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Professor Richard Thomas is Head of the School of Culture and Communication at Swansea University and holds a Professorship in Media within the department of Media, Communications, Journalism and Public Relations. He is a globally recognized academic in political communication and media research, co-authoring Reporting Elections: Rethinking the Logic of Campaign Coverage, and leading research on alternative media’s role in democracy. His work has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (£517,000 project on online political media), influencing 21st-century journalism practices.
Research interests span political communication, media methods, and the treatment of elections in alternative media. He employs content analysis and critical discourse analysis to study media framing of economics, politics, and conflict. Recent work explores right-wing media perspectives and UK election coverage.
Grants & Impact: Co-led a £517k ESRC project (2019–2022) analyzing alternative political news online. His research informs media regulators and has been published in top journals like International Communication Gazette and Journalism. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and advises global journalism programs through his role as Global Chair of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Degrees Advisory Board.
Teaching & Leadership: Teaches modules on media analysis and 21st-century journalism. Serves on Swansea University Senate and Faculty Leadership. Supervises PhDs on topics like Nigerian activism, gender in sports journalism, and Saudi Arabia media narratives.
Publications: Over 30 peer-reviewed articles and books, including works on Brexit media coverage, BuzzFeed’s election reporting, and cricket’s cultural history. Recent focus areas include media literacy via YouTube essays and the BBC’s election role.
