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Richard Thomas1

Lecturer, Media & Communication, Swansea University
Richard Thomas combines an expertise in journalism and broadcasting with a lifelong love of cricket. As well as teaching media and communication, he is a regular contributor to Wisden Cricket monthly magazine (cricket's "bible").

As a multidisciplinary researcher, Richard is interested in quantifying trends and patterns in the ways that economic, business, financial and political issues are covered by news outputs ranging from TV and radio to online blogging and social media.

One of his main areas of interest is political communication and the coverage of elections. He has published many journal articles and is the co-author of a recent book published by Polity called “Reporting Elections: rethinking the Logic of Campaign Coverage”. He is the co-editor of JournalismKX – an online forum where scholars and journalists discuss how they can collaborate to address the key issues facing the news industry.

He is the Programme Director of the Erasmus Mundus MA in Journalism, Media and Globalisation. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and is the department’s Academic Integrity Officer.

As well as his articles in Wisden Cricket monthly, Richard has also written for magazines covering subjects as diverse as trucking and blues music, and regularly appears on BBC Radio Wales to discuss news, politics and elections.

Areas of Expertise
Political Communications
Election coverage
Economic, Business and Financial journalism
News coverage of poverty, wealth and inequality
Research methods specialist
Freelance feature writing

Can the US give cricket a lasting embrace – or will it always be dogged by comparisons with baseball?

Jun 11, 2024 04:24 am UTC| Sports

Within a congested sporting summer, we might have already witnessed the most unexpected sporting moment of 2024. In what has been dubbed one of the biggest shocks in cricket history, the ICC Mens T20 World Cup co-hosts USA...

US election: horse-race reporting is media gold but democratic poison

Oct 09, 2020 08:15 am UTC| Politics

The 2020 US presidential election campaign is moving quickly and the news media are valiantly struggling to keep abreast of whats happening. Day in, day out theres a relentless source of material to report. Its hard enough...

How left-wing media sites have changed their coverage of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer

Jul 16, 2020 14:12 pm UTC| Politics

Left-wing alternative media sites such as The Canary, The Skwawkbox, and Novara Media have spent several years providing intense support for the Labour leadership under Jeremy Corbyn. But our analysis shows how they...

Coronavirus: BBC emerges as the UK's clear favourite information source in new audience survey

Jul 03, 2020 07:15 am UTC| Business

News media have been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, as good quality information has literally become a matter of life and death. New Ofcom data confirms that we are increasingly reliant on the...

Economy

Gold Prices Edge Higher as Markets Await Key U.S. PCE Inflation Data

Gold prices moved higher in Asian trading on Friday, supported by a weakening U.S. dollar and strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its upcoming December 910 meeting. Spot gold rose 0.5%...

Asia’s IPO Market Set for Strong Growth as China and India Drive Investor Diversification

Asias equity capital markets are poised for another strong year as a surge of high-profile IPOs from China and India attracts global investors seeking diversification beyond U.S. assets. In 2025, Asian ECM...

Spain’s Industrial Output Records Steady Growth in October Amid Revised September Figures

Spains industrial sector posted a moderate yet encouraging rise in October, with industrial output increasing 1.2% compared to the same month last year, according to new data released by the National Statistics Institute...

European Stocks Rise as Markets Await Key U.S. Inflation Data

European stock markets edged higher on Friday as investors looked ahead to the delayed release of the Federal Reserves preferred inflation metric, a key indicator ahead of next weeks policy meeting. By early European...

European Oil & Gas Stocks Face 2026 With Cautious Outlook Amid Valuation Pressure

European oil and gas equities are entering 2026 on a more cautious footing as J.P. Morgans latest EU Oils Outlook highlights tightening valuations and growing concerns over a projected global oil oversupply. Despite Brent...

Politics

Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns

Taiwans political landscape heated up after the government announced a plan to suspend access to the Chinese social media platform Rednoteknown as Xiaohongshufor one year. The interior ministry said the proposed ban stems...

China’s Expanding Maritime Military Presence Alarms Taiwan and Japan

Taiwan and Japan expressed growing concern on Friday over Chinas expanding military activity across East Asian waters, following a Reuters report revealing Beijings largest maritime deployment to date. According to...

Honduras Election Turmoil Intensifies as Nasralla Blames Trump for Shift in Results

Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla says last-minute interference by former U.S. President Donald Trump undermined his chances in the countrys tightly contested election. Speaking with Reuters, Nasralla, a...

Australia and Japan Strengthen Defence Cooperation Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles will travel to Japan on Saturday for high-level defence talks with his counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, as both nations deepen security cooperation in response to growing regional...

U.S. Justice Department Orders Intensified Probe Into Antifa and Domestic Extremist Groups

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal law enforcement agencies to significantly ramp up investigations into the antifa movement and other groups deemed potential domestic extremist threats, according to an...

Science

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump and German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA have announced a groundbreaking deal aimed at lowering the cost of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments while boosting access to fertility care in...

Technology

EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to launch a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) over the companys recent rollout of artificial intelligence features within WhatsApp....

Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly explored raising significant capital to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that could have created direct competition with Elon Musks SpaceX. According to a report from the...

Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation

Wikipedia is seeking additional licensing deals with major technology companies to address the growing financial burden caused by artificial intelligence firms heavily scraping its platform, according to co-founder Jimmy...

Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature

Firelight reaches 25M XRP deposit cap within hours of launch; ushers in a new era for decentralized XRP staking. A new XRP staking platform, Firelight, has officially launched on the Flare blockchain, marking the first...

OpenAI Moves to Acquire Neptune as It Expands AI Training Capabilities

OpenAI has confirmed plans to acquire Neptune, a startup known for its advanced tools that help companies track, monitor, and optimize AI model training workflows. Although the company did not release the financial details...