Overview

The Reuters Institute’s research focus is the international, comparative study of journalism. Its research activities are diverse, encompassing research undertaken by academic staff as well as by visiting fellows who are academics and journalists, and by journalist fellows who spend one, two or three terms each academic year on independent research projects. The Institute’s current research activities include projects underway with fulltime researchers, projects with seminars/workshops with edited/co-authored publications, projects in a development stage following ‘founding seminars’ for which fulltime researchers are expected to be appointed, and independent research by annual journalist fellows.

The main focus areas of the Institute's research are as follows.  The possible topics within each focus area are indicative and not exhaustive; some topics may fit under more than one broad category.

1.   Politics and Journalism

Topics in this area include journalism and democracy, the issue of trust in political journalism, the reporting of politics in diverse societies, and the state of journalism in dictatorships.

2.   The Economics of Journalism

Topics in this area include the impact of ownership of media on investment and output of news, the effect of new technologies and changing business models in the media.

3.   The Future of Journalism

Topics include the impact of new technologies on journalism, the nature of 'new media'; questions such as 'who is a journalist?' or 'what is 'good journalism'?'; the concept and role of 'citizen journalists'; the language of journalism; the ethics of journalism; public relations and journalism; the global and the local in journalism in the information age.

4.   Journalisms

Topics in this area would focus on particular specialist areas of journalistic coverage:

• science and medicine
• religion in media
• business journalism
• photo-journalism
• war and conflict
• environment
• politics and art

Past Journalist Fellows' Research

Details of the independent research projects of Journalist Fellows can be found on their profile pages. A selection of past Journalist Fellow's research papers are also available to download.