Václav Štětka

is a media scholar, since 2016 based at Loughborough University in the UK, where he currently holds the post of Reader in Comparative Political Communication. He previously worked at Masaryk University, Charles University and the University of Oxford. His research interests encompass political communication, the role of media in the rise of populism and polarization, and the relationship between media and democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. He is an active contributor to several international research projects and networks, including the Digital News Report (Oxford University) or Media Pluralism Monitor (European University Institute in Florence). He has been member of the Committee for Editorial Independence of the Czech media house Economia since 2019.