Dr Marina Morani
Lecturer (Teaching and Research)
School of Journalism, Media and Culture
- MoraniM@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 74084
- Two Central Square, Room Room 2.41, Central Square, Cardiff, CF10 1FS
Overview
I am a Lecturer in Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, teaching across the BA and MA programmes of the School.
In both my research and teaching I strive to establish a productive link between journalism studies, media studies and cultural studies. Over the years, I have researched and taught a wide range of subject areas including the media representation of global crises (migration / displacement / public health crises), election reporting in broadcast journalism, dis/misinformation, theory and debates on multi/interculturalism, mediated constructions of national identity, citizenship rights advocacy and alternative media.
I hold a Ph.D. in Journalism from Cardiff University. My doctoral research focuses a form of alternative media emerging in Italy since the early 2000s set up by practictioners of ethnic minority background with the aim to reclaim and set up inclusive and diverse spaces of media representation and production. The work critically examined both the opportunities as well as structural limitations of these media outlets through a nuanced methodological approach including quantitative mapping, multimodal-discourse analysis and interviews.
Between June-July 2023 I was granted internal funding as Principal Investigator to design a six-week study and supervise a student researcher on the project: Reporting on the UK Illegal Migration Bill and the criminalisation of human mobility and displacement. A content analysis of TV news bulletins.
Between 2020-2022 I worked as Research Associate on the two-year AHRC-funded research project "Countering disinformation: enhancing journalistic legitimacy in public service media investigating the production, output and reception of dis/mis-information reporting.
I have extensive media research experience, having worked as Research Associate / Assistant on several hprojects awarded to Cardiff School of Journalism and commissioned by various organisations including BBC Trust, Ofcom and UNHCR. As part of these projects I investigated election reporting, UK devolved policy areas and 'refugee crisis' reporting in relation to issues of accuracy, informative value, impartiality, and balance.
Publication
2023
- Soo, N., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Cushion, S. 2023. Reflecting party agendas, challenging claims: An analysis of editorial judgements and fact-checking journalism during the 2019 UK general election campaign. Journalism Studies 24(4), pp. 460-478. (10.1080/1461670X.2023.2169190)
- Hughes, C., Morani, M., Cushion, S. and Kyriakidou, M. 2023. Does the political context shape how "due impartiality" is interpreted? An analysis of BBC reporting of the 2019 UK and 2020 US election campaigns. Journalism Studies (10.1080/1461670X.2023.2173956)
2022
- Morani, M., Cushion, S., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2022. Expert voices in the news reporting of the coronavirus pandemic: A study of UK television news bulletins and their audiences. Journalism 23(12), pp. 2513-2532. (10.1177/14648849221127629)
- Morani, M. 2022. "Nuovi media" e "nuovi italiani". Il fenomeno dei media interculturali digitali tra possibilità di (auto)rappresentazione, limiti e trasformazioni. In: Franceschi, L. D. ed. Migrazioni, cittadinanze, inclusività. Narrazioni dell'Italia plurale, tra immaginario e politiche per la diversità. Tab Edizioni, pp. 139-153.
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Cushion, S. and Hughes, C. 2022. Audience understandings of disinformation: navigating news media through a prism of pragmatic scepticism. Journalism (10.1177/14648849221114244)
- Kyriakidou, M., Cushion, S., Hughes, C. and Morani, M. 2022. Questioning fact-checking in the fight against disinformation: An audience perspective. Journalism Practice (10.1080/17512786.2022.2097118)
- Morani, M. 2022. Making the 'New Citizen': (self-)representation narratives of Italians of immigrant background on intercultural digital media platforms. Comunicazioni Sociali 1, pp. 32-46. (10.26350/001200_000145)
- Cushion, S., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2022. (Mis)understanding the coronavirus and how it was handled in the UK: An analysis of public knowledge and the information environment. Journalism Studies 23(5-6), pp. 703-721. (10.1080/1461670X.2021.1950564)
- Cushion, S., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2022. Why media systems matter: A fact-checking study of UK television news during the Coronavirus pandemic. Digital Journalism 10(5), pp. 698-716. (10.1080/21670811.2021.1965490)
- Morani, M. 2022. Introducing Italy's intercultural digital media: mapping the landscape. Journal of Intercultural Studies 43(3), pp. 339-360. (10.1080/07256868.2022.2010676)
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M. and Willmington, L. 2022. Representing diversity during COVID-19: Minority and migrant communities in UK television news. In: Trandafoiu, R. ed. Border Crossings and Mobilities on Screen. London: Routledge
2021
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2021. Reporting from the front line: the role of health workers in UK television news reporting of COVID-19. In: Lewis, M., Govender, E. and Holland, K. eds. Communicating COVID-19: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 41-58., (10.1007/978-3-030-79735-5_3)
2020
- Morani, M. and Willmington, L. 2020. 'A bit more human?'?: trends in TV news coverage of BAME people during the pandemic. [Online]. LSE COVID-19 Blog: London School of Ecnomics and Political Science. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/06/26/a-bit-more-human-trends-in-tv-news-coverage-of-bame-people-during-the-pandemic/
- Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2020. The 'hospectacle' of reporting from ICUs: what does the public want to see?. [Online]. LSE COVID-19 Blog: London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/05/29/the-hospectacle-of-reporting-from-icus-what-does-the-public-want-to-see/
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2020. Government and media misinformation about COVID-19 is confusing the public. [Online]. LSE Blogs: LSE. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/05/07/government-and-media-misinformation-about-covid-19-is-confusing-the-public/
- Soo, N., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Cushion, S. 2020. Research suggests UK public can spot fake news about COVID-19, but don’t realise the UK’s death toll is far higher than in many other countries. [Online]. LSE Blogs: LSE. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/04/28/research-suggests-uk-public-can-spot-fake-news-about-covid-19-but-dont-realise-the-uks-death-toll-is-far-higher-than-in-many-other-countries/
2018
- Cushion, S., Kilby, A., Thomas, R., Morani, M. and Sambrook, R. J. 2018. Newspapers, impartiality and television news: intermedia agenda-setting during the 2015 uk general election campaign. Journalism Studies 19(2), pp. 162-181. (10.1080/1461670X.2016.1171163)
2017
- Morani, M. 2017. 'New Italians' and digital media: an examination of intercultural media platforms. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2016
- Cushion, S., Thomas, R., Kilby, A., Morani, M. and Sambrook, R. J. 2016. Interpreting the media logic behind editorial decisions: Television News Coverage of the 2015 U.K. General Election Campaign. International Journal of Press/Politics 21(4), pp. 472-489. (10.1177/1940161216664726)
- Morani, M. 2016. Italy (Chapter 10). Project Report. [Online]. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/56bb369c9.html
Articles
- Soo, N., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Cushion, S. 2023. Reflecting party agendas, challenging claims: An analysis of editorial judgements and fact-checking journalism during the 2019 UK general election campaign. Journalism Studies 24(4), pp. 460-478. (10.1080/1461670X.2023.2169190)
- Hughes, C., Morani, M., Cushion, S. and Kyriakidou, M. 2023. Does the political context shape how "due impartiality" is interpreted? An analysis of BBC reporting of the 2019 UK and 2020 US election campaigns. Journalism Studies (10.1080/1461670X.2023.2173956)
- Morani, M., Cushion, S., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2022. Expert voices in the news reporting of the coronavirus pandemic: A study of UK television news bulletins and their audiences. Journalism 23(12), pp. 2513-2532. (10.1177/14648849221127629)
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Cushion, S. and Hughes, C. 2022. Audience understandings of disinformation: navigating news media through a prism of pragmatic scepticism. Journalism (10.1177/14648849221114244)
- Kyriakidou, M., Cushion, S., Hughes, C. and Morani, M. 2022. Questioning fact-checking in the fight against disinformation: An audience perspective. Journalism Practice (10.1080/17512786.2022.2097118)
- Morani, M. 2022. Making the 'New Citizen': (self-)representation narratives of Italians of immigrant background on intercultural digital media platforms. Comunicazioni Sociali 1, pp. 32-46. (10.26350/001200_000145)
- Cushion, S., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2022. (Mis)understanding the coronavirus and how it was handled in the UK: An analysis of public knowledge and the information environment. Journalism Studies 23(5-6), pp. 703-721. (10.1080/1461670X.2021.1950564)
- Cushion, S., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Soo, N. 2022. Why media systems matter: A fact-checking study of UK television news during the Coronavirus pandemic. Digital Journalism 10(5), pp. 698-716. (10.1080/21670811.2021.1965490)
- Morani, M. 2022. Introducing Italy's intercultural digital media: mapping the landscape. Journal of Intercultural Studies 43(3), pp. 339-360. (10.1080/07256868.2022.2010676)
- Cushion, S., Kilby, A., Thomas, R., Morani, M. and Sambrook, R. J. 2018. Newspapers, impartiality and television news: intermedia agenda-setting during the 2015 uk general election campaign. Journalism Studies 19(2), pp. 162-181. (10.1080/1461670X.2016.1171163)
- Cushion, S., Thomas, R., Kilby, A., Morani, M. and Sambrook, R. J. 2016. Interpreting the media logic behind editorial decisions: Television News Coverage of the 2015 U.K. General Election Campaign. International Journal of Press/Politics 21(4), pp. 472-489. (10.1177/1940161216664726)
Book sections
- Morani, M. 2022. "Nuovi media" e "nuovi italiani". Il fenomeno dei media interculturali digitali tra possibilità di (auto)rappresentazione, limiti e trasformazioni. In: Franceschi, L. D. ed. Migrazioni, cittadinanze, inclusività. Narrazioni dell'Italia plurale, tra immaginario e politiche per la diversità. Tab Edizioni, pp. 139-153.
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M. and Willmington, L. 2022. Representing diversity during COVID-19: Minority and migrant communities in UK television news. In: Trandafoiu, R. ed. Border Crossings and Mobilities on Screen. London: Routledge
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2021. Reporting from the front line: the role of health workers in UK television news reporting of COVID-19. In: Lewis, M., Govender, E. and Holland, K. eds. Communicating COVID-19: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 41-58., (10.1007/978-3-030-79735-5_3)
Monographs
- Morani, M. 2016. Italy (Chapter 10). Project Report. [Online]. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/56bb369c9.html
Thesis
- Morani, M. 2017. 'New Italians' and digital media: an examination of intercultural media platforms. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Websites
- Morani, M. and Willmington, L. 2020. 'A bit more human?'?: trends in TV news coverage of BAME people during the pandemic. [Online]. LSE COVID-19 Blog: London School of Ecnomics and Political Science. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/06/26/a-bit-more-human-trends-in-tv-news-coverage-of-bame-people-during-the-pandemic/
- Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2020. The 'hospectacle' of reporting from ICUs: what does the public want to see?. [Online]. LSE COVID-19 Blog: London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/05/29/the-hospectacle-of-reporting-from-icus-what-does-the-public-want-to-see/
- Kyriakidou, M., Morani, M., Soo, N. and Cushion, S. 2020. Government and media misinformation about COVID-19 is confusing the public. [Online]. LSE Blogs: LSE. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/05/07/government-and-media-misinformation-about-covid-19-is-confusing-the-public/
- Soo, N., Morani, M., Kyriakidou, M. and Cushion, S. 2020. Research suggests UK public can spot fake news about COVID-19, but don’t realise the UK’s death toll is far higher than in many other countries. [Online]. LSE Blogs: LSE. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/04/28/research-suggests-uk-public-can-spot-fake-news-about-covid-19-but-dont-realise-the-uks-death-toll-is-far-higher-than-in-many-other-countries/
Research
I have conducted research in the following areas:
- Global 'crisis' reporting (incl. migration / displacement / public health)
- Discursive constructions of national / cultural identity / ethnic minorities / citizenship
- UK Public Service Broadcasting
- Dis/misinformation
- Election reporting
- Alternative media
- Citizenship rights activism
- Multi-/Interculturalism (theories and debates)
Overview of research projects
- Role: Principal Investigator
Project title: Reporting on the UK Illegal Migration Bill and the criminalisation of human mobility and displacement. A content analysis of TV news bulletins.
Student internship scheme (June-July 2023)
Co-Investigator: Dr Lizzy Willmington (Cardiff School of Law and Politics)
- Role: Research Associate
Project title: Countering disinformation: enhancing journalistic legitimacy in public service media
Research Associate on the AHRC-funded research project (2020-2022) investigating the production, output and reception of disinformation reporting led by Professor Stephen Cushion and Dr Maria Kyriakidou at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture.
The aim of the study was to find editorial solutions to countering disinformation in election, routine and pandemic reporting, identifying the ways in which the legitimacy of journalism can be enhanced according to news users. In collaboration with leading public service media (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) and a commercial news organisation (Sky News), the project will be the most in-depth UK comparative study of its kind. As part of my role as Research Associate I led the design of systematic content analyses of broadcast and online news output alongside conducting extensive audience research including focus groups and surveys.
- Role: Research Associate:
- Role: Research Assistant:
-
Content Analysis of UK 2015 General Election (ESRC-funded)
- Content Analysis of UK 2017 General Election (ESRC-funded)
-
- Doctoral thesis title: 'New Italians' and digital media: an examination of intercultural media platforms
The study critically examines a form of alternative media developing in Italy from the early 2000s which experimented with alledgedly more inclusive and pluralist media practices and discourses about citizenship, national identity and belonging. By combining a quantitative mapping of the alternative media landscape with an in-depth multimodal critical discourse analysis of digital media content and a production study, the work critically explores contemporary fast-evolving news media ecologies, increasingly influenced by digital practices, citizen engagement and demands for change towards more equal, inclusive and diverse media spaces.
Teaching
Lecturer / Module Co-ordinator:
- Media Scholarship (BA - 2023/24; 2022/23)
- Politics of Global Communication (MA - 2023/24; 2022/23)
- The Making and Shaping of News (BA- 2023/34)
- Media and Political Understanding (MA - 2022/23)
- Reporting Conflict and the Civil Sphere (BA - 2021/22)
Guest Lecturer:
- The Making and Shaping of News (BA)
- Introduction to Multimodal Analysis (PhD - Research Methods workshop series)
- Introduction to Political Communication (MA)
- Practice in Public Service Leadership and Innovation (MSc - Cardiff Business School)
Teaching Assistant
- Media, Racism and Conflict
- The Making and Shaping of News
- Doing Media Research: Theories and Methods
- Media, Power and Society
- History of Mass Communication and Culture
- Advertising and the Consumer Society
- Understanding Journalism Studies
Biography
Ph.D. in Journalism, Cardiff University.
M.A. in Communication Sciences \ Theories of Communication \ Semiotics, University of Bologna.
M.A. Exchange Programme Erasmus+ at Institute of Cognitive Semiotics, Aahrus University.
B.A. in Philosophy \ Ethics and Aesthetics \ Moral Philosophy, University of Bologna.