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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

Can the US give cricket a lasting embrace – or will it always be dogged by comparisons with baseball?

Jun 11, 2024 04:24 am UTC| Sports

Within a congested sporting summer, we might have already witnessed the most unexpected sporting moment of 2024. In what has been dubbed one of the biggest shocks in cricket history, the ICC Mens T20 World Cup co-hosts USA...

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...

Economy

Trump Unveils $3 Billion U.S. Critical Minerals Push

President Donald Trump announced roughly $3 billion in U.S. government investments and financing for critical minerals, battery materials and mining projects, part of a broader effort to strengthen domestic production and...

Oil Prices Set for Steep Weekly Losses as Hormuz Deal Stalls

Oil prices fluctuated on Friday and remained on course for sharp weekly declines as uncertainty surrounding a potential agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz continued to drive volatility across global energy markets....

Gold Prices Surge 7% as Dollar Falls, Fed Rate Hike Bets Ease

Gold prices rallied sharply on Friday, putting the precious metal on track for its strongest weekly performance since late January as a weaker U.S. dollar, lower oil prices and softer Federal Reserve rate hike expectations...

US Dollar Falls as Weak July Jobs Report Dents Fed Rate Hike Bets

The U.S. dollar weakened on Friday and headed toward its first two-week losing streak since late May after a disappointing July jobs report reduced expectations for another Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The U.S....

China Exports Beat July Forecasts as AI Demand Fuels High-Tech Trade

Chinas exports posted stronger-than-expected growth in July, supported by booming global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and a rush to ship goods before higher U.S. tariffs took effect. Exports increased...

Politics

Taiwan President Lai Oversees Coastal Strike Drills in Han Kuang War Games

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te observed coastal strike drills on Saturday as the island continued its annual Han Kuang military exercises, designed to strengthen Taiwans defence readiness against a potential Chinese attack....

Trump Administration Plans $1 Billion Security Aid Package for Colombia

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans to provide $1 billion in security assistance to Colombia under newly inaugurated President Abelardo De La Espriella, the U.S. State Department said Friday. The...

US Expects Iran-Oman Hormuz Shipping Deal Soon

The United States expects Iran and Oman to reach an agreement soon that could restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil and energy supplies, according to a Reuters report...

SEC Moves to Dismiss Insider Trading Case Against Trump-Pardoned Terren Peizer

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving to dismiss its civil insider trading lawsuit against Terren Peizer, the former Ontrak CEO who was convicted in a landmark federal insider trading case before...

Ukraine Agrees to Protect Kazakhstan Oil Exports via Black Sea

Ukraine has reportedly agreed not to attack certain non-Russian oil tankers and infrastructure involved in exporting Kazakhstan crude oil through the Black Sea, a move that could help stabilize supplies from one of the...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

OpenAI Restricts Astra AI Over Cyberattack Risks

OpenAI has reportedly restricted parts of the development of its next-generation AI model, code-named Astra, after early evaluations indicated the system could potentially carry out sophisticated cyberattacks with limited...

Nvidia to Invest Up to $3 Billion in Blackstone-Backed Lancium

Nvidia is reportedly preparing to invest as much as $3 billion in Lancium, a Blackstone-backed power infrastructure developer involved in the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative, as demand for...

Meta Ordered to Pay $567M Over Child Safety Violations in New Mexico

Meta Platforms Inc. has been ordered to pay $567 million into a fund designed to address harm to young people, in a major legal ruling involving child safety on Facebook and Instagram. Judge Bryan Biedscheid of New Mexicos...

Nintendo Shares Jump as Switch 2 Sales Boost Earnings

Nintendo shares surged nearly 5% on Friday after the Japanese gaming giant reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and upgraded its full-year financial outlook, supported by robust demand for the new Switch...

Cloudflare Stock Jumps 15% as Earnings Beat Estimates, 2026 Outlook Raised

Cloudflare shares surged in after-hours trading Thursday after the cloud connectivity and cybersecurity company delivered stronger-than-expected quarterly results, issued upbeat third-quarter guidance and raised its...