The Media Innovation Studio (MIS) at the University of Lancashire is strengthening its international research programme this autumn by welcoming Dr Natalia Berger, Senior Researcher and Lecturer at Inholland University of Applied Sciences (Haarlem), as a Visiting Research Fellow.
Dr Berger’s fellowship builds on an established collaboration with MIS researchers exploring how organisations respond to technological change. Working alongside Professor Ted Gutsche, Dr François Nel and colleagues across Europe and North America, she will help advance a programme of research examining the role of language, emotion and professional identity in organisational adaptation.
The collaboration forms part of the Fear Factor Research Group, an international, interdisciplinary network convened by Dr Nel to investigate how emotions shape leadership, innovation and strategic change across journalism and the creative industries.
Internationally recognised for her work on journalism, artificial intelligence, fashion and public discourse, Dr Berger has authored more than 50 scholarly publications and developed Critical Discursive Matrix Analysis (CDMA), an original methodology for understanding how language shapes innovation and professional practice. Her latest book, Public Discourse and the Fashion Industry (Routledge, 2026), explores how public narratives influence the evolution of creative industries.
During her fellowship, Dr Berger will contribute to collaborative research, teaching and public engagement while working with colleagues to develop new international research projects and funding proposals. She will also contribute to the Journalism Innovation & Leadership Programme and explore interdisciplinary collaborations across Journalism, Media, Fashion, Photography and Design.
“Across my research,” says Dr Berger, “I keep returning to the same question: what happens when society encounters something new before it has the language to describe it? Whether we’re talking about artificial intelligence, journalism or fashion, innovation depends not only on technology but on how people make sense of change.”
For Dr François Nel, Director of the Media Innovation Studio, that question is becoming increasingly important for organisations navigating rapid technological disruption.
“We’ve become increasingly good at measuring audiences, markets and technologies,” he says. “We’re much less adept at understanding the emotional dynamics that shape how organisations respond to change. The Fear Factor Research Group brings together researchers from different countries and disciplines to better understand those dynamics and help organisations navigate change more effectively. Natalia has already made an important contribution to that work, and her fellowship allows us to take the collaboration further.”
Professor Peter Lloyd, Dean of the School of Arts and Media and Chair of the Friends of The Harris, said the fellowship reflects the University’s commitment to interdisciplinary research and civic engagement.
“Natalia’s research brings together media, fashion, language and innovation in ways that create opportunities for collaboration across the School and beyond. We’re particularly pleased to explore ways of sharing that work with wider audiences through partners such as The Harris.”
Dr Berger’s fellowship is funded by Inholland University of Applied Sciences and forms part of the Media Innovation Studio’s growing international programme of collaborative research into journalism innovation, organisational change and the future of the creative industries.
