Thomas R. Schmidt

Bio

In my interdisciplinary research I explore the changing form of news in its social, cultural, technological, economic, and political dimensions. My point of departure is to think about journalism as a field that is shaped by both institutional and cultural dynamics. Drawing from different disciplines and often emphasizing comparative perspectives, my work connects seemingly dissimilar areas: I focus both on the historical context and the contemporary evolution of journalistic institutions; I explore both cultural history and global dynamics; I analyze both political culture and technological imagination; I both evaluate specific journalistic tools and critically assess their implications in a larger societal context.

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Media Studies, University of Oregon, 2017

M.A., Literary Nonfiction, University of Oregon, 2011

Ph.D. student, Political Science, New School for Social Research, 2005-2007

Mag. phil. (equivalent to M.A.), Philosophy, University of Vienna, 2005

Undergraduate Courses

COMM 10: Introduction to Communication

COMM 30: Digital Media Literacy

COMM 162: News Media and Politics 

COMM 190: Narrative Journalism and Society

COMM 196A & 196B: Honors Program

Graduate Courses

COGR 196: Interdisciplinary Communication Research

COGR 257: Social Theory

COGR 255: Studies in Political Theory 

Study Abroad

COMM 30GS Global Digital Media Literacy

COMM 104GS Comparing Media Systems: Europe

BOOKS

Schmidt, Thomas R., Rewriting the Newspaper: The Storytelling Movement in American Print Journalism. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2019). 

ARTICLES IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS

Schmidt, Thomas R., “’It’s OK to Feel’: The Emotionality Norm in U.S. Print Journalism,” Journalism 22(5): 1173-1189 https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920985722

Schmidt, Thomas R., Jacob L. Nelson, and Regina G. Lawrence, “Conceptualizing the Active Audience: Rhetoric and Practice in ‘Engaged Journalism’,” Journalism. [Published online: June 15, 2020] https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920934246

Schmidt, Thomas R., and Lawrence, Regina G., “Engaged Journalism and News Work: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Organizational Dynamics and Professional Challenges,” Journalism Practice 14, vol. 5 (2020): 518-536. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2020.1731319

Schmidt, Thomas R., Lisa Heyamoto, and Todd Milbourn, “The Social Construction of Media Trust: An Exploratory Study in Underserved Communities.” Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies 8, vol. 3 (2019): 257-272. https://doi.org/10.1386/ajms_00001_1

Lewis, Seth C., Andrea L. Guzman, and Thomas R. Schmidt. “Automation, Journalism, and Human–Machine Communication: Rethinking Roles and Relationships of Humans and Machines in News.” Digital Journalism 7, vol. 4 (2019): 409-427. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1577147

Ali, Christopher, Thomas R. Schmidt, Damian Radcliffe, and Rosalind Donald, “The Digital Life of Small-Market Newspapers: Results from a Multi-Method Study.” Digital Journalism 7, vol. 7 (2019): 886-909. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.1513810

Ali, Christopher, Damian Radcliffe, Thomas R. Schmidt, and Rosalind Donald. “Searching for Sheboygans: On the Future of Small Market Newspapers.” Journalism 21, vol. 4 (2018): 453-471. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884917749667

Lawrence, Regina, Damian Radcliffe, and Thomas R. Schmidt, “Practicing Engagement: Participatory Journalism in the Web 2.0 Era.” Journalism Practice 12, vol. 10 (2018): 1220-1240. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2017.1391712

Schmidt, Thomas R., “Pioneer of Style: How the Washington Post Adopted Literary Journalism.” Literary Journalism Studies 9, vol. 1 (2017).

Schmidt, Thomas R., “The Circuit of Culture: A Model for Journalism History,” CM: Communication and Media 11, no. 36 (2016): 71-88.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Wahl-Jorgensen, K. and Thomas R. Schmidt, “Storytelling and News,” in Handbook of Journalism Studies (ICA Handbook Series), 2nd ed. (pp. 262-276), eds. Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and Thomas Hanitzsch. (Routledge, 2019).

Schmidt, Thomas R., “Rearticulating Carey: Towards a Cultural History of Journalism,” in Models of Communication: Philosophical and Theoretical Approaches (pp. 133-151), eds. Bergman, Mats, Kirtiklis, Kestas & Johan Siebers (London: Routledge, 2019).

Schmidt, Thomas R., “Grundlagen des digitalen Erzählens“ [Foundations of Digital Storytelling], in Die Kunst der Story [The Art of Story], ed. Marlis Prinzing (Thun: Werd und Weber Verlag, 2015).

Schmidt, Thomas R., “Dekonstruktion und Weltpolitik” [Deconstruction and World Politics], In Nach Derrida. Dekonstruktion in zeitgenössischen Diskursen, eds. Dominik Portune & Peter Zeillinger (Vienna: Turia + Kant, 2006).

Schmidt, Thomas R., “Politik der Verantwortlichkeit” [Politics of Responsibility], in Kreuzungen Jacques Derridas: Geistergespräche zwischen Philosophie und Theologie, eds. Peter Zeillinger and Matthias Flatscher (Vienna: Turia + Kant, 2004). 

ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES

Schmidt, Thomas R., “News as Narrative,” The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism (2nd ed.), ed. Gregory A. Borchard (in print).

Schmidt, Thomas R., “Longform Journalism,” The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism (2nd ed.), ed. Gregory A. Borchard (in print).

REVIEWS

Schmidt, Thomas R., REVIEW: “Metro Dailies in the Age of Multimedia Journalism, by Mary Lou Nemanic,” Contemporary Sociology (in print).

RESEARCH REPORTS

Schmidt, Thomas R. & Regina G. Lawrence: “Putting Engagement to Work: How News Organizations are Pursuing “Public-Powered Journalism,” Agora Journalism Center (2018). 

Schmidt, Thomas R., and European Journalism Observatory, “Alarmed, Unsettled, Wary: European Media Ponder a Trump Presidency.” European Journalism Observatory, 2017: http://en.ejo.ch/media-politics/alarmed-unsettled-wary-european-media-ponder-a-trump-presidency

EXTERNAL REVIEWS OF SCHOLARLY WORK

Nerone, J. (2020). Book Review: Rewriting the Newspaper: The Storytelling Movement in American Print Journalism by Thomas R. Schmidt. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 97(1), 308–310. 

Philip M. Glende (2020) Book Review: Rewriting the Newspaper: The Storytelling Movement in American Print Journalism, American Journalism 37(1), 112-113.

Dowling, D. O. (2020). Review Essay: When News Became Literature: The Tumultuous Ascent of Narrative Journalism in the Twentieth Century, American Periodicals 30(2), 168-172.

Daly, C. B. (2020). Book Review: Rewriting the Newspaper: The Storytelling Movement in American Print Journalism. American History 107(3), 797-798.

Whipple, K. N. (2019). Book Review: Thomas R. Schmidt, Rewriting the Newspaper: The Storytelling Movement in American Print Journalism. Newspaper Research Journal, 40(4), 537–538.

Neeley, J. C. (2019). Book Review: The Rise of Narrative Journalism in the Newsroom. Literary Journalism Studies 11(2), 198-201.

RESEARCH GRANTS

• Research grant by the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies ($15,700): “The Americanization of Austrian Journalism: From Re-Education to Professionalization”
• UCSD Course Development and Instructional Improvement Program ($20,656): Grant for project “Developing ‘Digital Media Literacy’ COMM 30” as Flipped General Education Course” 
• Grants to Scholars Award, Friends of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, 2018
• Wayne Morse Center Graduate Student Research Award, 2016-2017
• Oregon Humanities Center Graduate Research Support Fellowship, 2015-2016
• Gary E. Smith Summer Award, University of Oregon Graduate School, 2015
• Graduate Research Grant, Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon, 2015
• Fellowship of the University of Vienna for research in Paris, France, 2005

AWARDS

• Susan L. Greenberg Research Prize for Literary Journalism Studies, International Association for Literary Journalism Studies, 2020
• Best Research Paper Award, Journalism and Education section, International Association of Media and Communication Research, 2018
• American Journalism Historians Association Margaret A. Blanchard Doctoral Dissertation Prize, Honorary Mention, 2018
• Robert Lance Award for outstanding student research paper, Honorary Mention, American Journalism Historians Association, 2017
• Best Research Paper by a Graduate Student Prize, International Association for Literary Journalism Studies, 2016
• Best Research Paper by a Graduate Student Prize, International Association for Literary Journalism Studies, 2015
• CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Award for Feature Writing, 2014

HONORS

• Lorri I. Lokey Scholar, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, 2016-2017
• Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society, 2016
• Columbia Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2013-2016
• Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Oregon, 2012-2017
• Transatlantic Media Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington D.C., 2012
• Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Oregon, 2009-2011
• Politz Journalism Graduate Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2010-2011
• New School Research Assistantship, 2005-2007
• Fulbright grantee, 2005-2006
• Honorary scholarship of the federal state of Lower Austria, 2005
• Graduation with honors from the University of Vienna, Austria, 2005