Dr Kelly Fincham

PhD; MA;

Contact Details

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

Biography

Head of Discipline 
Discipline of Journalism and Communication, Arts Millennium Building 
University of Galway 
University Road 
Galway H91 TK33, Ireland 

I'm the head of discipline and programme director for the Journalism MA and the Global Media and Communication MA at University of Galway in Ireland.  

I teach in the undergraduate and graduate programmes and my classes focus on technology's impact on journalism. 
My research agenda draws from Andrew Chadwick's hybrid media theory in exploring the ongoing effects of newer media technologies on journalism and society.

I recently completed a PhD on the normalisation of technology, specifically Twitter, in mainstream Western journalism and I have published the following research articles as part of those studies:
  • The prevalence of homophily among political journalists from the US, UK, Ireland and Canada on Twitter published at Media and Communication.
  • How commercial imperatives help shape news organisations¿ social media policies for journalists is published at Journalism Practice
  • Current best practice for new and student journalists on Twitter for a Peter Lang series  (in press but I can supply a copy if you email).
I started at University of Galway in 2021 after 10 years as a tenured associate professor at  Hofstra University on Long Island in New York where I  helped redesign the journalism programme an introduced modules in social media, data journalism and multi-platform storytelling.  I also founded their award-winning student news site, Long Island Report.

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 New York 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
(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]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
Political Studies Association of Ireland National Conference,
Kelly Fincham 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 . [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]