Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Fri, Aug 14, 2026 05:07 AM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Ryan Thomas

RYAN J. THOMAS is an assistant professor of journalism studies in the Missouri School of Journalism. He teaches courses in media ethics, qualitative research methods, and mass communication theory.

His research examines the roles and responsibilities of journalism as an institution, and of the journalists within it, amid processes of change. There are two major streams to this research. First, he looks at “journalism about journalism” (or “metajournalism”) to understand how journalists construct their professional identity to audiences. Second, he examines how processes of change – economic, technological, regulatory, etc. – impact or impede journalists’ abilities to execute their democratic functions. His work draws on political and moral philosophy and is anchored in a firm appreciation for the essential role that journalism plays as a prerequisite to a democratic society. Thomas also maintains an ongoing research interest in how labor unions, social movements, and immigrants are represented in journalism.

Thomas’ research has been published in a number of key journals, including Journalism Studies, New Media and Society, Journalism Practice, Critical Studies in Media Communication, and Digital Journalism. He has won top paper awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), International Communication Association (ICA), and National Communication Association (NCA). He won the 2009 AEJMC/Kappa Tau Alpha/University of Hawaii Carol Burnett Award for outstanding scholarship in media ethics.

A first-generation college student from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Swansea University and master’s and doctoral degrees from The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.

Uncovering 7 examples of bias in AI-generated images

Jul 11, 2023 06:52 am UTC| Technology

If youve been online much recently, chances are youve seen some of the fantastical imagery created by text-to-image generators such as Midjourney and DALL-E 2. This includes everything from the naturalistic (think a soccer...

Economy

S&P 500 Hits Record High as Soft Inflation Data Eases Fed Rate Hike Fears

U.S. stock futures were largely unchanged Thursday evening after the SP 500 closed at a record high, as softer producer inflation data eased concerns about a potential Federal Reserve interest-rate hike in September. SP...

Gold Prices Slip From 10-Week High as Fed and Hormuz Risks Shape Outlook

Gold prices moved lower on Friday after pulling back from a 10-week high, as investors assessed softer U.S. inflation data, the Federal Reserves interest rate outlook and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Spot...

Trump Imposes New US Tariffs on Drone Imports Over National Security Concerns

U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on imported drones and drone components on Thursday, citing national security concerns and the countrys heavy reliance on foreign suppliers. Under a proclamation signed by...

Canada-US Trade Talks Gain Momentum Ahead of Aug. 19 Tariff Deadline

Canada-US trade negotiations are making positive progress as both countries push to reach an agreement before new U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports are scheduled to take effect on Aug. 19, according to a Canadian government...

Oil Prices Fall as U.S. Crude Inventories Surge and Hormuz Tensions Persist

Oil prices declined Thursday as unexpectedly large U.S. crude inventories, weaker global demand forecasts and continued tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz weighed on the market. Brent crude futures for October...

Politics

Jared Kushner May Visit Israel for Gaza Talks Next Week

U.S. President Donald Trumps envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, could travel to Israel next week for talks aimed at advancing the administrations Gaza peace plan, according to a source familiar with the matter. Axios...

Albanese Says AUKUS ‘Full Steam Ahead’ After Trump Call

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the AUKUS defence pact remains full steam ahead following a lengthy phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Canberra also pushes Washington for a complete exemption...

Trump Orders Major Overhaul of US Navy Shipbuilding

President Donald Trump has signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum directing sweeping changes to U.S. Navy shipbuilding and ship repair programs as part of an effort to rebuild the countrys maritime industrial...

Israel Warned US of Alleged Iran Plot to Assassinate Trump

Israel repeatedly warned the United States over the past year that Iran may have been planning to assassinate President Donald Trump, although U.S. intelligence agencies were unable to independently verify several of the...

Putin Visits Disputed Kuril Island, Sparking Strong Protest From Japan

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed island of Iturup on Thursday, triggering a sharp diplomatic protest from Japan amid longstanding tensions over the Kuril Islands. Known as Iturup in Russia and Etorofu...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Goldman Sachs Eyes Investors for Nvidia’s $500 Billion AI Financing Plan

Goldman Sachs is reportedly in discussions with potential investors to participate in Nvidias ambitious $500 billion AI infrastructure financing initiative, as institutional demand for artificial intelligence investments...

LG, Nvidia Expand AI Partnership With Humanoid Robots, AI Factories

LG Corp and Nvidia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to deepen their strategic partnership across robotics, AI factories and next-generation mobility, LG announced Friday. The agreement will combine LGs...

SMIC Shares Rally as Q2 Profit Surges 262% on Strong Chip Demand

Shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) surged on Friday after the Chinese semiconductor foundry delivered strong second-quarter earnings, supported by higher chip demand, improved pricing and...

Anthropic Eyes $6B Decart AI Acquisition Ahead of Mega IPO

Anthropic is reportedly in talks to acquire Nvidia-backed AI startup Decart AI as the Claude developer looks to expand its computing capabilities and address growing demand ahead of a potential public listing. Bloomberg...

Google Pushes Gemini AI Overhaul as Sergey Brin Targets Model Supremacy

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has stepped up efforts to accelerate development of the companys Gemini AI models as Alphabet battles OpenAI and Anthropic for leadership in artificial intelligence. Brin has reportedly urged...