Mariella Bastian is a postdoctoral researcher in the PersoNews project at the Institute for Information Law (IViR). She is interested in the question in how far personalization technologies impact newsroom structures and the journalistic profession. She holds a Bachelor and Master degree in journalism studies from TU Dortmund University (Germany). In her PhD project at TU Dortmund University she worked on media accountability and self-regulation in Latin America, and did extensive field work in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. As a researcher and lecturer, Mariella has also focused on editorial responsibility, the relationship between the media and democracy, and foreign coverage as well as on migration coverage. She has frequently worked in international research consortiums with colleagues from Europe, Latin America, and Africa. Moreover, Mariella held several guest lectures at Brazilian universities. She is experienced in comparative research, including methods such as quantitative and qualitative content analysis, focus group discussions and expert interviews.