Ryan Thomas

Ryan Thomas is an associate professor of journalism studies in the Missouri School of Journalism. His research addresses the relationship between journalism’s institutional responsibilities and processes of change. There are two major streams to this research.

First, he examines how journalists write about journalism to understand how journalists construct the norms, practices, obligations and boundaries of their field. Second, he examines how processes of change — economic, technological, political, regulatory, etc. — impact or impede journalists’ abilities to execute their democratic duties. His work draws on theories and approaches in political and moral philosophy, sociology of news, political economy and cultural studies and is, above all, anchored in a firm appreciation for the work journalists do in service of democracy. Thomas also maintains an ongoing research interest in how labor unions, social movements, nations and immigrants are represented in journalism.

Thomas’ research has been published in a number of journals, including Journalism Studies, the Journal of Media Ethics, New Media and Society, Journalism Practice and Digital Journalism. His research 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. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Media Ethics and served as the head of the Media Ethics Division of AEJMC for the 2016-17 academic year, having previously served as programming chair, research chair and newsletter editor.

Thomas teaches Principles of American Journalism at the undergraduate level and Media Ethics, Qualitative Research Methods and Philosophy of Journalism at the graduate level. He is a member of the Media Sociology and Media Law, Ethics, and Policy doctoral research areas. He works extensively with graduate students in helping them develop their research interests and become journalism studies scholars. He collaborates widely with current and former graduate students of the school in the areas of journalism studies, media ethics, and media sociology. Thomas is currently the chair of the school’s Policy and Doctoral Admissions committees and a past chair of its Recruitment and Outreach committee. He has also represented the school on the university’s Honors College committee. He is a frequent guest panelist on KBIA’s "Views of the News," a weekly media criticism program.

Thomas is a first-generation college student from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. He holds a B.A. in American studies from Swansea University and master's and doctoral degrees from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.