Read Them Sideways

Journalism, Misinformation and Truth Claims w/ Phoebe Matich (#44)

Phoebe Matich is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Automated Decision-Making and Society research centre at QUT. In this episode, your host Sebastian speaks to Phoebe about her recently completed PhD, and discusses the idea of truth claims, "fake news", and misinformation in Australian journalism. If you liked this episode, you can read Phoebe's thesis here [https://eprints.qut.edu.au/256951/].

TikTok recommender systems and the 'For You' project w/ Patrik Wikstrom (#43)

Each year, the Digital Media Research Centre hosts a week-long Summer School filled with symposiums, workshops, and networking. This week's episode is a recording of a discussion from Patrik Wikstrom at this year's Summer School, who discusses the initial findings of the 'For You' project which analyses user experiences on TikTok. This project will reveal how highly individualised our media systems are.

Rethinking contemporary public communication spaces w/ Axel Bruns (#42)

Each year, the Digital Media Research Centre hosts a week-long Summer School filled with symposiums, workshops, and networking. This week's episode is a recording of a discussion entitled, "From 'the' Public Sphere to a Network of Publics: Rethinking Contemporary Public Communication" from Professor Axel Bruns at the 2026 Summer School. His presentation identifies the crucial building blocks that help us conceptualise and investigate how the network of public spheres is structured, and in turns structures our everyday experience of public communication.

20 Years of Twitter Roundtable (#41)

On the 21st of March, 2006, Jack Dorsey sent the first tweet: "just setting up my twttr". This was the start of a significant social network, both for researchers and the general public. In this episode, your host Kate FitzGerald speaks with Distinguished Professor Jean Burgess, Professor Axel Bruns, Dr Kateryna Kasianenko, and PhD Candidate & Indigenous X founder Luke Pearson. Each member of our roundtable provides their own unique expertise and perspective on the platform formerly known as Twitter - whether that be as a place for networking, breaking news, or activism.

Investigating media diets in the 21st century w/ Amanda Lotz & Gabriela Lunardi (#40)

Each year, the Digital Media Research Centre hosts a week-long Summer School filled with symposiums, workshops, and networking. This week's episode is a recording of a panel entitled "Re-thinking media for the platform age: Investigating media diets and use in the twenty-first century", presented by Amanda Lotz and Gabriela Lunardi at the 2026 Summer School. This presentation includes insights from 40 in-depth interviews with Australian adults relating to their media use. Further information about Amanda's currently funded project can be found by reading this QUT news release [https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=198029].