Marlene Radl is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Vienna. She holds a MA in Political Science and a bachelor’s degree in Developmental Studies and Economics. From 2021 to 2023 she worked as a research assistant within the international research project POPBACK and a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Vienna.

In her thesis, she explores the evolution of news media ownership structures within the context of authoritarian-populist developments in various European countries. Theoretically, she employs perspectives of Political Economy of Communication (PEC), materialst state theory as well as feminist and intersectional approaches.

From January 2024 to July 2024, she is completing a research stay at CECS under the supervision of Professor Helena Sousa funded by the Austrian Ministry of Science (OeAD Marietta-Blau-Stipendium).