Strategic Communication – Contemporary Perspectives

Dr. Sharam Alghasi is a professor of media sociology in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. Alghasi holds a PhD in sociology (2009), and his research includes various topics related to the field of media-sociology. His doctoral dissertation deals with the relationship between Iranian-Norwegians’ media consumption and their construction of identity, and adaptation strategies in Norwegian society. His field of inquiry includes issues such as media production/reception, media theories, integration, multiculturalism, nationalism, transnationalism, Islam, and the Norwegian public discourse on “diversity management”.

Dr. Jens Barland is an associate professor in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. Barland is also currently Vice Chancellor at Kristiania University College. He holds a PhD in media innovations and has 20 years of experience within the media industry as a journalist, media manager, editor, editor-in-chief and CEO.

Dr. Jesper Falkheimer is a professor of strategic communication in the Department of Strategic Communication at Lund University, Sweden, and professor II in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. Falkheimer’s research interests are strategic communication in general and, more specifically, communication management, crisis communication, public relations, terrorism and place branding. Falkheimer’s research is structured around a core interest in the persuasive communication processes between organizations and their stakeholders in a social theoretical framework.

Ester Conings Vanvik is the program head for the bachelor’s degree in PR and strategic communication in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. She is a PhD candidate at the Department of Strategic Communication at Lund University, Sweden. Vanvik has experience as a former program head for the bachelor’s degree in PR and strategy at Westerdals. Additionally, she has held roles as a strategic advisor and leader in the advertising and media industry in both Belgium and Norway.

Øystein Pedersen Dahlen is an assistant professor in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. Dahlen has published articles on PR history, online news, media sociology, and historical sociology in Norwegian and international academic journals. He has also co-written a book on practical strategic communication.

Dr. Audra Diers-Lawson is a professor of risk and crisis communication in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. She also heads the PhD program in communication and leadership at Kristiania, is the editor of the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, a member of the Risk Communication, Community Engagement, and Infodemic Management Technical Advisory Group for the WHO-Europe, and holds a number of leadership positions in international communication associations.

Nanna Alida Grit Fredheim is an associate professor in media and communication in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. She has a PhD from the University of Oslo (2021) and was a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego in 2020. Fredheim has previously worked as a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and lead government communication projects. Her research focuses on political communication, lobbyism, journalism, health and medicine, and interest groups.

Dr. Helge Hiram Jensen is an associate professor in social sciences and public management in the Faculty of Economics and Social Science at Inland Norway University of Applied Science, Norway. Jensen researches social movements for land and water rights. As a communicator, he has practiced research dissemination, art education, and media activism. He holds a PhD in political and social sciences from the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

Magne Johannessen is a lecturer and study program manager in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. Johannessen teaches subjects in communication, marketing and market communication, and has written books on consumer behavior and market communication. Johannesen has a master’s degree in relationship marketing. His research interests include marketing, marketing communication and complexity science. Alongside his work, he is a PhD student at the University of Bedfordshire, England.

Dr. Bente Kalsnes is a professor of media and communication in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. She received her PhD from the University of Oslo, Department of Media and Communication. Kalsnes’ research interests include how social media and other communication technologies impact politics, digital journalism, fake news and disinformation. Her book about fake news and disinformation in a Norwegian and Nordic context entitled Falske nyheter: Løgn, desinformasjon og propaganda i den digitale offentligheten (Fake News: Lies, Disinformation and Propaganda in the Digital Public Sphere) was published in Norway in August 2019.

Dr. Faltin Karlsen is a professor of media studies in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. Karlsen conducts research on digital detox and dating apps, as well as media users, computer games, and game culture with special attention to public discourses about media effects and questions concerning media violence, problem gaming, and people who are opting out of digital media.

Lasha Kavtaradze is a PhD fellow at the Department of Communication at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway, and a PhD candidate at the University of Bergen, Norway. Kavtaradze holds a master’s degree in digital media and society from Uppsala University, Sweden, and has a professional background in journalism and media research. As part of the Source Criticism and Mediated Disinformation (SCAM) project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council, Kavtaradze is conducting research on the automation of fact-checking and the current initiatives that are working on AI solutions for information verification.

Dr. Arne H. Krumsvik is a professor of media and communication in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway, and professor II at the Department of Journalism, Volda University College, Norway. He has a PhD from the University of Oslo (2009). Krumsvik has a background as a professor of journalism at OsloMet, head of the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Oslo, and rector at Kristiania University College. He has previously held various management positions in press, broadcasting and new media.

Anders Nilsen is an assistant professor is in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. He has a master’s degree in documentary and journalism and 20 years of experience as a photojournalist working with documentary photography. Nilsen teaches both photojournalism and visual storytelling, and has published documentary books.

Dr. Lene Pettersen is an associate professor in the School of Communication, Leadership, and Marketing at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway. Pettersen is a social anthropologist, and her research includes topics related to the interplay of users, organizations, and technology – such as digital communication, digital platforms and platformization, digital dating and dating apps, the digital economy, AI and data practices, and digital business models, among others.

Dr. Bård Blytt Sandstad is an associate professor and head of the Institute of Media Studies at the Danish School of Media and Journalism, Denmark. He has a master’s degree in graphic communications management and technology from New York University, USA.

Peder Laumb Stampe is a senior consultant at Ramboll Management Consulting in Oslo, Norway. Stampe has a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has worked on a number of investigations, evaluations, service and strategy development projects for the public sector, primarily within working life, integration, culture and welfare.

Dr. Sigmund Valaker is a researcher at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and holds a PhD in organisational psychology from BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway, and a Cand. Philol. in history of ideas from the University of Oslo, Norway. He has researched topics such as communication and coordination.

Tonje Merete Viken is a partner in the consulting firm Conow in Oslo, Norway. She has a master’s degree in Middle Eastern and North African studies and a major in English from the University of Oslo, Norway. Viken has experience from several Norwegian organizations, among others, the Norwegian Parliament.