Dr. Ioanna Kostarella is Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, from which she also graduated in 1998. She holds a PhD in Political Communication from the Institute of Communications Studies of the University of Leeds and an MA in Communications Studies from the same institute. Before joining the University, Ioanna Kostarella has had a long professional experience as a press officer for the local government, as well as over 17 years of teaching experience. She has also worked as a journalist for various local and national media, while she is still a columnist for the daily regional newspaper “Chronos” of Kozani. She has been a scholar of Botsis Foundation, while in 2005 she won the prize for the best article in the regional press. Dr Kostarella teaches both postgraduate and graduate courses, while she has contributed to various research papers in journals, refereed conference proceedings and authored chapters in books. She has participated in several international scientific conferences, meetings, collaborations and research programmes in the field of Communication and Journalism. She is a member of the European Sociological Association (ESA) and also a certified trainer for adult education. Ioanna Kostarella speaks English, German and Italian and her research interests include journalism and new media, the interaction between media and foreign policy, European media, and environmental communication.