Prof. Dr. Lars Guenther

Short bio

since 10/2023: Professor of Communication Science with a focus on Crisis and Risk Communication in Digital Media Environments at the Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich

02/2023-04/2023: Visiting Lecturer at the "Understanding Public Engagement with Science" lab at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa, Israel

06/2019-09/2023: Senior Research Associate in the DFG-funded cluster of excellence “Climate, Climatic Change, and Society“, Universität Hamburg; project leader of a DFG-funded project on "The trust relationship between science and digitized publics" (TruSDi)

since 04/2021: Extraordinary Associate Professor at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology, Stellenbosch University (South Africa)

10/2020-09/2021: Interim professorship for communication studies with a focus on communication theories, media systems, and communication policy, at LMU Munich

01/2018-12/2020: Extraordinary Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology, Stellenbosch University (South Africa)

08/2017-05/2019: Research and Lecturing Associate at the Institute of Communication Research at Friedrich Schiller University Jena

01/2016-02/2019: Spokesperson of PhD students of the science communication group of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)

08/2015-07/2017: Postdoc at the Research Chair in Science Communication at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at at Stellenbosch University (South Africa)

01/2015: Dissertation entitled “The coverage of (un)certainty: Science journalists' perceptions and reporting on scientific evidence” (Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Georg Ruhrmann, Prof. Dr. Michaela Maier, Prof. Dr. Rainer Bromme)

09/2010-07/2015: Research and Lecturing Associate at the Institute of Communication Research at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, work in DFG-funded projects within the special priority program “Science and the public”

2005-2010: Student of media studies, newest history and German literature at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and University of Erfurt, Magister degree with the theses entitled “Optimistic Bias und Selbstbewusstsein als Erklärungsansätze für First- und Third-Person-Effekte. Eine experimentelle Studie.”

2007-2010: Student assistant and tutor at the Institute of Communication Research, assistant in DFG-funded research projects (Prof. Dr. Bertram Scheufele, Prof. Dr. Michaela Maier)

2002-2010: Traineeships and free-lance journalist for several daily newspapers, TV and radio stations, and the news agency dpa

Resarch Focus: science communication and journalism; risk and crisis communication; trust research.

Publications and Lectures