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).

Project size

21 000 000 SEK

Media Effects Public Opinion Longitudinal Research
Johannes Johansson
Authors
Johannes Johansson
Associate Researcher
I am an Associate Researcher at the Department of Sociology and Work Science and a Guest Lecturer and PhD candidate at the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMG), University of Gothenburg. My research focuses on the application of advanced statistical modelling, experimental designs, and mixed-methods approaches to social processes and relationships. I work with multi-country surveys, survey experiments, longitudinal data, and computational text analysis to study inequality, institutional contexts, and the formation and expression of attitudes and public opinion. My doctoral research applies this methodological focus to theories of media effects and audience behaviour, treating them as temporally contingent social processes. It examines public opinion, news framing, agenda-setting, and selective media use. My PhD research is affiliated with the Varieties of Media Effects (ERC) research programme. Before starting my PhD, I worked at the SOM Institute and the Laboratory of Opinion Research (LORE) as Deputy Chief Analyst.