Erich-Brost-Institut

Prof Susanne Fengler is the Principal Investigator for Germany and supervises the team at the Erich Brost Institute, as well as the collaboration with the European Journalism Observatory. She is a Professor of International Journalism at TU Dortmund University and directed numerous large-scale international research and teaching projects, among them the project Media Accountability and Transparency in Europe, and the international graduate school MEDAS-21.

Merle van Berkum (PhD) functions as the Senior Researcher and coordinates, conceptualises and implements all tasks of the Erich Brost Institute within the project .Previously, she managed the AMAZE!-project at the Erich Brost Institute. Her research expertise lies in media development and comparative studies of migration and climate reporting.

Johanna Mack is a doctoral student at the University Duisburg-Essen, focussing on the media system of small fragile states, especially Guinea-Bissau, and supports various projects at the Erich Brost Institute. She is editorial director of the German-language EJO and a project collaborator at the Bonn Rhein Sieg University of Applied Sciences.

Isabella Kurkowski (MA) is the Institute Manager of the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism. Prior to this she was from 2022 to 08/2024 the Managing Director of the 27-country EU project COPE. Kurkowski is an international media development expert and senior researcher at the Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism of the Technical University Dortmund, Germany.