Prof. Dr Bernhard Pörksen is one of the internationally most distinguished communication researchers and a source of inspiration for the media society. Bernhard Pörksen (*1960) studied German, journalism and biology in Hamburg, was a visiting scholar at Pennsylvania State University, and completed an internship with the Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1999 for his work on media and the language of neo-Nazi groups, Bernhard Pörksen founded and ran the module "Schreibpraxis" at the University of Greifswald, and lectured in communication and language science. He was then Assistant Professor at the University of Hamburg, and was appointed Professor of Journalism and Communication Science in 2002. In 2006 Bernhard Pörksen represented the Chair of Communication Theory and Media Culture at the University of Münster. In 2007 he received his “Habilitation” in communication and media studies, and in 2008 was appointed Professor of Media Studies at the University of Tübingen. That same year, the jury of the university publication Unicum voted him "Professor of the Year" in the category Humanities, Social and Cultural Sciences. From 2009 to 2011 he was a founding director, and later Head of Department of the Institute of Media Studies, University of Tübingen. The focuses of Bernhard Pörksen's research work and key topics include: media scandals and media ethics, communications and media theories, media transformation and changes in occupational areas/competency profiles, forms of staging in politics and media, journalism and celebrities. Bernhard Pörksen appears in various media as a partner for interviews and a participant in discussions; these include Spiegel online, Tagesspiegel, dpa, die Zeit, Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandradio, SWR, NDR, 3SAT, ZDF. In addition to his academic works, he has published essays and comments, reports and interviews in daily newspapers like Welt and tageszeitung as well as in weekly publications like Die Zeit and Freitag, in magazines like Der Spiegel and in various Internet media. He has also published numerous articles in scientific publications and his books on cybernetics and constructivism (co-written with Heinz von Foerster and Humberto Maturana) have been translated into English, Italian, Danish, Korean and Spanish. Bernhard Pörksen has been a sought-after keynote speaker, interview partner and consultant, talk show guest and participant in panel discussions for years. As an entertaining speaker with analytical depth he is a source of inspiration at workshops and congresses, for decision-makers from business and politics as well as for large audiences.