Raul Ferrer Conill

Professor

Faculty of Social Sciences
Department of Media and Social Sciences
EOJ SV-333

Bio

My research research focuses on the intersection of digital journalism, media, and datafication processes. My work spans across various theoretical strands from media sociology, institutional theory, and socio-technical approaches. I am particularly interested in how engagement is quantified and instrumentalized, and how social processes become datafied.

I am involved in the research project "The datafication of communicative power: Towards an independent media policy for Norway’s digital infrastructures" funded by the Research Council of Norway. Here I investigate how datafication affects democratic processes, inclusive decision making and resource distribution within Norwegian society.

I currently lead the Digital Society Research Group, an interdisciplinary and multi-methodological research group focused on the digital transformation and its social and political implications.

Teaching 

I have over 3000 hours of teaching experience in practical, theoretical, and methodological courses. From Web Production to Technical Foundations of Digital Media, I have led courses at bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels.

Currently, I am responsible for the course Undersøkende journalistikk BJO201 here at UiS.

International participation

I am the chair of the Journalism Studies Division of Nordmedia.

I serve on the editorial board of Digital Journalism and Media and Communication.

I am currently a member of the following academic associations: ICA, ECREA, Nordmedia, AoIR, Emma, and IAMCR.

Previously, I was a member of the University Council of Karlstad University and served as the chair of the Graduate Student Association of Karlstad University.

Awards and honors

I am the recipient of the Bob Franklin Journal Article Award given by Taylor and Francis for the article "(Against A) Theory of Audience Engagement with News" with my colleagues Steen Steensen and Chris Peters.

I received an honorable mention (2nd place) for the Wolfgang Donsbach Outstanding Article of the Year Award granted by the International Communication Association.

I received an honorable mention (top 5) for the Best Teacher Award granted by the Karlstad Student Association, being recognised and voted by students across all the pedagogical staff of Karlstad University.

I won the Best Dissertation Award from the Swedish Media and Communication Research Association (FSMK) for my doctoral dissertation, titled Gamifying the news Exploring the introduction of game elements into digital journalism.

I have received several Top Factulty Paper and Top Student Paper awards from the International Communication Association.

Professional background

I have extended experience in the field of IT, with several years as a web designer and developer.
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Selected Publications

Ferrer-Conill, R., Knudsen, E., Lauerer, C., & Barnoy, A. (2021). The visual boundaries of journalism. Native advertising and the convergence of editorial and commercial content. Digital Journalism, 9:7, 929-951. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2020.1836980

Cheruiyot, D., & Ferrer-Conill, R. (2020). Pathway outta pigeonhole? De-contextualizing Majority World Countries. Media, Culture & Society, 43:1, 189-197. DOI: 10.1177/0163443720960907

Steensen, S., Ferrer-Conill, R., & Peters, C. (2020). (Against a) Theory of Audience Engagement with the News. Journalism Studies, 21:12, 1662-1680. DOI: 10.1080/1461670X.2020.1788414

Ferrer-Conill, R., Foxman, M., Jones, J., Sihvonen, T., & Siitonen, M. (2020). Playful approach to news engagement. Convergence. The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 26:3, 1-14. DOI: 10.1177/1354856520923964

Ferrer-Conill, R. & Tandoc, E. (2018). The audience-oriented editor. Making sense of the audience in the newsroom. Digital Journalism, 6:4, 436-453. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1440972

 

Publications