Varieties of Media Effects (VARME)

May 5, 2026 · 1 min read
Site Project period: 2019 - 2024
projects

VARME studies a broader variety of long-term media effects on citizens’ perceptions of societal problems. The programme examines how media coverage and selective media use contribute to the initial formation, maintenance, reinforcement, temporary change, and lasting change of opinions over time.

Selected publications

  • J. Johansson (2026). Frames in Thought and Schema Development: Hidden Sources of Stability and Change via Frame Content. ICA 2025.
  • A. Shehata, D. Andersson, I. Glogger, D. N. Hopmann, K. Andersen, S. Kruikemeier, J. Johansson (2021). Conceptualizing Long-term Media Effects on Societal Beliefs. Annals of the International Communication Association, 45(1), 75–93.
  • J. Johansson (2026). Media Coverage and Long-term Effect Dynamics: Attribute Agenda-setting as a Process of Recency and Cumulation. ICA 2022; In review.
  • J. Johansson (2026). Frame Dynamics: Deficits and Opportunities: A Longitudinal Perspective. ICA 2021.

Principal Investigator

Adam Shehata

Responsibilities

  • Main PhD project.
  • Panel survey design.
  • Experimental design.
  • Dataset management.
  • Analysis.
  • Theoretical and conceptual development.

Funding

Funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Media Effects Public Opinion Longitudinal Research
Johannes Johansson
Authors
Johannes Johansson
PhD Candidate in Media and Communication
I am a PhD candidate in Media and Communication at the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMG), University of Gothenburg. My research re-examines established theories of media effects and audience behavior as temporally contingent processes, with a focus on public opinion, news framing, agenda-setting, and selective media use, drawing on computational, experimental, and mixed-methods approaches. I did my PhD affiliated with the Varieties of Media Effects (ERC) research programme and have also worked within projects on long-term cultivation effects and the activation and articulation of authoritarian attitudes. Before starting my PhD, I worked at the SOM Institute and the Laboratory of Opinion Research (LORE) as Deputy Chief Analyst.

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