Gureiker Research Group

Gureiker (IT1496-22) is a Type A Research Group of the Basque University System (2022/2015) that develops, from a multidisciplinary vision, theoretical and applied research with transfer value. His studies focus on the impact of digital technologies on the innovation, business and content strategy of media companies for the development of the hyperconnected society and public opinion in the post-truth context. Its objectives seek to expand and develop the research experience of the Group in previous stages, focusing on various fields of study: digital technology and massive data; online journalism; media; social networks; service journalism and slow journalism; media literacy; disinformation; digital public sphere; active audiences and digital activism; public-political communication; innovation and new narratives; university didactics in communication and journalism; affects and emotions in the social sciences.

In collaboration with Eusko Ikaskuntza-Sociedad de Estudios Vascos (EI-SEV), Gureiker edits and manages the publication of the academic journal Mediatika . This task forms part of its activities aimed at promoting scientific research and its transfer to society within the context of the Social Sciences, Communication, and Journalism.

Since 2013, Gureiker has been working on the analysis of cybermedia and online communication. During this initial stage, the Group —led by Koldobika Meso Ayerdí, a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (GIU13/13)— focused on the study of media companies’ convergence processes, the development of Web 2.0 communication on social networks, and the advancement of dialogic and multimedia narrative formats.

Between 2016 and 2021, Gureiker (IT1112-16) developed a new stage under the leadership of researchers from the Department of Journalism, Ainara Larrondo Ureta (IN) and Simón Peña Fernández (K-IN). During this phase, the Group conducted an in-depth analysis of some of the main communication realities that have influenced professional practice and social research over the past decade, including the development of communication companies and newsrooms within the hybrid media system, the adaptation of professional profiles, technological innovation, the evolution of journalistic formats, messages and narratives, and the participation of hyperconnected audiences.

These issues, linked to the web, the digital sphere and new technologies, have been decisive for the development and application of Communication Sciences. In this context, the Group has reflected on the foundations and fundamental principles of communication professions and scientific research in this field, in response to the need for methodological and epistemological adaptations. These adaptations are based on analyses involving the use of big data and algorithmic analytical procedures applied to communication mediated through social networks by Gureiker.