Jürgen Grimm has been a professor of communication studies at the University of Vienna since 2004. In 1985, he received his PhD from Siegen University with a theoretical and empirical work focused on content analysis regarding media entertainment.

From 1984-1988 post-doc research assistant at the DFG-funded research project "Imparting Reality through the Mass Media" at ZUMA (Center for Surveys, Methods and Analyses). He habilitated at Mannheim University in 1998 with a study on violence depiction in TV documentaries and movies and the impact on children and adults. Before he came to Vienna, Grimm taught and researched at several German universities such as Mannheim, Muenster, Augsburg, Duesseldorf, and Siegen.

Apart from his teaching activities, he carries out intensive empirical research especially in the area of media effects and on this basis tries to find solutions for practical problems of media professionals. Since 1994, he has been a member of the board of trustees of the "Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Fernsehen" ("Organization for the Voluntary Self-Regulation of Television"). He is also chairman of the "Association for the Promotion of Media Research" in Austria and Germany. From 2005-2011 he was the director of the Forum for Methods at the Faculty for Social Sciences at Vienna University. At present he is the head of the Forum of Social Sciences within the Centre for Methods. Currently, he is also the leader of several Viennese research projects, e.g. "Media, Patriotism, Integration" in which media images of migrants, the media impact on migrants and non- migrants, and the consequences for exclusion or inclusion within diverse national identities are investigated. He also leads the project "Storytelling and Agenda Setting” which refers to political communication and election campaigns.

Grimm has published widely on depictions of media violence, war and crisis journalism, news processing, media entertainment, political communication, broadcasting history and on methodological problems of content analyses and media effect research.


Curriculum Vitae, chronologic

  • Born in Karlsruhe, Germany on January 10th, 1954.
  • Classical secondary school 1965-1973, advanced school leaving certificate 1973.
  • 1973-1978 studies of German Philology and Political Science at Mannheim University.
  • October 1979-June 1981 deputy project manager of the project „Media Effects in International Politics“ financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [German Research Foundation] (DFG)headed by Prof. Dr. G.W. Wittkämper in Münster (at ZUMA)
  • July 1981-June 1983 scholar of the „Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes“ [German National Academic Foundation]
  • 1983 research assistant at „Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen“ (ZUMA) [Center for Surveys, Methods and Analyses] in Mannheim. Focus: Conducting a ZUMA-survey on methodological basic research (concept, survey, statistic evaluation, final report).
  • 1985 PhD from Siegen University with a theoretical and empirical work focused on content analysis regarding media entertainment. Assessors: Prof. Dr. Karl Riha, Prof. Dr. Siegfried J. Schmidt.
  • January 1984-February 1988 post-doc research assistant at the DFG-funded research project “Imparting of Reality by the Mass Media”, project management Prof. Dr. W. Früh (Munich). Focus: Conveyance of information by the mass media, all aspects of the conducting of scientific research projects (at ZUMA).
  • September 1989-December 1990 post-doc research assistant at the „Forschungsstelle für gesellschaftliche Entwicklung“ [Research Center for Social Development] (FGE, project management: Prof. Dr. Rudolf Wildenmann) at the University of Mannheim. Focus : Preparation of the Collaborative Research Center “Functions of TV Information”; project management of the research project “Videoclips and Lifeworld”; cooperation in the research project “Image Analysis: Television” in the Media Research Department of the FGE.
  • January-June 1991 research assistant at Mannheim University at the Department for Political Science and International Comparative Research (Prof. Dr. Max Kaase). Focus: preliminary studies for a research project on the relation of information and entertainment on TV; Research seminar where teaching was combined with applying empirical methods.
  • November 1991-December 1994 project management in the DFG-funded research project „The Media: Simulation and Reality” (mentoring by Prof. Dr. Jochen Hörisch) at Mannheim University: Research on the effects of TV media violence and on Reality TV.
  • Habilitation in 1998 at Mannheim University: „Fernsehgewalt. Zuwendungsattraktivität – Erregungsverläufe – sozialer Effekt. Zur Begründung und praktischen Anwendung eines kognitiv- physiologischen Ansatzes der Medienrezeptionsforschung am Beispiel von Gewaltdarstellungen“ [„TV Violence: Attraction, Arousal, Social Effect: Reasoning and Application of the Cognitive- Physiological Approach for Study Media Reception on the Example of Violence Imagery“].
  • April -September 1998 lectureship at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster (Department of Media and Communication Studies).
  • October 1998-December 2002 project manager of the research project “Talkshow Analysis” at Mannheim University.
  • October 1999-April 2001 interim professor of Communication Studies at Augsburg University.
  • November 2001-March 2002 interim professor of Media Studies at Düsseldorf University.
  • April 2002-February 2004 interim professor of Media Studies at Siegen University.
  • October 2003-February 2004 visiting professor at Vienna University.
  • Ranked on the nomination lists in Klagenfurt and Regensburg
  • Since March 2004 professor of Communication Science at Vienna University.


Profession-related memberships and functions

  • Since 1992 member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Publizistik und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK) [German Society for Journalism and Communication Studies]
  • Since 2004 member of the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Kommunikationswissenschaft (ÖGK) [Austrian Society for Communication Studies]
  • Since 2005 member of the International Communication Association (ICA).
  • Since February 1994 member of the board of trustees of the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Fernsehen [Association for the Voluntary Self-Regulation of Television] in Berlin. Focus: Development and adjustment of regulation criteria regarding aspects of youth protection and TV programs.
  • Since November 1993 chairman of the Verein zur Förderung der Medienforschung [Society for the Promotion of Media Research]. Members are amongst others: SWR, HR, ZDF, RTL. SAT.1, RTL2, the Association for the Voluntary Self-Regulation of Television, the daily newspaper “Mannheimer Morgen” and the Mannheim Evening Academy.
  • Since January 1995 member of the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft (FSK) [German Film Classification Board].
  • Since May 2004 member of the faculty council at Vienna University.
  • 2005-2011: director of the Forum for Methods at the social science faculty at Vienna University.
  • Since 2012: director of the Forum of Social Sciences within the Center for Methods at Vienna University (formerly Forum for Methods).


Research projects

  • Talk shows: Content and Effect (1998-2002)
  • Media, Youth, and Politics (2001-2004)
  • International War and Crisis Journalism (2003-2006)
  • Conveyance of News in Austria (2004-2006)
  • Media, Patriotism, Integration (since 2008)
  • Professional Communicators in Europe (since 2007)
  • Broadcasting History in the Transnational Space (since 2010)
  • Entertainment-Education (since 2005)
  • Coaching TV (2005-2012)
  • Health Communication (since 2013)
  • Storytelling und Agenda Setting (since 2013)