Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman

Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman is a Professor of Communication at Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) Munich, specializing in Computational Journalism. His research centres on the transformations in news production and consumption driven by the internet, a subject extensively covered by major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Le Figaro. His work has received significant recognition, including multiple 'Best Paper' awards from the International Symposium on Online Journalism in Austin, Texas.

Prof. Thurman holds a Freigeist Fellowship from the Volkswagen Foundation for his project on 'Algorithmic News.' Before his appointment at LMU in 2015, he was a Reader (Associate Professor) at City University London, where he led the Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Journalism, Media, and Globalization from 2006 to 2015. Earlier in his career, Prof. Thurman held various positions in interactive publishing, working with notable clients such as The British Library, The Science and Natural History Museums, and Getty Images.

He has authored numerous research papers, books, and book chapters on the digitalisation of journalism and the role of automation in news. His publications include Algorithms, Automation, and News: New Directions in the Study of Computation and Journalism (2021), co-edited with Seth Lewis and Jessica Kunert, and Time Spent Reading News-Brands (2018), which explores the print-digital performance of news outlets.

Prof. Thurman also serves as a referee for international academic journals and publishers and has been involved as an external examiner for journalism degree programmes. His global teaching experience includes visiting lectureships at UC Berkeley, University of Kent, and IE University in Madrid. Prof. Thurman remains a leading voice in computational journalism, exploring the intersection of media innovation, audience measurement, and digital media practices.

Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman is a renowned academic and researcher, currently serving as Professor of Communication with a specialisation in Computational Journalism in the Department of Communication Studies and Media Research at Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) Munich, Germany. His distinguished career spans several decades, during which he has made significant contributions to the fields of journalism, digital media, and communication.

Prof. Thurman’s academic journey began with a BA (Hons) in Communication and Image Studies from the University of Kent, Canterbury, which he completed in 1992 with a 2:1 classification. His passion for media and communication led him to pursue further research, culminating in a PhD from City University London in 2012. His doctoral thesis, titled Twenty-first Century Online News: Studies of Production, Content and Consumption in Europe and the US, was supervised by Prof. Howard Tumber, with Profs. Bob Franklin and Stuart Allan serving as external examiners.

Professional Experience

Prof. Thurman’s professional career is diverse and marked by several high-profile roles across academia and industry. Before his appointment at LMU Munich in 2015, Prof. Thurman was a key figure at City University London, where he held several positions from 1997 to 2015, including Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Reader (Associate Professor) in the Department of Journalism. He was City University London’s first lecturer in Electronic Publishing and led their successful Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Journalism, Media, and Globalization between 2006 and 2015. Prof. Thurman also directed the Master’s in Electronic Publishing programme until 2004.

Before transitioning to academia, he had a substantial career in the media industry. Between 1993 and 1997, Prof. Thurman worked in various capacities at Interactive Learning Productions and Yorkshire International Thomson Multimedia, based in Newcastle, England. His roles included Design and Production Manager, Senior Project Manager, Research Team Leader, and Content Coordinator, where he developed award-winning interactive multimedia CD-ROMs and worked on new media projects for esteemed clients such as The British Library, The Science and Natural History Museums, and The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. These roles allowed him to blend his interest in digital publishing with hands-on project management and production experience, thus shaping his later academic focus on the digital transformation of journalism.

Throughout his career, Prof. Thurman has held visiting and adjunct professorships at several prestigious institutions, including UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and IE University in Madrid. Additionally, he serves as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at City, University of London, a position he has held since 2020.

Research Focus and Contributions

Prof. Thurman’s research is primarily focused on the impact of the internet on news production and consumption, with a specific interest in the rise of computational journalism. His work explores how algorithms, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping the journalistic landscape, both in terms of how news is produced and how it is consumed by audiences.

One of his major ongoing research projects is titled Algorithmic News: An Investigation into the Computerisation of Journalistic Work, and Analysis of its Professional, Personal, and Societal Consequences, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation through a Freigeist Fellowship. Prof. Thurman has been the Principal Investigator for this project, securing €540,800 in funding for the investigation into the professional, personal, and societal consequences of the increasing reliance on algorithmic processes in journalism. His work in this area also extends to projects on responsible AI and its role in local journalism.

In addition to this, Prof. Thurman has contributed to multiple international research collaborations, including those funded by the NYU-LMU Research Cooperation Programme and the European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus Action. His research on news audiences, the regulation of internet pornography, and the effects of automation in journalism has been widely cited and has informed both academic and professional debates around media and technology.

Publications

Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman has an extensive and diverse portfolio of academic publications, including working papers, books, reports, journal articles, book chapters, and software contributions, reflecting his deep engagement with digital journalism, media studies, and computational journalism.

Among his working papers, his 2023 collaboration with T. Hensmann, Social Media Monitoring Apps in News Work: A Mixed-Methods Study of Professional Practices and Journalists’ and Citizens’ Opinions, explores the intersection of social media and news production.

Prof. Thurman has co-authored and edited several books and reports. His 2021 edited volume, Algorithms, Automation, and News: New Directions in the Study of Computation and Journalism, co-edited with Seth Lewis and Jessica Kunert, delves into the evolving role of algorithms in journalism. Another significant contribution is his 2020 report with J. Aquilina, BBC Three's Reinvention Online: Effects on Viewing and Content, which examines the changes to the BBC’s online-only presence. His earlier work includes Time Spent Reading News-Brands (2018), published by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), which analyses long-term trends in print and digital news consumption, and Journalists in the UK (2016), co-authored with J. Kunert and A. Cornia and published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Prof. Thurman has contributed to a broad range of academic journal articles. His forthcoming works include articles on the challenges of data-driven journalism, such as Too Many Numbers and Worse Word Choice: Why Readers Find Data-Driven News Articles Produced with Automation Harder to Understand in Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, and Audience Evaluations of News Videos Made with Various Levels of Automation: A Population-Based Survey Experiment. His 2024 paper in AI Magazine explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the value chain of local journalism. Other recent publications, such as Predicting Streaming Audiences for a Channel’s On-Demand TV Shows in Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies (2024), investigate the impact of algorithms and choice architecture on audience behaviour.

Several of Prof. Thurman’s articles focus on the intersection of AI and journalism, including his 2022 publication Lessons from France on the Regulation of Internet Pornography in Policy & Internet and his collaborative work on Mapping the Website and Mobile App Audiences of Russia’s Foreign Communication Outlets in HKS Misinformation Review. His article Contagious Accuracy Norm Violation in Political Journalism in Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism (2022) examines how political information is published and its impact on accuracy norms across countries.

Prof. Thurman’s book chapters reflect his expertise in media technology, journalism, and audience engagement. His 2021 contribution, Algorithms, Automation, and News, co-authored with Lewis and Kunert, is part of the Routledge volume that he co-edited. In addition, his chapter on Personalization of News appears in The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies (2019), while his work on computational journalism is featured in The Handbook of Journalism Studies (2019).

Beyond academic articles and books, Prof. Thurman has contributed to software projects and multimedia tools aimed at enhancing digital and interactive learning experiences. Notable among these is the award-winning PHD Sleep Systems (2016), which won the TGO Magazine Innovation of the Year award. Earlier, he contributed to various interactive projects such as Design Your Own Sleeping Bag (2013) and PHD Mountain Software (2014), exemplifying his interest in using technology for interactive publishing.

Overall, Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman’s prolific body of work highlights his leadership in the study of digital journalism and computational journalism, offering valuable insights into the rapidly evolving media landscape. His diverse contributions span cutting-edge research, innovative software, and insightful publications, making him a key figure in the academic and professional fields of media and communication.

Awards and Honours

Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman has received numerous prestigious awards and honours throughout his career, reflecting his significant contributions to journalism, digital media, and communication. He has secured substantial financial support from leading institutions, including the Volkswagen Foundation and the European Commission. Notably, from 2022 to 2025, he was awarded €1,412,000 for the project Towards Responsible AI in Local Journalism, where he led the initiative to integrate artificial intelligence into journalism with a focus on ethical practices. Additionally, his work on Algorithmic News has garnered extended funding through the Volkswagen Foundation’s Freigeist Fellowship, highlighting his role in advancing the understanding of AI and automation in news production.

Prof. Thurman’s excellence has been consistently recognised, including winning the Top Faculty Paper award at the ICA Annual Conference in 2019 and the Top Paper award at the International Symposium on Online Journalism for four consecutive years. His early work in multimedia publishing also earned him commendations, such as the Royal Television Society's Special Commendation and the NEMN Silver Apple Award. Moreover, his commitment to education was honoured with the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning at City University London in 2001, reflecting his dedication to both academic research and teaching excellence.

In addition to his academic roles, Prof. Thurman has delivered lectures and workshops around the world, including in China, Ukraine, and Korea. His insights into the future of news and the role of technology in journalism are regularly sought after by media outlets, and his work has been covered by publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Le Figaro.

Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman envisions a future where journalism harnesses the full potential of digital technologies, such as algorithms, automation, and artificial intelligence, to enhance the quality and accessibility of news. His vision focuses on balancing technological advancements with ethical considerations, ensuring responsible AI integration in newsrooms while maintaining journalistic integrity. He advocates for a deeper understanding of audience needs and media consumption patterns to shape a more informed society. Prof. Thurman aims to lead research that bridges the gap between technology and journalism, ensuring the future of news is both innovative and inclusive.

Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and honours throughout his career, reflecting his significant contributions to the fields of journalism, digital media, and communication. His research has garnered substantial financial support from leading institutions, including the Volkswagen Foundation, the European Commission, and NYU-LMU Research Cooperation Programme.

From 2022 to 2025, Prof. Thurman was awarded a grant of €1,412,000 by the Volkswagen Foundation for the project Towards Responsible AI in Local Journalism, where he served as the lead applicant, securing €540,800 of the total funding. This project, conducted in collaboration with Bartosz Wilczek, Antske Fokkens, Natali Helberger, Helle Sjøvaag, Mario Haim, and Wouter van Atteveldt, focuses on integrating artificial intelligence in journalism with a focus on responsibility and ethical practices. Prior to this, he secured an extended funding period for the Volkswagen Foundation's Freigeist Fellowship from 2020 to 2023, with a grant of €399,900 for his project Algorithmic News: An Investigation into the Computerisation of Journalistic Work and its Professional, Personal, and Societal Consequences.

In 2019, Prof. Thurman was also part of the NYU-LMU Research Cooperation Programme, receiving €23,800 for a research project and workshop on Automated News, collaborating with Meredith Broussard. Earlier, between 2015 and 2020, he was awarded €492,600 for the initial phase of the Freigeist Fellowship by the Volkswagen Foundation for his groundbreaking work on algorithmic news.

His commitment to fostering international research and education is evident through the Erasmus Mundus Action 1 Grant (2011-2016), a collaborative programme with several international universities, worth over €3 million. Additionally, in 2009, he was granted the Erasmus Mundus Action 3 Scholarship by the European Commission, facilitating his teaching and research visit to the University of California, Berkeley.

Prof. Thurman’s excellence has been consistently recognised with awards for his scholarly work. He won the Top Faculty Paper in 2019 from the Journalism Studies Division of the ICA Annual Conference in Washington. His achievements in online journalism were particularly acknowledged by the International Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, where he won Top Paper on four occasions: in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

His academic contributions were also celebrated by City University London, where he was awarded the Staff Research Prize in 2007. His early work in multimedia publishing was recognised by the Royal Television Society, UK, with a Special Commendation in 1997 for The Court and You, an interactive video installation. In 1995, he also received the NEMN Silver Apple Award (USA) for The Physical World CD-ROM, further cementing his role as an innovator in the digital media space.

Prof. Thurman’s long-standing dedication to teaching excellence was honoured in 2001 with the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning at City University London, underlining his commitment to advancing educational practices alongside his research endeavours.