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Steen Steensen

Steen Steensen

Job title
  • Vice Dean research and development, professor
Visiting address
  • Pilestredet 48, 0167 Oslo
Phone
  • Mobile: +47 909 19 977
  • Office: +47 672 37 747
E-mail
  • steen.steensen@oslomet.no
Affiliation

About

I am Vice-Dean of Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Professor of Journalism at the Department of Journalism and Media Studies. My research focuses on local news, social media and democracy — in particular what happens to the local public sphere when local journalism weakens and social media takes over as the arena for political participation and debate. This is one of the most pressing media policy questions of our time, as news deserts and platformisation threaten the foundations of informed local communities around the world. My most recent book, Casual Democracy: News, Participation, and Deliberation in Local Communities Dominated by Social Media (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026), develops new theory on democratic participation in local communities dominated by social media. I have received several international awards for my research, including the Bob Franklin Journal Article Award (2021).

I hold a PhD from the University of Oslo and an MA from Cardiff University, Wales, and have a background as a journalist. I am Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University (2021–2026) and Adjunct Professor at Kristiania University College (2023–2026).

Field of study

Local democracy   Media and communication   Feature journalism   Journalism   Public sphere   Source criticism   Social media   Fact-checking   Disinformation

Administrative field of work

Research quality   Research strategy

Research groups

Research projects

Completed research projects

Publications and research

Scientific publications

Steensen, Steen ; Kiberg, Håvard; Kalsnes, Bente; Olsen, Gunhild Ring; Kavtaradze, Lasha (2026). Flattening the news: Platformisation and the erosion of topical diversity across news outlet types. New Media & Society.
https://doi.org/https://journals-sagepub-com.egms.

Steensen, Steen (2026). Casual Democracy. News, Participation, and Deliberation in Local Communities Dominated by Social Media. ISBN: 9783032069887. 315 p. Palgrave Macmillan.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-06989-4

Kiberg, Håvard; Olsen, Gunhild Ring; Krumsvik, Arne H.; Kalsnes, Bente; Kavtaradze, Lasha; Steensen, Steen (2025). Navigating Platform Dependency: Four Strategic Approaches for Social Media News Publishing. Journalism Studies.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2025.2608960

Westlund, Oscar ; Belair-Gagnon, Valerie; Graves, Lucas; Larsen, Rebekah; Steensen, Steen (2024). What Is the Problem with Misinformation? Fact-checking as a Sociotechnical and Problem-Solving Practice. Journalism Studies. Vol. 25.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2357316

Steensen, Steen ; Figenschou, Tine Ustad ; Ihlebæk, Karoline Andrea (2023). Playing the Mainstream Game. A Language-Game Analysis of “Mainstream” as a Possible Boundary Object in Journalism Studies. Digital Journalism. Vol. 11.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2023.2180406

Steensen, Steen ; Kalsnes, Bente; Westlund, Oscar (2023). The limits of live fact-checking: Epistemological consequences of introducing a breaking news logic to political fact-checking. New Media & Society.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231151436

Samuelsen, Reidun; Kalsnes, Bente; Steensen, Steen (2023). The Relevance of Technology to Information Verification: Insights from Norwegian Journalism During a National Election. Journalism Practice.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2023.2280676

Steensen, Steen (2023). Dealing With Covid-19 in Casual Democracies. Media and Communication. Vol. 11.
https://doi.org/10.17645/MAC.V11I3.6807

Steensen, Steen ; Belair-Gagnon, Valerie; Graves, Lucas; Kalsnes, Bente; Westlund, Oscar (2022). Journalism and Source Criticism. Revised Approaches to Assessing Truth-Claims. Journalism Studies. Vol. 23.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2022.2140446

Westlund, Oscar ; Larsen, Rebekah; Graves, Lucas; Kavtaradze, Lasha; Steensen, Steen (2022). Technologies and Fact-Checking. A Sociotechnical Mapping. Correia, Joao Carlos; Jeronimo, Pedro; Amaral, Inês (Ed.). Disinformations Studies: Perspectives from An Emerging Field. p. 193-236. Labcom Communication & Arts.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3032844



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These publications are obtained from Norwegian Research Information Repository. The list may be incomplete.

Textbooks

Handgaard, Brynjulf; Simonsen, Anne Hege ; Steensen, Steen (2013). Journalistikk. ISBN: 9788205430044. 363 p. Gyldendal Akademisk.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4287035

Steensen, Steen (2006). Beboerne. En dokumentar om livet på Lille Tøyen sykehjem. ISBN: 9788243003781. 273 p. Spartacus.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4203643



These publications are obtained from Norwegian Research Information Repository. The list may be incomplete.

Research reports

Steensen, Steen ; Olsen, Gunhild Ring; Kalsnes, Bente; Kiberg, Håvard; Kavtaradze, Lasha (2025). Nyhetsmangfold i plattformenes tid: En analyse av hva norske redaksjoner publiserer på ulike plattformer og hvilke strategier som ligger bak. ISBN: 9788293953050. 50 p. Høyskolen Kristiania.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4067975

Steensen, Steen ; Hanem, Guri Ellen; Bjerke, Paul (2013). Norsk medietidsskrifts overgang til digital publisering og Open Access. 33 p. Norsk medieforskerlag.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3742099

Steensen, Steen (2010). Back to the Feature Online Journalism as Innovation, Transformation and Practice. 242 p. Universitetet i Oslo.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3376236



These publications are obtained from Norwegian Research Information Repository. The list may be incomplete.

Dissemination

Jackson, Daniel; Steensen, Steen ; Peters, Chris (2026). Football Transfer Gossip: Defining an Overlooked, Influential, and Exemplary News Genre. 76th Annual ICA Conference. ICA.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5532349

Olsen, Gunhild Ring; Kiberg, Håvard; Krumsvik, Arne H.; Steensen, Steen ; Kalsnes, Bente; Kavtaradze, Lasha (2026). Do not write 'sex' in the caption”: The selection and editing of news for social media, and the negotiation of journalistic authority. 76th Annual ICA Conference. The International Communication Association.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5528107

Steensen, Steen ; Kiberg, Håvard; Kalsnes, Bente; Olsen, Gunhild Ring; Kavtaradze, Lasha (2026). Flattening the news: Platformisation and the erosion of topical diversity across news outlet types. 76th Annual ICA Conference. ICA.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5532344

Steensen, Steen (2026). The Rise of Casual Democracy. Seminar. Bergen Media Use Group, Universitetet i Bergen.
https://doi.org/https://www.uib.no/infomedia/18270

Steensen, Steen (2026). Casual Democracy. News, Participation, and Deliberation in Local Communities Dominated by Social Media. SMIT Seminar. Vreije Universitet Brussels, SMIT.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5367673

Steensen, Steen ; Kalsnes, Bente; Olsen, Gunhild Ring (2025). Hva skjer når algoritmene blir redaktører?.
https://doi.org/https://www.kristiania.no/om-krist

Steensen, Steen (2025). (+) Forsket på 22 norske aviser: Disse temaene dominerer i sosiale medier.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4966386

Steensen, Steen (2025). (+) Omdømme-eksperter: – Hvordan skal Dagbladet igjen bli viktig?.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4961736

Steensen, Steen (2025). Er det sant? Ja, Instagram sier det jo!.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5082352

Steensen, Steen (2025). Dealing with Crime in News Deserts. Future of Journalism. Cardiff University.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4022303



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These publications are obtained from Norwegian Research Information Repository. The list may be incomplete.
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