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Richard Thomas1

Richard Thomas1

Lecturer, Media & Communication, Swansea University
Richard Thomas combines an expertise in journalism and broadcasting with a lifelong love of cricket. As well as teaching media and communication, he is a regular contributor to Wisden Cricket monthly magazine (cricket's "bible").

As a multidisciplinary researcher, Richard is interested in quantifying trends and patterns in the ways that economic, business, financial and political issues are covered by news outputs ranging from TV and radio to online blogging and social media.

One of his main areas of interest is political communication and the coverage of elections. He has published many journal articles and is the co-author of a recent book published by Polity called “Reporting Elections: rethinking the Logic of Campaign Coverage”. He is the co-editor of JournalismKX – an online forum where scholars and journalists discuss how they can collaborate to address the key issues facing the news industry.

He is the Programme Director of the Erasmus Mundus MA in Journalism, Media and Globalisation. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and is the department’s Academic Integrity Officer.

As well as his articles in Wisden Cricket monthly, Richard has also written for magazines covering subjects as diverse as trucking and blues music, and regularly appears on BBC Radio Wales to discuss news, politics and elections.

Areas of Expertise
Political Communications
Election coverage
Economic, Business and Financial journalism
News coverage of poverty, wealth and inequality
Research methods specialist
Freelance feature writing

US election: horse-race reporting is media gold but democratic poison

Oct 09, 2020 08:15 am UTC| Politics

The 2020 US presidential election campaign is moving quickly and the news media are valiantly struggling to keep abreast of whats happening. Day in, day out theres a relentless source of material to report. Its hard enough...

How left-wing media sites have changed their coverage of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer

Jul 16, 2020 14:12 pm UTC| Politics

Left-wing alternative media sites such as The Canary, The Skwawkbox, and Novara Media have spent several years providing intense support for the Labour leadership under Jeremy Corbyn. But our analysis shows how they...

Coronavirus: BBC emerges as the UK's clear favourite information source in new audience survey

Jul 03, 2020 07:15 am UTC| Business

News media have been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, as good quality information has literally become a matter of life and death. New Ofcom data confirms that we are increasingly reliant on the...

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Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

The Mattei Plan: why Giorgia Meloni is looking to Africa

Since coming to power, Giorgia Melonis government has been remarkably orthodox in its foreign policy. Unwavering support for Ukraine, loyalty to the Atlantic Alliance and full participation in the European Union - these...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many...

Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight

In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops across strategic locations in Sudans capital,...

Military conscription is returning to Europe, but is it really a more equal way of mobilising? What history tells us

The idea that conscription, defined as the compulsory enlistment of citizens for military service, can increase equality and instil a sense of solidarity that transcends traditional societal divides has echoed throughout...

The 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

Across Portugal, a number of photography exhibitions are currently on display that commemorate the ousting of the Estado Novo, the dictatorial, authoritarian and corporatist political regime that had ruled the country...

Science

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

Technology

Tron's Justin Sun Boosts Dogecoin, Shiba Inu at Token 2049 Conference

At the Token 2049 conference, Tron founder Justin Sun endorsed popular meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, emphasizing their pivotal distinction from traditional finance and celebrating their community-driven...

Bitcoin Dips 11% Post-Halving: Unexpected Decline Shocks Investors

Bitcoins price has unexpectedly fallen by 11% since the halving on April 20, stirring concerns among investors hoping for a post-halving surge. According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin dropped below $57,000 on May...

South Korea Pledges 5-Year Boost in Console Gaming Market Share

With an eye toward reducing dependence on mobile platforms, South Koreas government laid out a five-year plan Wednesday to bolster its console gaming sector, which currently represents a mere 1.5% of the global...

Transaction Fees on Shiba Inu’s Shibarium Skyrocket by 500%

Shibarium, the dedicated blockchain for the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency, has seen transaction fees escalate dramatically, with a 500% increase recorded over the last day, signaling a surge in user activity and market...
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