Publications
Fehlmann, Fiona (2020): The European Communication Conference (ECC) 2018 in Lugano.Studies in Communication Sciences, (2), pp. 239-240.https://doi.org/10.24434/j.scoms.2019.02.01

Hangartner, Stefanie & Fehlmann, Fiona (2019). Linguistic legitimacy management as a way out of the crisis? The effect of legitimacy communication on individual legitimacy judgments. In J. Krone & A. Gebesmair (Eds.). On the economics of public interest media : Mass communication in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (1st ed., Vol. Vol. 14, Media Structures Series). Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp. 275-290.

Papers
Künzler, Matthias/ Autenrieth, Ulla & Fehlmann, Fiona (2019). The Quest for Audiovisual Innovation: Strategies of Public Media Providers to Reach Young Audiences. Paper presented at the ECREA Television Studies Section Conference at the University of Groningen, NL.

Autenrieth, Ulla/ Fehlmann, Fiona & Künzler, Matthias (2019). Searching for one's binge: Decision-making and selection strategies of audio-visual contents by young audiences - findings from a use-lab study. Paper presented at the ECREA Television Studies Section Conference at the University of Groningen, NL.Autenrieth, Ulla/ Fehlmann, Fiona & Künzler, Matthias (2019). "Public Service Media in Switzerland: Acceptance by young audiences & future opportunities" Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Swiss Society for Communication and Media Studies (SGKM) at the University of St. Gallen.Autenrieth, Ulla/ Künzler, Matthias & Fehlmann, Fiona (2019). "Acceptance through innovation? A comparison of innovative audiovisual formats of public and private media providers. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Swiss Society for Communication and Media Studies (SGKM) at the University of St. Gallen.Autenrieth, Ulla/ Fehlmann, Fiona & Künzler, Matthias (2019). "Service public. Acceptance among young target groups & future opportunities." Paper presented at the International Public Media Conference (IPMC) at Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern.Fehlmann, Fiona (2018). "Legitimacy Through Public Service Media Narratives?" Paper presented at the Pre-Conference of the 7th European Communication Conference (ECC) "Funding of Independent and/or Public Service Journalism" at Università della Svizzera Italiana.

Fiona Fehlmann (*1991) studied journalism and communication sciences as well as modern history at the University of Zurich and graduated in 2017 with a thesis on public broadcasting in Switzerland. Since 2018, she has been a research assistant and doctoral candidate in the cooperation and SNF project "Zukunft Service public" of the University of Basel and the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden.

The question of the status of public broadcasting has hardly lost any of its explosive power in the age of networked communication - on the contrary: Public broadcasting organizations are once again increasingly at the center of heated debates throughout Europe. While some praise the journalistic quality of public media houses and recognize the tradition-rich media houses as a rock in the surf of disinformation circulating on the Internet, others question their performance agreements and call for a reduction or even abolition of radio and television fees.

At the heart of these debates is invariably a negotiation of the legitimacy of public broadcasting-as several authors have pointed out (Hartmann & Quijada, 2015; Larsen, 2014; Gregory F. Lowe & Berg, 2013; Gregory Ferrell Lowe, 2016). There is often debate about the extent to which this institution is legitimate under the impact of digitization, i.e., considered appropriate in terms of its rules, norms, values, definitions, and ways of acting (Suchman, 1995). In this respect, the dissertation project attempts to tie in with a current debate - it asks to what extent a specific public media house is considered legitimate by a specific social group: To what extent is the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG) considered legitimate by young people between the ages of 14 and 35? What do young people, among whom streaming services and social media are becoming increasingly popular, say about the institution in question? Do they use and know about the offerings of public media houses? Following those researchers who emphasize that the positioning of young people with their changed media use habits vis-à-vis public broadcasting has been too little researched so far, questions like these will be brought into focus in the doctoral project.