Acknowledgments
Maybe the real DPhil was the friends we made along the way
Maybe the real DPhil was the friends we made along the way — Internet Proverb
I always thought that acknowledgments are among the most interesting pieces of writing. Usually, they are the first thing I read in any book or paper. Why, I cannot quite say. I assume it betrays a fascination with the traces we leave in each other’s lives and works. Nowhere is this usually clearer acknowledged then in the section named after this particular act where people meet who have never (and will never) encounter each other. But despite their seeming simplicity (after all, what can be so difficult about listing some names and saying ‘thanks’ you, dear reader, might say?), acknowledgments I found them to be surprisingly hard to write, mostly because the possibilities seem endless: Where to start? What and who to leave in — and out? [1] And how to find the right balance with a genre that always teeters on the brink of too much detail and pathos (but consider this: when else do you get the chance to be effusive in your thanks and grateful to the many people that have made you and your work possible in myriad visible and invisible ways? I daresay the opportunities are limited). Perhaps, for all these reasons they are the last form of writing that should be automated by AI, even though their very formulaicness yields itself perfectly to the same. Mind you, I tried, for fun, but found the result lacking and soulless. In their best possible form, acknowledgments are written from a personal place, imbued with feeling, and drawing from a well of experience that is beyond the reach of any computer system, no matter how sophisticated. One final thought is worth mentioning in this brief preamble: In many ways, what I like about acknowledgments is that they are the best rebuttal to the idea of the ‘lone genius’ that we still hold so dear collectively. So let me use this space to call this bluff in my case. That my DPhil was possible at all was only because I had support — because people saw things in me that I failed to see, convinced me that I could do things I doubted I could do and otherwise carried, inspired, and motivated me. Now, having bored you long enough, who are these people?
First, I would like to acknowledge the support of the Leverhulme Trust, the Minderoo-Oxford Challenge Fund and TORCH, the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, Columbia University’s Tow Center, Balliol College, the Oxford Internet Institute, and the University of Oxford Covid-19 Scholarship Extension Fund who variously provided funding for different aspects of this and related projects. My DPhil would not have been possible without their generous support. I should also give a brief shoutout to the city of Oxford and its people, but especially some of the places where I wrote, debated, and defended this thesis: Najar’s, The Lamb and Flag, the Gardener’s Arms, the Perch, the Victoria, Common Ground and Society cafes, as well as the Bodleian Libraries. [2]
My second round of thanks goes out to the ‘Leverhulmians’ as I like to refer to them in my imagination: the members of the Leverhulme Doctoral Centre ‘Publication Beyond Print’ here at Oxford University, but especially Daniel Wakelin, Daria Kondakova, Matthew Ball, Barbora Sojkova, Eddie Jones, Natascha Domeisen, Katie Noble and Aoife Ní Chroidheáin. Each of them provided crucial moral and intellectual support on this long journey and opened up new intellectual worlds to me. Who would have thought that you can find links between samizdat literature, Roman coins, and artificial intelligence in publishing? Certainly not me, but I am glad we went on this adventure together.
At the Oxford Internet Institute, I owe more than I can say to Maisy Gills, Karen Mead and Chrissy Bunyan — I hope the institute never forgets the assets they have in you and the place would not be the same without you. Thank you for making me and M feel at home at this department. Marten Krijgsman saved me more than once from administrative purgatory. Ornella Scutio not only always had an open ear for my concerns and worries but also crucially taught me how to negotiate and — together with Duncan Passey, Carolyn Watson, Lucy Hennings and Lindsay Campbell — how to navigate the maze that is university HR and the world of research grants. To Sara Spinks, Roz Pacey, Mark Malbas and Ellen Mobbs I owe the promotion of my work and the chance to build a profile for myself in ways that few PhD students can hope for. I thank the IT department for finally teaching me how to use the printers four years into my DPhil. My former assessors Grant Blank and Jonathan Bright shaped my DPhil project in the best possible way by providing straightforward, honest and actionable feedback. As I have learned from Henry Farrell and Hugo Mercier, ‘serious criticism is probably the most valuable contribution we can make to the cognitive division of labour’ [3] and both (as well as Seth Lewis who will find himself mentioned here again) have granted me the kindness to engage with my work in a serious and honest ways — and it has been all the better for it. There is also a long list of OII people past and present who have played their part in my DPhil journey (sometimes without realising), so in alphabetical order I would like to thank Kathryn Eccles, Lily Davies, Monah Elswah, Rebecca Enyon, Sophie Cray, Carl-Benedikt Frey, Phil Howard, Adam Mahdi, Nahema Marchal, Helen Margetts, James Manyika, Adam Mahdi, Jakob Mökander, Lisa-Marie Neudert, Julia Lefkowitz, Nahema Marchal, Lulu Shi, David Tomchak, Oleh Stupak, Rosaria Taddeo, Greg Taylor, and Pu Yan. I am also grateful to the rotating cast of MSc students who suffered through my teaching, whose rooms I occupied at 1 St Giles all too frequently (especially on the home stretch of my thesis), and whose company and friendship I enjoy(ed), especially Hannah Stewart, Aurora Hawcroft, Boxi Wu, Elijiah Lewien, Emmie Hine, Frida Shui, Gill Whitehead, Hannah Perry, Ingrid Epure, Jake Stein, Joey D’Urso, Justin Yeung, Karin Vatja Engström, Marlene Straub, Megha Mishra, and Susanne Klausing. It is wondrous to see what you are up to, and I will follow your careers with great interest. Finally, I owe many thanks to Vicky Nash for graciously given advice and for being the first to advise me on the idea to pursue a PhD during my master’s degree. Her counsel to always think about the opportunity costs I have carried forward in more than one way. Andrew ‘Andy’ Przybylski became a crucial mentor on my way through more than one academic and personal minefield. He taught me not only to never be satisfied with easy answers, but also how to resist the hype and that integrity is a choice we can and have to make over and over again. Gemma Newlands took me under her wing as soon as she arrived at the OII and played a crucial role in providing me with honest advice about academic life, and lots of banter to sweeten the medicine — I will never not be impressed by her rigour, wit, and work ethic. Within my wider cohort of fellow DPhil students, I am thankful to Cassidy Bereskin, Paul Röttger, Tomas Borsa, Roland Chen, Kobi Hackenburg, Thomas Hakman, Prathm Juneja, Jakob Mökander, Huw Roberts, Lily Rodel, Martha Ziosi, Clementine Collett and Cailean Osborne for their advice and being such wonderful company.
My college Balliol provided not just an academic home, but also a home away from home. The Balliol MCR was a source of many enjoyable events and intellectual stimuli and Alex Russell, Carol Jones, and Konrad Ksiazek are the main reasons that I had so much fun in this community. The college fellows — Dame Helen Gosh, James Forder, Martin Burton, John Tasioulas, John-Paul Ghobrial and especially Nicki Trott and Melanie Marshall — and college staff — in particular Bruce Rossiter, Bélen Campos Romero, Jordan Moore, Michael Hooker, Chris Puddifoot, Greg Barker, and Bertrand Faucheux — provided for my comfort and academic success in many ways, from helping with administrative matters and providing advice, to help with events, unwieldy ancient doors (thanks again Martin!), dietary matters, and so much more. Meanwhile, my ‘Balliol Banter Crew’ — Nick Dickinson, Linda Eggert, Bysshe Inigo Coffey, Max Marcus, Lauren Burgeno, Sophie Marnette, Freddy Smith, Jim Mallinson, Richard Norman and Raghavendra Srinivas — not only accepted me as the honorary graduate member but also showed me a side of college life that I had no idea existed. Thank you all, it was an honour.
At the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism I am grateful to Kate Hanneford-Smith, Nic Newman, Mitali Mukherjee, Federica Cherubini, Caithlin Mercer, Matthew Leake, Louise Allock, Rebecca Edwards, and Eduardo Suárez for various forms of support and encouragement. Kirsten Eddy, Camila Mont’Alverne, Amy Ross Arguedas, Benjamin Toff, Craig T. Robertson, and Waqas Ejaz provided feedback on my work and former visiting fellows Jessica Cecil, Seth Lewis, and Alfred Hermida collaborated with me on projects that proved to be very helpful to my DPhil. Sílvia Majó-Vázquez believed in me when I did not. Her reference letter might have been the one that made all the difference in getting me into my programme. Finally, Rasmus Nielsen and Richard Fletcher provided ample feedback on my work at various points and gave me not only continuous employment as a research assistant but also the chance to learn from some of the brightest minds in communication research which made me a much, much better scholar. My time at Oxford would have been lesser without you all and I would not have been able to become the academic I am today without the support of the institute.
The community of academics that has inspired and supported my work is far too large to name them all, so I will leave it at some special mentions, with a big thank you to my former lecturers Julika Griem, Rembert Hüser, Sophie Einwächter and Vinzenz Hediger. The latter also become a co-author and collaborator and joins the company of Annika Sehl, Scott Babwah Brennen, Hugo Mercier, Sacha Altay, Chico Camargo, Luisa Fernada Isaza Ibarra, Alexandra Borchardt, Valeria Resendez Gómez, Kim Björn Becker, Seth Lewis, Chris Crum, Benjamin Toff, and Katherine Dunn who worked with me on various projects during my DPhil. Andreas Jungherr always had advice for me and Valérie Bélair-Gagnon and Sarah Anne Ganter both made time for me when I got stuck. Natali Helberger and Claes de Vreese showed understanding at a crucial juncture while Theresa Josephine Seipp and Tomás Dodds discussed important points of this thesis with me — and became friends in the process. The International Journalism Festival and Arianna, Chris, and Francesca allowed me to return and present my work three times while my Twitter community stepped to the fore more than once in helping me with feedback and advice and otherwise entertaining my all-too-frequent musings. Finally, I am incredibly grateful to my viva assessors Carl-Benedikt Frey and Caitlin Petre — two academics I tremendously admire and who took time out of their busy schedules to read and assess my doctoral work.
No acknowledgments, however, would be complete without the many friends that I made (or who stayed with me) during my degree. Uta Hillebrand has been there for me all these years, and so have Gerdi Herold-Ehlerding, Karin Fleck, Matthias Kuhn, Dominique Zilch and Florian Gerth, Hannah Windau and Matthias Kemmerer, Thomas Reynaert and Stefanie Hatzfeld, as well as Barbara Demedts and Gary James. From my masters’ days, Eddie Percarpio, Adena Meriel, Olivia Gonzalez, Aiste Zalepuga, Anisha Nadkarni, Thomas Vogl, and Robert Gorwa were part of this journey, even from a great distance. Jan Rau helped me through more than one mental health crisis and his been a loyal friend and advisor ever since I first met him. From Elisabeth Gamperl I have learned what fighting spirit means and that hope is to be found in the darkest places, even if you are going through literal hell. William Allen and Hannah Forde selflessly helped me with more advice than I could have ever asked for. With Siddharth ‘Sid’ Venkataramakrishnan and Sabrina Ahmad I have gone through thick and thin, and they are better friends than I deserve them. Maria Farrell taught me about the duty of hope and together with Ed Wingfield, Milo and Molly not only welcomed me and M into their London community and home but also provided some much-needed perspective about what truly matters in life. Mark Lee became my wise owl at the halfway point, always ready to chip in with reading suggestions and career advice. I hope to still have the same curiosity and open-mindedness once I have reached his level. Emily Bell, I had the good fortune to meet at around the same time and have cherished her advice and perspective, as well as her friendship, ever since. Julie Posetti (with Tim, Amalia and Toffee) and Nabeelah Shabbir knew me way before I ended up back at the OII and have continued to support me throughout my time at Oxford — with job and housing advice, places to stay, good food and much more. Kim Björn Becker and Tomás Dodds are not only two of the most reliable and diligent co-authors I could have asked for but also turned out to be two wonderfully warm people, with good wit, intellect, and magnanimity in equal measure, who have both done much to help me along. Seth Lewis not only shaped my thesis in central ways through his feedback, he is also a true mensch and exemplifies what a scholar should be: he combines a sharp intellect with an extraordinary work ethic, and his kindness and compassion are boundless. His impact on both my academic work and personal growth has been profound, and I am glad we had the chance to meet before the Covid lockdowns ripped all our lives apart. Alexandra Borchardt is one of the handful of people who can all lay claim to getting me onto this trajectory and into this DPhil in the first place. Her steadfast support for me and her boundless optimism were crucial, and I could not have wished for a better mentor, friend, and co-author than her. Likewise, Erik Bucy not only provided level-headed advice and friendship at the very beginning but also ever since.
In Oxford, Aoife Ní Chroidheáin, Trisha Prahbu, Peter Andringa, Linda Ma, Kate Joyness-Burgess, Laura Herman, Patrick Gildersleve, Yayoi Teramoto, and Nathan Lane all deserve special mention as fellow travellers and friends. Nick Dickinson and Linda Eggert graciously overlooked the fact that I was still a graduate student and made me and M part of their community, while inspiring me with their seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of all things philosophy and politics. They are also the beginning of the chain that led me and us to Richard Norman, James Fletcher and George Balkwill who all became dear friends and together provided much needed distraction from the chores of academic life, as well as showing us a different side of university life. Mary Sanford cracked my shell very early on and was my first new friend in my DPhil cohort. Wise beyond her years and funnier than she will be willing to admit, Mary helped me transition back into Oxford life after an absence of two years and has continued to be a friend and source of inspiration ever since. Anne Ploin provided crucial early advice, banter, and coffee vouchers from which I still draw. Charlie Smith showed me that you can be a hard-working scholar while still having fun at it. I might have failed to adopt his productivity hacks but have learned countless other things from him in the process. Liam Bekirsky taught me that ‘in the kingdom of the nerds, even a nerd can be king’ and how to take life less seriously (in the best possible way). Claire Leibowicz became my ‘AI buddy’ at a distance and has championed me in ways that I probably didn’t deserve and inspired me in more ways than she knows. Thanks to Amanda Curtis I did not only find my love for matcha but also learned more about #firstcousins than was good for me. Someone with a better sense of humour is hard to find. Jaimie Lee Freeman kept me sane in the side chat throughout countless Teams meetings and always had time for my worries while bringing me some much-needed distraction. Hubert Au sharpened my knives — both figuratively and literally — and was never afraid to talk about the hard things, and together with Hayyu (Inda) Imanda wined, dined, and entertained me and M on many wonderful occasions. Joanna Rivera-Carlisle I thank for the Austrian banter, being a general bringer of good times and the most joyous laugh in the department. Paul Rivera-Carlisle I am grateful to for the best drinks in the whole of Oxford, but most importantly for bonding over our mutual love of imitating Werner Herzog. We have looked ‘ze chicken’ in the eye more than once. Who knew that the abyss could be such a fun place? It truly was an experience bordering on ‘ze sacred’. Nayana Prakash was my fellow traveller and confidante to the very end of the DPhil process. I will miss her community spirit and those writing days in the library and our lunches in college when we discussed gossip and Harry Potter while we were supposed to study. Hannah Kirk, I have only met properly far too late into my DPhil journey but am so thankful that I did. She has endured far too many of my stupid questions about LLMs, went full goblin-mode with me in the OII dungeons to make sure that we finished those papers, and trusted me with her story on more than one occasion which I see as the highest honour. Chris Crum became a role model in the way he approached his DPhil and a good friend, and later co-author, too. How someone could balance a law degree, a PhD, rowing, and a social life at the same time is still beyond me and I probably could have finished my own degree two years early if I had had just a shred of the same quality. Needless to say, having him as an inspiration likely prevented me from taking even longer. Benjamin Toff I first met as a master’s student and then again many years later during my doctoral degree. His advice during the final stages of my DPhil helped me in navigating a difficult academic job market, his academic work deeply impresses me, and his friendship is one that I hope to enjoy for many years to come. Chico Camargo is not only a true Renaissance man but also the academic and human I wish I could be. Endlessly curious and gifted, he was one of the first to demystify AI for me and continues to be an inspiration in whatever I do. His life advice allowed me to avoid many bad decisions over the last three years. Maggie Mustaklem (including Sam, Teddy, Bianca Amal and Arnie) and Isabel Ebert — my ‘Brain Freeze’ group — were the steady rhythm of my DPhil experience. On many days I woke up with and went to bed with your messages and I have learned much from you both as an academic and as a human and this thesis would be in worse shape without your help. To Lily and Christian, I am grateful for their continued friendship and for adventures during my DPhil that I will remember for a lifetime. I never expected to write the words ‘It was fun to get vaccinated together’ but here we are. Not a day goes by where I don’t wish that you lived closer. The same is true for Kirsten and Bryan Eddy and Camila Mont’Alverne whom I miss dearly and who form(ed) part of my and M’s Oxford support bubble together with Amy Ross Arguedas and Dan Patino. Our ‘Formal Group’ not only gave and gives me a steady supply of memes, good vibes and a lifetime of fun memories, but also academic counsel aplenty. All the other important things I have already told you all individually but let me just reiterate here that Oxford has never quite been the same again without you. Finally, Verena Gautsch made my and M’s Oxford years better in so many ways. We both could not have wished for a better friend during our time here (and beyond) and I am immensely glad she chose Oxford as her place of study, despite her grim first impression for which I take full blame.
At last, I would like to thank my family for making me the person I am today — for good and ill — and accompanying me on this journey with love and encouragement. My sisters Carla and Sophia for their love which I have failed to return in kind on more than one occasion. Both are taking the world in their stride and constantly remind me of experiences and minds beyond the reach and comprehension of my own, each in their own way. Susi and Klaus König and Gabi Wendtner for many joyful hours of distraction. Monika-Schmid Wendtner and Clemens Wendtner for crucial health advice and support and allowing us to escape ‘the Boris experiment’ just in time. To my cousin Lukas König who is more accurately described as a brother to me and whose companionship I cherish. To my grandparents Renate and Hans Wendtner, for instilling in me the sense that wanting to know is not a crime and teaching me one trick or the other on how to survive in the world. And to my grandparents Renate and Hans Simon for their unwavering support and encouragement and reminding me that I am more than my work. And to both of them for the values and work ethic they have taught me over many years. I may have failed to become a medical doctor, but I hope this doctorate nonetheless will make you all proud — and I am glad that you are here to see this long journey reach its conclusion. Finally, there are two sets of parents to which I owe my deepest thanks. Heike und Stephan Disser have nurtured and supported me at every step along the way, welcoming me into their family and home with open arms. Especially during the unsettling times of the pandemic, they provided me with a sanctuary that allowed me to continue my work. Your warmth and unwavering support have been a beacon of light in the most challenging times. Finally, to my parents Dagmar and Dieter. With your stoic dedication, you have provided the support and counsel that have been the bedrock of my intellectual adventures ever since I first annoyed you with questions about nuclear power plants as a two-year-old in the bathtub (admittedly, I have strayed from this, subject-wise). You did not give up on me when my academic record suggested less than stellar prospects and stood by me when certain teachers seemed convinced that I was just too lazy and not bright enough for anything in life (to whom I can only say in this brief moment of winning, ‘well, well, well, who’s laughing now?’). Your never-ending patience for my various follies fostered a resilience and a quiet confidence in going my own way that I’ve carried into every chapter of my life. For your wisdom, your pragmatism, love, and the subtle ways you’ve championed my pursuits, I extend my deepest thanks. You have both shaped my world in profound yet unspoken ways.
The most important part I have saved for the very end. First, I am immensely thankful to all my participants whom I cannot name here but without whom this thesis simply would not exist — for your time and willingness to talk to me I cannot thank you enough. I hope this work does you justice. These acknowledgements would also not be complete without a special tribute to two key pillars of this thesis: my two supervisors, Gina Neff and Ekaterina Hertog. It was Gina who set me on this path; her belief in AI and news as a subject for research was visionary. Long before it was a topic of wide interest, she recognised the potential and was instrumental in securing the initial funding for my DPhil. Her decision to back me, a choice that I reflect on with a blend of wonder and gratitude, was a defining moment in my academic pursuit. To this day I am not sure what moved her to think that I’d be the right candidate for this work, but I am eternally grateful that she put her trust in me and took me on as her student. Ekaterina ‘Katya’ Hertog saw me through the final stages of my doctoral work. At times when the finish line seemed elusive, Katya’s timely and pragmatic support kept the wheels turning. Her readiness to provide support at a moment’s notice, regardless of the hour, played an invaluable role in not only the finalisation of my DPhil but also in preparing me for future academic ventures. The debt of gratitude I owe for her supervision, always delivered with warmth and at all hours, is significant. Such commitment is rare, and it is something I aspire to emulate and pay forward in my future endeavours.
There are two people who deserve my thanks more than anyone else. One of them is my main supervisor, co-author, and spiritus rector Ralph Schroeder. If any doctoral adviser was like Ralph, the world of academia would be a much better place. No one during my academic journey has shown so much vision, worked harder on my behalf or provided better counsel than him. Unfazed and undaunted by even the most complex situations, his generosity, selflessness, and desire to follow knowledge like a sinking star, to quote Tennyson, will always remain an inspiration to me. He saw hope where I did not and has shaped my thinking in more ways than I can list here — including on the benefits of walking to solve complex puzzles. His and Jen’s support have meant the world to me, and I am glad that I can still call him a friend at the close of this chapter, considering that I often did not make life easy for him.
Finally, to Michelle — my fiercest critic and most ardent advocate and supporter. There are no words in any language known to humankind that could do your contribution to this thesis and my life justice and I can have no hope of ever expressing how much I owe to you. Any reputation I might have for intellectual prowess comes, in truth, from the relentless daily engagement with a mind far surpassing my own in wit, sharpness, and agility — and the fact that I am hopefully not an utter failure at being a normal and tolerable human being, I have above all you to thank for. Knowing better than anyone your thoughts on my penchant for flowery language, I shall leave it at that, confident in the knowledge that you will find meaning in what is left unsaid here. Onwards and upwards 🥊
[1] To all those who did not find their names here: Bear with me, these acknowledgments were written in a rush, and you know where to complain.
[2] Let no one ever say acknowledgments cannot be useful, e.g. as a travel guide.
[3] https://crookedtimber.org/2020/07/24/in-praise-of-negativity/
