I am Professor of Communication with an emphasis on Computational Journalism in the Department of Communication Studies and Media Research, LMU Munich. I hold a Freigeist Fellowship from the Volkswagen Foundation (VolkswagenStiftung) for a project on 'Algorithmic News'.
Previously I was a Reader (Associate Professor) at City University London where, between 2006 - 2015, I led an Erasmus Mundus Master's in Journalism, Media and Globalisation. I was appointed as City University's first lecturer in Electronic Publishing in 1997 and directed their successful Master's in Electronic Publishing until 2004.
My research focuses on the changes taking place in news production and consumption as a result of the internet. It has been covered by media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Le Figaro; and been honoured by the International Symposium on Online Journalism in Austin, Texas, where I won 'best paper' over four consecutive years.
I am a referee for a range of international academic journals, publishers, and research boards; an external examiner for bachelor and post-graduate degree programmes in journalism; and have lectured around the world including in China, Ukraine, and Korea.
My professional career in interactive publishing began at Interactive Learning Productions where I published a number of award-winning interactive multimedia CD-Roms. At Yorkshire International Thomson Multimedia and Granada Learning I worked on new media projects with clients including: The British Library, The Science and Natural History Museums, Whitbread plc, The Home Office, The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food and Getty Images.
Research Interests
• Computational journalism
• Audience measurement / media consumption
• Digital media practice
• Ethnographic and qualitative methods
• Media economics and innovation
- PhD, City University London
- BA (Hons) Communication and Image Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury, England
• Thurman, N., Lewis, S., Kunert, J. [Eds.] (2021). Algorithms, Automation, and News: New Directions in the Study of Computation and Journalism. London: Routledge
• Thurman, N. & Aquilina, J. (2020). BBC Three's reinvention online: Effects on viewing and content. London: Enders Analysis
• Thurman, N. (2018). Time Spent Reading News-Brands: Print–Digital Performance, Online-Only Effects, and Long-Term Trends. Frankfurt: World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
• Thurman, N., Kunert, J., & Cornia, A. (2016). Journalists in the UK. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism