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English and Creative Arts

Mr Tom Felle

BSc, MA

Contact Details

Head of Discipline
Discipline of Journalism and Communication, Arts Millennium Building
NUI Galway
University Road
Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
T: +353 (0) 91 49 2049
E: tom.felle@nuigalway.ie
www.twitter.com/tomfelle www.LinkedIn.com/in/tomfelle
 
researcher
 

Biography

Tom Felle is Head of Journalism and Communication at NUI Galway. A former career journalist and foreign correspondent, he started his career with the Connacht Tribune and worked with the Irish Independent in Ireland for six years. He was Deputy Editor of the Irish Echo in Sydney from 2001 to 2004, and from 2006-2008 he served as Bureau Chief of the Leb News Agency in Beirut, Lebanon. He has worked in higher education since 2009.
His research interests include digital news, verification, data-driven journalism, so-called "fake news" and dis-information, and trust, transparency and accountability in democracy.  He sat on an expert committee that advised the Irish government on FOI in 2013, and has given testimony in the House of Commons in the UK on the importance of FOI for a strong democracy. He has published various book chapters, academic articles, has edited three books and is a published author.  

Research Interests

* Trust, transparency and journalism's role in the democratic process
* Data-driven journalism
* Social media, social newsgathering and audience development
* Verification, misinformation and disinformation

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2016) 'Freedom of Information in the UK: Opportunity and Threat'
Felle, T (2016) 'Freedom of Information in the UK: Opportunity and Threat'. Political Insight, 7 :28-31 [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Digital watchdogs? Data reporting and the news media's traditional 'fourth estate' function'
Felle, T (2016) 'Digital watchdogs? Data reporting and the news media's traditional 'fourth estate' function'. Journalism, 17 :85-96 [DOI] [Details]
(2014) 'A Lebanese State of Affairs'
Felle, T (2014) 'A Lebanese State of Affairs'. Near East Quarterly, 1 :1-14 [Details]

Books

  Year Publication
(2019) How to Spell Good and Write Proper.
Felle, Tom (2019) How to Spell Good and Write Proper. Cork, Ireland: Lettertec. [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2020) 'COVID news tsunami spells calamity for Irish news media'
Felle, Tom (2020) 'COVID news tsunami spells calamity for Irish news media' In: The Virus and the Media: How British Journalists Covered the Pandemic. London: BiteSizeBooks. [Details]
(2019) 'Brexit and Northern Ireland: Bordering on Confusion'
Felle, T (2019) 'Brexit and Northern Ireland: Bordering on Confusion' In: A history lesson for Brexiteers. London: Bite-sized Books. [Details]
(2017) 'Going digital or going free? Ireland's newspapers struggle for digital success as the print cliff looms'
Hayes, K and Felle, T (2017) 'Going digital or going free? Ireland's newspapers struggle for digital success as the print cliff looms' In: Last Words: How can journalism survive the decline of print?. Bury St Edmunds: Abramis. [Details]
(2015) 'Accountability meets engagement: data journalism’s watchdog role'
Felle, T (2015) 'Accountability meets engagement: data journalism’s watchdog role' In: Data Journalism: Inside the Global Future. Bury St Edmunds: Abramis. [Details]
(2015) 'Why freedom of information is important for democracy'
Felle, T (2015) 'Why freedom of information is important for democracy' In: FOI 10 years on: freedom fighting or lazy journalism?. Bury St Edmunds: Abramis. [Details]
(2015) 'Critical perspectives on freedom of information'
Felle, T (2015) 'Critical perspectives on freedom of information' In: Ireland and the Freedom of Information Act. Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Details]
(2015) 'Introduction'
Adshead, Maura and Felle, Tom (2015) 'Introduction' In: Ireland and the Freedom of Information Act. Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Details]
(2014) 'Old reporting, new methods: how data journalism is keeping an eye on government'
Felle, T (2014) 'Old reporting, new methods: how data journalism is keeping an eye on government' In: Abramis. [Details]
(2013) 'Why the internet won't save Ireland's provincial newspapers (but going non-profit just might)'
Felle, T (2013) 'Why the internet won't save Ireland's provincial newspapers (but going non-profit just might)' In: Abramis. [Details]
(2012) 'Ireland's press regulation: an Irish solution to a British problem?'
Felle, T (2012) 'Ireland's press regulation: an Irish solution to a British problem?' In: Abramis. [Details]

Teaching Interests

Tom's teaching interests include news and current affairs; social media; data and visualisation and media innovation.