion as a mobilization factor in wage disputes”. Presentation at the 73rd Annual Conference of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), virtual conference (October 2020), together with Viehmann, C.
- „Wer mit dem Feuer spielt, verbrennt sich auch mal – Das Zusammenspiel zwischen Medienöffentlichkeit und gesellschaftlichen Entscheidern zwischen strategischer Instrumentalisierung und Reaktionszwang“. Presentation at the annual conference of the German Communication Science Association (March 2020, Munich), together with Viehmann, C.; Weber, M. & Quiring, O.
- „…where someone stabs something through, he tries to fix a result with nasty tricks“. Indiscretions and the multiple roles of trust in negotiations. Presentation at the joint annual conference of the subject group "Communication and Politics" of the German Communication Studies Association (DGPuK), the working group "Politics and Communication" of the German Association for Political Science (DVPW) and the subject group "Political Communication" of the Swiss Association for Communication and Media Research (SGKM) (February 2020, Mainz), together with Viehmann, C.; Weber, M. & Quiring, O.
2019
- Brain doping on journalists' prescription? Perception and influence of media reporting on pharmacological cognitive enhancement. Presentation at the European Conference on Health Communication (ECHC; joint annual conference of the DGPuK subject group Health Communication and the ECREA TWG Health Communication, Zurich, Switzerland, 13.-15.11.2019), together with Schäfer, M. & Quiring, O.
- Lubricant or frictional resistance? Theoretical conceptualization of media publicity in negotiations to resolve social conflict. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK (9.-11.May 2019, Münster), together with Viehmann, C.; Weber, M. & Quiring, O.

From Street Demonstrations to Digital Activism in Exile. Changing Forms of Protest and the Influence of Digitalization. Presentation as part of the Summer School „Fighting for Democracy in Exile“ of the Deutsche Gesellschaft e. V., Berlin (06.08.2024).
About the role of media in collective bargaining. Presentation as part of the working group "Tariff Policy and Practice" of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), online (28.09.2023).

empirical project seminars
- empirical course experiment on "Effects of media-mediated norm messages" (in the BA Communication Science, Summer 2024 & Summer 2025)
- empirical course survey on "Journalism vs. Activism" (in the BA Communication Science, Summer 2023)
- empirical course content analysis on "Reporting on current protest movements" (in the BA Communication Science, Winter 2022/2023)
- empirical course Current research questions in Communication Studies on "Mediatization of current protest movements" (in the MA Communication Science, Summer 2021 & Winter 2021/2022)
- empirical course survey on "The role of media in and around protest movements" (in the BA Communication Science, Summer 2020)
Basic and advanced courses
- Course Online Communication on "The mobilization potential of social media" and "The role of social media in political and social mobilization (in the BA Communication Science, Summer 2024 & Summer 2022)
- Course Political Communication on "Are the media to blame for the success/failure of protest movements?" (in the BA Communication Science, Winter 2021/2022)
- Additional course on "Media and Protest" (in the BA Communication Science, Winter 2020/2021)
- Course "Mediatization - Key concept and key competences in Communication Science" (in the MA Communication Science, Winter 2023/2024)
- Course Data Analysis (in the BA Communication Science, Summer 2020, Summer 2021 & Summer 2022)
- Course Terms & Theories of Communication Science (in the BA Communication Science, Winter 2020/2021, Winter 2023/2024)
- Course Scientific Practices (in the BA Communication Science, Winter 2019/2020)

BA Journalismus als Beruf KF/BF (mit Studienleistung)