Leonard Novy

Background

About Leonard Novy

I am a journalist and communications expert based in Berlin, Vienna, and Cologne, working across Germany and internationally. As an independent consultant, I advise selected organizations in Germany and internationally on matters of public policy, strategic communication, and media engagement. With a background in political science, my work focuses on strengthening media freedom, fostering journalistic innovation, and countering disinformation. Until 2025, I served as (pro bono) director of the Institute for Media and Communications Policy (IfM), a Cologne-based think tank providing research and guidance on media policy, journalism, and political communication. I am also curator and board member of the international media conference M100 Sanssouci Colloquium, a jury member of the Wiener Medieninitiative, and a senior advisor to NewsGuard. In addition to my consulting work, I regularly teach courses on political communication and journalism, including at the Hertie School of Governance and at journalism institutions such as the Forum Journalismus und Medien Wien (FJUM). I studied history and political science at Humboldt University, Freie Universität Berlin, and the University of Cambridge, where I earned my MPhil and PhD in international politics. In 2004–05, I was a Fellow at the Department of Government at Harvard University and a Visiting Scholar at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin. Following my doctorate, I held various positions in journalism and the think tank sector, including leading two major projects on strategic policymaking and sustainable governance at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, working as a fellow at stiftung neue verantwortung, and serving as executive editor and executive producer in TV production. As a frequent contributor to national and international media, I have published widely on international politics, media, and democracy. My publications include the monograph Imagining the Future of Europe: National Identity, Mass Media and the Public Sphere in the European Union (Palgrave Macmillan), and co-edited volumes such as Journalismus in der digitalen Moderne, Zwischen Macht und Ohnmacht – Facetten erfolgreicher Politik, and Transparency and Funding of Public Service Media – Die deutsche Debatte im internationalen Kontext (VS Verlag)