Hanne Vandenbroucke

Hanne followed a unique Bachelor’s trajectory combining Languages and Linguistics with Communication Sciences at KU Leuven. She has completed the Master’s degree in Communication Sciences cum laude at KU Leuven and extended this master with an extra semester abroad at Universidad Camilo José Cela in Madrid. After graduating she gained experience working as a marketing manager in the field of digital education.

Hanne joined imec-SMIT-VUB in May 2023 as a PhD-researcher in the Media Economics and Policy unit. Her research focuses on algorithmic recommender systems and news personalisation in the Flemish news media industry. Throughout the four-year doctoral journey, her research delves into the implementation of recommender systems within commercial news organisations through the lens of media strategies. This comprehensive exploration is divided into two stages: The initial phase centers on unraveling the strategic decision-making processes in the development and implementation of recommender systems from a multi-stakeholder perspective. In a second phase the focus shifts towards a user-centric perspective, aiming to map user journeys and experiences and examine the added value brought about by recommender systems in the realm of news consumption.

Hanne's research contributes to the Strategic Research Program on Streaming, Recommenders, and Platformization in European Media Industries (SRP Media). Her work focuses on the news publishers in small media markets, looking at news media strategies as well as the impact of innovative technologies in journalism on audiences. For more information take a look at www.srpmedia.be