Rasmus Kleis Nielsen receives two international research awards
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Professor in the Department of Communication, has received two international awards for recent research at the 2025 International Communication Association conference.
"Ritual Reinforcement: Habit, Emotion, and Identity as Attributes of Trust in News", a co-authored article led by Amy Ross Arguedas from the University of Oxford has received the Wolfgang Donsbach Outstanding Journal Article of the Year Award presented by the Journalism Studies Division of the International Communications Association. The article uses data from focus groups and interviews to develop an audience-centric view of trust in news that foregrounds the role of ritual reinforcement, and especially habit, emotion, and identity, in shaping people’s relationship with news.
At the same event, Avoiding the News: Reluctant Audiences for Journalism, his book written with Benjamin Toff from the University of Minnesota and Ruth Palmer from IE Universidad received the International Journal of Press/Politics Hazel Gaudet-Erskine Best Book Award, awarded by a committee consisting of the editor of the journal and the chairs of the Political Communication Division and the Journalism Studies Division of the International Communications Association. The book is based on extensive interview research as well as survey data and identifies the role of identity, ideologies, and infrastructures in explaining why so many people consume little or no news despite unprecedented abundance and ease of access.
The award committee Hazel Gaudet-Erskine Best Book Award wrote that Avoiding the News “was selected for its significant and timely contribution to understanding the global phenomenon of news avoidance — a topic of growing importance in the context of democratic participation. The committee was especially impressed by the book’s methodological rigor, including its thoughtful mixed-methods design and international comparative analysis, and by the theoretical and practical insights it offers into how individuals make sense of their disengagement from news. The work stands out for its scholarly strength, international scope, and relevance to both political communication and journalism studies".