My name is Victor and I am currently PhD’ing at the ULB (Université libre de Bruxelles) in Brussels, Belgium. I am passionate about (local) journalism, alternative/new/original/interesting ways of making the news, learning how people inform each other, Actor-network Theory, and a whole other bunch of nerdy stuff. You can find more info about me (Resume, Research projects, etc.) on my personal page.
You can also contact me if you have any questions, you can send me a mail (vwiard[at]ulb.ac.be) or leave a comment!
Research projects
As a researcher, I actually take part in two separate research projects. The first one is my doctoral thesis which focuses on local news in Brussels. The other research project is a broad inverstigation on the dynamics and structures (clusters) of the media the media sector in Brussels.
Production, circulation and uses of local news in Brussels: an actor-network theory approach
This research project offers to identify and analyse (or trace) the dynamics of production, circulation and uses of local news in Brussels, using the producers’ online persona as a starting point. The theoretical framework chosen -Actor-network theory (ANT)- is seen as robust but open to critiques and will be discussed within the project. By following the actors (journalists as well as politicians, activists, bloggers and citizens) and their actions, it is possible to trace and study the evolving networks of relationships without imposing prior sociological categories of analysis, and to approach the actors involved in local news production as well as their practices and their journalistic identities.
Media Clusters.Brussels
This project offers to give Brussels’ public institutions knowledge and analytics by collecting empirical data on the structures and dynamics of the media sector of the city following three axes: media organisations, media workers within and without those organisations (which is my area of focus), and the communities of practice. The project involves three researchers and three promotors from the three universities of Brussels.
Education and Training
2014 – 2018: PhD in Information and Communication
ULB (Université libre de Bruxelles), Brussels, Belgium
Title: Production, circulation and uses of local news in Brussels: an Actor-network theory approach
2015 – 2016: Assistant at ULB
Assisting a course given to master students at ULB (Université libre de Bruxelles), Brussels, Belgium
course: COM-B-435, Enjeux Numériques de la Communication (course in English)
2012 – 2014: Master’s degree in information and communication (specialisation in research)
ULB (Université libre de Bruxelles), Brussels, Belgium
Focus on the creation and uses of new methodologies in communication research
Classes on the history and evolution of sciences with a focus on information and communication sciences
Degree finished with Grande Disctinction (Magna Cum Laude)
2009 – 2012: Bachelor’s degree in applied communication
IHECS (Institut des Hautes Etudes de Communication Sociale), Brussels, Belgium
Major in Print journalism and Information
Classes taken on online press
Diploma obtained with Distinction
September 2011 – February 2012: Erasmus program
UniversitaÌt de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Various courses taken in the area of media, including radio information, interactive communication, journalistic English, television studies, and cinema
Courses taken in Spanish (5) and in English (2)
2008 – 2009: WEP exchange program
Year abroad at the Royalton Hartland Central School (Lockport, NY, USA).
All classes taken in English, including English, participation in government, introduction to sociology, introduction to psychology, etc.
2002 – 2008 Secondary studies
Collège saint Hubert, Brussels, Belgium
Orientation: mathematics, art, sciences
Victor Wiard 