Niina Uusitalo

My current project Envisioning climate change (2019–2022) analyzes and develops theoretical understandings of visual traces of climate change from media users’ perspectives. The project has two objectives: 1) To investigate how climate change is connected to media users’ lifeworlds and every day practices through images. 2)To develop new ways to visualize climate change emotions. The research project will produce both academic research articles and photographic projects based on research findings. The project is funded by Kone Foundation.

Previously I have worked as a post-doctoral researcher in HYTE: Hybrid Terrorizing: Developing a New Model for the Study of Global Media Events of Terrorist Violence-project (2018–2019). Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET) University of Tampere.

Other research project: 

Post-doctoral researcher in Black Box: Opening the Black box of Content Marketing -project. Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET) University of Tampere. (2017–2018).

Researcher in Data Journalism in the Mobile Media Landscape – Research and Development project (MoDaJo) Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET), University of Tampere. (2016-2017).

Researcher in Content Marketing and Changing Journalism in Consumers’ Everyday Media Use. Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET), University of Tampere. Employment: 6 months during 2016.

Researcher in project: Children’s and Young People’s Changing Media Environment, second phase. Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET), University of Tampere. Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET), University of Tampere. (2010)

Researcher in project: Children’s and Young People’s Changing Media Environment, first phase. Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication (COMET), University of Tampere. (2008).

At the moment I am teaching a thesis seminar group in journalism. 

As part of my research positions at COMET and School of Communication, Media and Theatre (CMT) at the University of Tampere I have actively taken part in the journalism education for undergraduate and graduate students, teaching methodology, scientific writing, journalistic expression and media education.

Visual culture, climate change visualization, promotional culture, participation online, technologies of governance, discourse analysis and media literacies.

2016-2018 Editor of Finnish communication journal Media & viestintä

Drotner, Kirsten; Frau-Meigs, Divina; Kotilainen, Sirkku & Uusitalo, Niina (2017). The double bind of Media and Information Literacy: A critical view on public policy discourses about MIL. In: Frau-Meigs, Divina; Velez, Irma & Flores, Julieta (eds.) Public Policies in Media and Information Literacy in Europe. Routledge Studies in European Communication Research and Education. London: Routledge.

Uusitalo, Niina ym. (2017). Vaaliterveisiä olohuoneesta: Kuntavaaliehdokkaiden viestintä Ylen vaaligallerian videoissa. Media & viestintä, v. 40:1–2. (Analysis: Election greetings from the living room: Municipal candidates’ communication in Yle’s election video gallery) https://journal.fi/mediaviestinta/article/view/65014

Uusitalo, Niina (2016). Hallinnan näkökulmia mediakasvatukseen. In: Pekkala, Leo; Salomaa, Saara & Spišák, Sanna (toim.) Monimuotoinen mediakasvatus. Kansallisen audiovisuaalisen instituutin julkaisuja. Helsinki: Kansallinen audiovisuaalinen instituutti. (Viewpoints of governing media education).

Uusitalo, Niina (2015). Hallinnan tekemiset: Mediakasvatuspolitiikan diskursiivinen tuottaminen. Tampere: Tampere University Press. (Doing governance: The discursive construction of media education policy) Doctoral dissertation (monograph)

Beghetto; Barbee; Brooks; Franklin-Phipps; Fukuda; Gardner-Allers; Hood; Raza; Uusitalo; White Eyes (2013). Light Bulbs, Bill Evans, and Cat Hair: Exploring Representations of Creativity and Education in Images, Videos, and Blogs. Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Volume 2, Issue 4.

Noppari, Elina & Uusitalo, Niina (2011). Kavereita verkossa ja ulkopuolella: Näkökulmia nuorten verkkoyhteisöllisyyteen. In: Kangaspunta Seppo (ed.) Yksilöllinen yhteisöllisyys: Avaimia yhteisöllisyyden muutoksen ymmärtämiseen. Tampere: Tampere University Press. (Article: Viewpoints on young people’s web communitarianism)

Uusitalo, Niina; Vehmas, Susanna & Kupiainen, Reijo (2011). Naamatusten verkossa: Lasten ja nuorten mediaympäristön muutos, osa 2. Tampere: Journalismin tutkimusyksikkö. Viestinnän, median ja Teatterin yksikkö. (Face-to-face online: Children’s and young people’s changing media environment, second phase)

Uusitalo, Niina (2010). Constructing Media Literacy as a Civic Competence In: Kotilainen, Sirkku & Arnolds-Granlund, Sol-Britt (eds.) Media Literacy Education: Nordic Perspectives. Göteborg: Nordicom, University of Gothenburg,

Uusitalo, Niina (2010). ‘Media Education as a Technology of Citizenship’. In: Leaning, Marcus (ed.) Issues in Information and Media Literacy. Santa Rosa, California: Informing Sciences Press.

Noppari, Uusitalo, Kupiainen, Luostarinen (2008). Mä oon nyt online: Lasten ja nuorten mediaympäristön muutos, osa 2. Tampere: Journalismin tutkimusyksikkö. (I am online now: Children’s and young people’s changing media environment, first phase.)