Dr Kelly Fincham

PhD; MA;

Contact Details

Lecturer Above The Bar
E: kelly.fincham@universityofgalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

I am the programme director for the BA Global Media  in a programme where we are helping equip students with the media and technology expertise they need to navigate a rapidly changing digital communications landscape.  Here, I teach modules ranging from media literacy to technology and media to data to design thinking in the undergraduate and graduate programmes.

I am an expert on Western news organisations social media policies through my PhD work which focused on the impact of social media on journalism and am now using that work to explore social media usage in the context of 'dark participation' and creating workshops and seminars around best practice for women working in journalism, academia and politics. 

A former journalist, I made a mid-career switch from journalism to academia in 2008 in New York when I joined Hofstra University as a part-time lecturer. I eventually joined full-time and was awarded tenure in 2015.  At Hofstra I helped redesign the journalism programme at BA and MA level to include new modules/courses in social media, data journalism and multi-platform storytelling.  I also founded their award-winning student news site, Long Island Report which was the fore-runner of the Long Island Advocate. In 2020 and 2018 I helped launch and run the award-winning election night broadcast Hofstra Votes Live 

An accidental Irish emigrant I had only planned on staying 12 months in New York when I arrived in September 2000 on a year's career break from the Irish Independent. Due back in Dublin in September 2001.

I ended up staying on in NY to become the founding editor of IrishCentral. com, the industry-leading U.S.-based Irish web site. During my time in NY I helped non-profits such as the Rory Staunton Foundation, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform and the Irish charity GOAL, build out their social and digital strategies.


Prior to switching to digital in 2000, and then academia in 2008, I worked at international newspaper titles including the Australian Financial Review (Fairfax) and Sydney Telegraph (News International) in Sydney; the Sunday Independent, Irish Independent and Evening Herald in Ireland and the Irish Voice newspaper and Irish America magazine in New York and I've written about the changes in the media industry and media education for  Poynter and Education Shift.

Research Interests

My research focuses on the ways in which media technologies are impacting journalism and society 

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2023) 'Business as Usual: How Journalism's Professional Logics Continue to Shape News Organization Policies Around Social Media Audiences'
Kelly Fincham (2023) 'Business as Usual: How Journalism's Professional Logics Continue to Shape News Organization Policies Around Social Media Audiences'. Journalism Practice, [Details]
(2019) 'Exploring Political Journalism Homophily on Twitter: A Comparative Analysis of US and UK Elections in 2016 and 2017'
Kelly Fincham (2019) 'Exploring Political Journalism Homophily on Twitter: A Comparative Analysis of US and UK Elections in 2016 and 2017'. Media and Communication, [DOI] [Details]
(2014) 'Toward a Media Literate Model for Civic Engagement in Digital Culture: Exploring the Civic Habits and Dispositions of College Students on Facebook'
Paul Mihailidis, Kelly Fincham & James N. Cohen (2014) 'Toward a Media Literate Model for Civic Engagement in Digital Culture: Exploring the Civic Habits and Dispositions of College Students on Facebook'. Atlantic journal of communication, [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2013) 'Toward a new code of ethics. Social Media in Journalism'
Fincham, K (2013) 'Toward a new code of ethics. Social Media in Journalism' In: Regulating Social Media Legal and Ethical Considerations. New York: Peter Lang Verlag. [DOI] [Details]
(2015) ''These Views Are My Own': The Private and Public Self in the Digital Media Sphere'
Fincham, K (2015) ''These Views Are My Own': The Private and Public Self in the Digital Media Sphere' In: ETHICS FOR DIGITAL JOURNALISTS Emerging Best Practices. New York: Routledge. [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2023) Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference,
Fincham, K (2023) Mitigating Online Gender-Based Violence: A Framework for Supporting Female Politicians in the Digital Era. [Conference Paper], Political Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference, Belfast , 14-OCT-23 - 16-OCT-23. [Details]
(2023) Future of Journalism International Biennial,
Fincham, K (2023) Exploring corporate social responsibility in news organisation policies. [Conference Paper], Future of Journalism International Biennial, Cardiff , 23-SEP-23 - 27-SEP-23. [Details]
(2022) World Journalism Education Conference,
Fincham, K (2022) Teaching though mobile technology during a cyber-attack (in a pandemic). [Conference Paper], World Journalism Education Conference, Lyon , 01-JUN-22. [Details]
(2022) Teaching writing and reporting-intensive courses online World Journalism Education Conference,
Fincham, K (2022) Teaching writing and reporting-intensive courses online. [Conference Paper], Teaching writing and reporting-intensive courses online World Journalism Education Conference, Lyon , 01-JUN-22. [Details]
(2021) Political Studies Association of Ireland National Conference,
Kelly Fincham (2021) Female political journalists sidelined as ‘boys on the bus’ dominate Twitter interactions. Political Studies Association of Ireland National Conference. Maynooth, Ireland. [National Refereed Conference Paper], Political Studies Association of Ireland National Conference, National University Ireland Maynooth , 14-OCT-21 - 16-OCT-21. [Details]
(2019) International Communication Association Conference,
Kelly Fincham (2019) #Twitterfail for news organizations: How newsroom Twitter policies fail to guide journalists on engagement. [Conference Organising Committee Chairperson], International Communication Association Conference, Washington, DC US , 12-MAY-19 - 14-MAY-19. [Details]

Academic Magazine

  Year Publication
(2022) Lineker-BBC row: survey shows how different outlets approach their staff¿s social media presence.
Kelly Fincham (2022) Lineker-BBC row: survey shows how different outlets approach their staff¿s social media presence. The Conversation Professional Publication [Details]