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Thomas R. Schmidt

Associate Professor in Critical Journalism Studies

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

BOOKS

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

 

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals

  • Schmidt, Thomas R. 2024. “Challenging Journalistic Objectivity: How Journalists of Color Call for a Reckoning,” Journalism 25(3): 547-564.
  • Nelson, Jacob L., and Thomas R. Schmidt. 2022. “Taking the Audience Seriously? The Normative Construction of Engaged Journalism,” International Journal of Communication 16.
  • Schmidt, Thomas R., Jacob L. Nelson, and Regina G. Lawrence. 2022. “Conceptualizing the Active Audience: Rhetoric and Practice in ‘Engaged Journalism’,” Journalism 23(1): 3-21.
  • Schmidt, Thomas R. 2021. “’It’s OK to Feel’: The Emotionality Norm in U.S. Print Journalism,” Journalism 22(5): 1173-1189.
  • Schmidt, Thomas R., and Lawrence, Regina G. 2020. “Engaged Journalism and News Work: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Organizational Dynamics and Professional Challenges,” Journalism Practice 14 (5): 518-536.
  • Schmidt, Thomas R., Lisa Heyamoto, and Todd Milbourn. 2019. “The Social Construction of Media Trust: An Exploratory Study in Underserved Communities.” Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies 8 (3): 257-272.
  • Lewis, Seth C., Andrea L. Guzman, and Thomas R. Schmidt. 2019. “Automation, Journalism, and Human–Machine Communication: Rethinking Roles and Relationships of Humans and Machines in News.” Digital Journalism 7 (4): 409-427.           
  • Ali, Christopher, Thomas R. Schmidt, Damian Radcliffe, and Rosalind Donald. 2019. “The Digital Life of Small-Market Newspapers: Results from a Multi-Method Study.” Digital Journalism 7(7): 886-909.
  • Ali, Christopher, Damian Radcliffe, Thomas R. Schmidt, and Rosalind Donald. 2018. “Searching for Sheboygans: On the Future of Small Market Newspapers.” Journalism 21(4) (2018): 453-471.
  • Lawrence, Regina, Damian Radcliffe, and Thomas R. Schmidt. 2018. “Practicing Engagement: Participatory Journalism in the Web 2.0 Era.” Journalism Practice 12(10): 1220-1240.
  • Schmidt, Thomas R. 2017. “Pioneer of Style: How the Washington Post Adopted Literary Journalism.” Literary Journalism Studies 9(1).
  • Schmidt, Thomas R. 2016. “The Circuit of Culture: A Model for Journalism History,” CM: Communication and Media 11(36): 71-88.

BOOK CHAPTERS

  • Wahl-Jorgensen, K. and Thomas R. Schmidt. 2019. “Storytelling and News,” in Handbook of Journalism Studies (ICA Handbook Series), 2nd ed. (pp. 262-276), eds. Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and Thomas Hanitzsch. London: Routledge
  •  Schmidt, Thomas R. 2019. “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.
  •  Schmidt, Thomas R. 2015. “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. 2006. “Dekonstruktion und Weltpolitik” [Deconstruction and World Politics], In Nach Derrida. Dekonstruktion in zeitgenössischen Diskursen, eds. Dominik Portune & Peter Zeillinger. Vienna: Turia + Kant.
  • Schmidt, Thomas R. 2004 “Politik der Verantwortlichkeit” [Politics of Responsibility], in Kreuzungen Jacques Derridas: Geistergespräche zwischen Philosophie und Theologie, eds. Peter Zeillinger and Matthias Flatscher. Vienna: Turia + Kant.

 

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 AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

  • UCSD Changemaker Fellow ($5,000): Anti-Racist Pedagogy Learning Committee 2023-2024
  • Yankelovich Center Partnership-Building Grant ($5,000): “Capacity-Building for Media Outlets Led by People of Color,” 2022
  • 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

Undergraduate Courses:

  • COMM 87: Freshman Seminar – Discover Media Industries
  • COMM 10: Introduction to Communication
  • COMM 30: Digital Media Literacy
  • COMM 106N: Journalism and the News Industry
  • 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 294: History of Communication Research
  • COGR 257: Social Theory
  • COGR 255: Studies in Political Theory

Study Abroad – Copenhagen 2025:

  • SYN 100GS: Storytelling for a Changing Planet
  • COMM 30GS Global Digital Media Literacy