Erhardt Graeff

Erhardt Graeff was a 2014 ICFJ Professional Fellow from the U.S., on the program "Unlocking the Economic Potential of Digital Media." He is a civic media researcher, technologist, and entrepreneur. He currently works and studies at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology’s Center for Civic Media and Media Lab. His recent projects involve building civic technologies that empower people to be greater agents of change. Graeff has developed new methods to analyze large volumes of digital media content from diverse sources to understand how the news media’s priorities, tone, and interpretation were being influenced not only by journalists but by bloggers, activists, and social media users. He has also documented how digital media has allowed new forms of civic participation. Graeff helped teach the university course “The Future of News and Participatory Media” on citizen journalism, social media, and user-centered design of technology to enhance journalism. Graeff previously served as a research assistant at Microsoft's Social Media Collective, studying social media apps distributing news. Graeff is active in nonprofit work. He is a founding trustee of The Awesome Foundation, which gives small grants to innovative and promising projects. He is the co-founder of BetterGrads, an online college mentoring program for high school students, and a founding member of the Web Ecology Project, a network of social media and Internet culture researchers. During his time in Kuwait, Graeff hopes to observe how digital media institutions engage with their users and audiences, while seeking to form ties with media organizations to begin an exchange of ideas about the role of digital media in connecting people with civic life.