Knowledge Transfer and Services

Academic and scholarly research forms the core of the Institute’s work. Additionally, the transfer between research and praxis is a primary concern. In communicating research results, it therefore uses the entire range of media for communicating research as well as forms of address tailored to wider or more specialised audiences. To these belong events (discussions, short seminars or workshops etc.) as well as short reports and expert commentaries.

The Institute’s permanent services include the library and the research journal “Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft” (Media and Communication Research). The Institute’s website forms a portal to the most recent information on current research activity, publications and events.

The following examples demonstrate the relevance of the Institute’s work during the reference period for stakeholders in politics, the economy and civil society.

Transfer to Media Politics and Practice

Many of the Institute’s projects already have in their concept a – more or less strongly emphasised – element of transfer function; this becomes clear, for instance, with the activities concerning the Federal Government Report on Communication and Media and the work on the protection of minors from harmful media.

As examples of the Institute’s efforts, over and above this, to contribute to solving problems in the social areas it observes, the following topics ought to be mentioned, as with them the Institute has delivered comprehensive transfers of knowledge and services in the period 2008/2009: 

Digital Games and Online Worlds

The discussion about potential effects of computer games on their users is widely current throughout the public sphere. The Hans Bredow Institute has grouped its activities into a research focus on the subject of “Digital Games and Online Worlds”, in which interdisciplinary expertise in this research area will be transferred to interested parties.

Its basis lies in projects with relevant topics, for instance, the evaluation of the protection of media for young people, particularly in the area of video and computer games as well as in systematising the phenomenon of online games in the project “Playing on the Net”.

In addition, the international conference “More Fun, More Risk?” was dedicated to this not-yet-sufficiently explored field of media. Beyond that, the Institute has contributed to a better understanding of the new “medium” via:

• the participation of U. Hasebrink in the expert hearing of the federal states Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia on the addictiveness of computer games in Hanover on 8 June 2009;
• the lecture “Computerspiele – Ergebnisse der Analyse des Jugendmedienschutzsystems” Computer Games – Results of the Analysis of the System for the Protection of Minors from Harmful Media] by W. Schulz at the Media Meeting Mid-Germany in Leipzig on 6 May 2008;
• participation of Wolfgang Schulz in the panel discussion “Computerspiele – Ein Beitrag zur Kultur oder Ursache für Amokläufe?” [Computer Games – a Contribution to Culture or Cause of Running Amok?] at the first Cultural Salon of the CDU/CSU parliamentary caucus on 23 April 2008.

Directive on Audiovisual Media Services

The revision of the EC Directive on Television has dominated media politics on the European level and was monitored intensively by the Institute. This also applies to the current discussion about the interpretation of the regulations and their implementation in the member states.

The discussion about the appeal of the regulation was further accompanied by lectures and publications in specialist media, particularly on the topic of the intended regulation of “product placement”, this was also a priority at the conference “Financing of High-Quality Content”.

The results of a survey on the interpretation of the phrase “editorial responsibility” by W. Schulz and S. Heilmann, and with that of the scope of the directive was discussed at a meeting of the European Regulatory Authorities with the Commission in Brussels on 4 July 2008.

Control of Media Concentration

The Hans Bredow Institute has contributed to academically grounding the discussion of media concentration after the failed fusion of the publishing house Axel Springer-Verlag and ProSieben SAT1 Media AG through:

• the participation of W. Schulz in the panel „ Medienkonzentration – Medienvielfalt“ [Media Concentration – Media Diversity] at the conference “Meinungs-Vielfalt” [Opinion Variety] of the LfM and FES on 29 April 2009 and the preparation of a preliminary short assessment;
• the closing address by W. Schulz “Wie erhalten wir die Medienvielfalt?” [How do we maintain Diversity in the Media] at the public discussion on the topic of media concentration held by the Green Party members of parliament in Berlin on 20 February 2006;
• participation by W. Schulz in the panel discussion “Wie viel Konzentration verträgt das deutsche Mediensystem?” [How much Concentration can the German Media System stand?] at the Media Meeting Point in Leipzig on 6 May;
• participation by W. Schulz in the discussion group “Weltmacht Suchmaschine” [Search Engine as World Power] at the Fritz-Erler-Forum Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart on 15 April 2008.

Functional Responsibilites of Public Broadcasters

How far public service broadcasting can offer programmes oriented towards public service also in areas beyond the classical radio and television depends on national and European legal contexts. Staff members of the Institute have contributed know-how, among other things through:

• the participation by W. Schulz in the podium discussion “Offene Flanken des zweiten Rundfunkgebührenurteils” [The Open Flanks of the Second Ruling on Broadcasting Fees] in Leipzig on 6 May 2008;
• the lecture by W. Schulz on the essentials of the Three-Step-Test at the ARD GVK Forum on 4 February 2009.

While the Institute does not consider it one of its tasks to render market impact assessments in the framework of the Three-Step-Test, it is certainly available, for instance, as a contact when it comes to the further development of criteria for the evaluation of quality.

Changes in Media Use

Among the decisive questions for media politics, as for media praxis, is the one as to how people’s dealings with the media change in the face of the digitalised media environments. Alongside the basic project on media repertoires, which is supported by the German Research Foundation, the Institute is developing synopses on the current status of international research, in direct cooperation with media companies and other institutions from the media area, and is discussing the perspectives resulting from them. In 2006, the Institute produced a report for the ZDF (Second German Broadcasting Service) on television use in digital media environments (see project "Television Use in Digital Media") and presented this in the context of an internal workshop on 30 October 2006 in Mainz.

In 2007/2008, the Institute investigated the consequences of convergence and crossmedia strategies for the population’s information requirements and search for it in a further expert opinion for the ZDF. The results from these and other studies flowed on into various symposia, workshops and further training courses by various institutions, as with the ZDF in the context of its leadership symposia, the Hamburg Academy for Journalism and the Media, the ARD/ZDF Medienkommission [the Media Commission of the Consortium of German Broadcasters and of the Second German Broadcasting Service] in Frankfurt, in conjunction with the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Körber Foundation, the ARD.ZDF medienakademie and the Gruner+Jahr New Media Ventures.

Transfer Abroad

The expertise of the Institute is increasingly sought after abroad. Above all, questions on the role of media in the process of democratisation , but also on the regulatory response to media convergence.

The Institute contributed to these discussions through:

• the lecture by W. Schulz on „Demokratie und Medien“ [Democracy and Media] in the Senate, the Upper House of the Thai Parliament, in Bangkok on 28 May 2009;
• the participation of W. Schulz in a workshop at the Thai Public Service Broadcaster ThaiPBS in Bangkok on 28 May 2009.

The Institute further participates in the discussion on the international communication system through the membership of W. Schulz in the technical committee for Information/Communication of the German UNESCO Commission.

Transfer to Other Social Groups

The Hans Bredow Institute seeks to make its research results profitable not only for media politics and praxis but also for other social groups. It, therefore, addresses a wider public as well, among other things through the following events and publications:

Event Series “Nachgedacht – Geisteswissen­schaften in Hamburg” [Due Consideration – Humanities in Hamburg]

In the year of significant anniversaries constitutionally, the Institute participated in the event series “Nachgedacht – 60 Jahre Grundgesetz” [Due Consideration – 60 Years of Basic Law]. From 24 March to 19 May 2009, the series was dedicated its five evenings to legal, social and political dimensions of the Basic Law as well as the way it was received in the arts.

The Hans Bredow Institute organised the third evening of the series: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, until 2008 a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court and honorary member of the Institute’s board, joined Wolfgang Schulz, director of the Hans Bredow Institute in providing insight into the work of the Federal Constitutional Court on the issue of the freedom of opinion, as guaranteed by Article 5 of the Basic Law, and by reference to verdicts of the Federal Constitutional Court on freedom of opinion, they demonstrated how a constitution “learns”.

Information about the individual topics, dates and lecturers as well as about participating institutions can be found at www.nachgedacht-hamburg.de.

Alongside the Institute, participating institutions were the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg, Bucerius Law School, the Hamburg Institute for Social Studies, the State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky as well as the ZEIT Foundation Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius.

The events were free of charge and open to the public.

Media Socialisation and Media Competence

This subject area particularly emphasises the integration and transfer of research findings beyond expert circles. Particularly in relation to the projects EU Kids Online and “Growing up with the Social Web”, Claudia Lampert, Jan-Hinrik Schmidt and Uwe Hasebrink held and were present at a large number of lectures and advanced training events in the most diverse institutional contexts. These are listed with the respective projects and the individual staff members.

Much attention was paid to the conference “Linked-up with the World – Children and Adolescents in Virtual Environments” at the Französischer Dom in Berlin on 9 and 10 October 2008. The focus of attention was the question about the significance of Internet use in the everyday life of children and adolescents as well as the question of the opportunities and limits of new communication technologies and the possibilities for adolescents to (be able to) use them. Alongside empirical findings, concepts were presented for the safe use of online media by children and adolescents. And potential courses of action for parents and teachers were also discussed. A special highlight was the conferring of the Erfurter-Netcodes-Siegel for high-quality websites for children. The conference was jointly hosted by the EKD, the Erfurt Netcodes, the DGPuK work group for media education and the Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research. The event was supported by the Karl-Kübel-Foundation, the Media Authority North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) and the Media Authority Thuringia (TLM).