Mission Statement

In modern, increasingly mediatized societies, which are fragmented into various fields of communication (business, politics, education, science, health, art, etc.), normative questions concerning media production, distribution and reception are increasingly arising, which cannot be discussed or even solved either exclusively in political and/or legal terms or solely at the national level. This gap is to be filled by the center, whose task is, among other things, to offer scientifically relevant but not yet institutionalized research. Potentials such as borderless networking, low-cost communication, and more participation, but also risks such as increased speed pressure, data protection, hate postings, etc. are only a few of the current topics IMEC is addressing.

Various disciplines are involved, such as media and communication science, philosophy, sociology, political science, or economics. Of course, all previous topics with which a philosophically founded media ethics is concerned (production ethics, reception ethics, advertising ethics, image ethics, etc.) will remain topical. Interdisciplinarity and internationality are the guiding principles for our primary and applied research. Knowledge transfer and consulting (e.g., of media policy and media companies) are as much a focus of the center as cooperation with other German-speaking and international initiatives and networks. The overall goal is to establish an international and interdisciplinary research center for media ethics.