Renata Brandao

Dr Renata Brandao serves as Senior Lecturer and co-course leader in Multimedia Journalism within the Department of Media, Fashion & Communications at the University of East London's School of Arts and Creative Industries. She specializes in data-driven journalism innovation and digital media scholarship, directing curriculum development while fostering inclusive academic environments.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Journalism from University of Sheffield analyzing statistical influences on news discourses
• MA in Global Journalism
• BA (Hons) in Communications with International Relations minor

Brandao's research pioneers data's transformative potential in journalism through multilingual frameworks and digital methodologies. She investigates how quantitative representation shapes news narratives across cultural contexts while advancing critical literacies in language education. Her work bridges digital humanities with journalistic practice, notably through pandemic-related multilingual narrative analysis across 12 languages and explorations of classroom activism as pedagogical strategy. This scholarship consistently challenges monolingual digital paradigms while developing accessible data storytelling techniques.

Recent publications (2020-2023) reveal evolving focus from foundational digital pedagogy in language education toward complex multilingual pandemic narratives. Her work increasingly integrates worldmaking theory with data journalism, examining local-global tensions in crisis reporting while developing critical frameworks for digital media literacy. The trajectory demonstrates deepening engagement with transnational journalistic practices and decolonial approaches to data representation.

Brandao's research leadership includes co-directing the 'Worldmaking in the Time of Covid-19' project and contributing to King's College London's 'Language Acts and Worldmaking' initiative as Post-Doctoral Researcher. Her collaborative approach spans institutions and disciplines, securing research opportunities that examine digital media's societal impacts through multilingual lenses.

She actively contributes to UEL's research ecosystem through the School of Arts and Creative Industries, collaborating with international scholars like Boyle and Spence on digital mediation projects. Current work focuses on expanding multilingual data journalism frameworks while developing critical digital literacies curricula that address contemporary media challenges.