Univ.-Prof. Dr. Josef Trappel

Head of Department of Communication Studies
Head of Media Politics and Media Economics Division
Director of EMJMD Digital Communication Leadership (DCLead)
Josef Trappel

Room: Raised first floor room 016, Rudolfskai 42, 5020 Salzburg

Office hours: by appointment

Phone: +43-662-8044-4167

Mail: Josef.Trappel@plus.ac.at

Josef Trappel is a University Professor of communication policy and media economics. Since 2012, he is head of the department of communication studies. He studied communication studies and political science and then worked as an expert on media policy issues at the Federal Chancellery in Vienna and at the European Commission in Brussels. He then directed the media and communications division of Prognos AG in Basel, Switzerland. He completed his habilitation at the University of Zurich.

Currently, he is also the director of the Erasmus+ Joint Master Program Digital Communication Leadership.

Research Interests

  • Communication and Democracy
  • Media Economics
  • National and International Media Policy
  • Media Structures and Innovation in Digital Change

Networks

  • Euromedia Research Group (Chair since 2004)
  • ECREA European Communication Research and Education Association (member)
  • IAMCR International Association for Media and Communication Research (member)
  • ÖGK Österreichische Gesellschaft für Kommunikationswissenschaft (Mitglied)
  • SGKM Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft (Mitglied)

Documentation of Research

The latest research documentation can be found here.

Master´s Exams

Guidelines for Oral Masters Exams with Professor Josef Trappel – (from February 2021)

Step 1:

You look for a topic that interests you – and that you assume will also interest me as the examiner. I recommend that you consider which topics you always wanted to cover in your studies but never got around to. The oral examination is your chance to revisit a topic here. The topic should not overlap with your Master’s thesis. Suggest your topic (or several) to me by email (josef.trappel@sbg.ac.at).

Step 2:

Based on your suggestions, we will determine the topic together (in a consultation session or by e-mail). Now you look for six to eight current academic texts on the topic, half of them from the Anglo-Saxon world and none older than 10 years. You send me your list by e-mail, I revise the list and then declare it mandatory exam material. I mark the texts I don’t know. You send me these texts as a pdf.

Step 3:

You write a review for each text. It contains:

the correct bibliography

brief information about the authors

Summary of the content (topic, research question, key messages)

3 – 5 significant verbatim quotes (correctly cited)

Your personal scientific evaluation of the text: How does the text fit with your level of knowledge? Contradictions? Surprises? What have you learned? Where do you agree? Where do you disagree? Strengths/weaknesses of the text from your point of view?

Length: max. two pages per text

Step 4:

At least one week before the exam, submit your reviews to me by e-mail (josef.trappel@sbg.ac.at).

Step 5:

We will discuss your reviews in the examination interview. You should show that you are able to argue scientifically.