Academic research projects
- Social Journalism: How social media is changing the way we communicate
A SSHRC-funded research project to consolidate different global perspectives on the impact of social media on journalism and discuss and synthesize the available knowledge. Social media raises questions about journalism’s jurisdictional claim to the news. Social digital media spaces allow for new relations that disrupt authorial structures. Journalists need to be able learn and understand how news and information works in social media, instead of simply applying established norms and practices that may no longer be effective in communicating.
- Social media and the reshaping of the public mission of public service broadcasters
A CMRC-funded study is to examine how journalists and editors at national public service broadcasters are integrating social media. It seeks to explore the adoption and implementation of communication technologies that have the potential to foster a closer and more personal relationship with the audience than possible in broadcast, providing insights how journalism professionals are themselves engaged in forming and shaping the practice of social media.
- First Nations and Facebook: Examining the role of social media in migration, community relations, and governance
This study examines how social networking technologies, particularly Facebook, are being used by First Nations individuals and communities in Canada for social engagement, self-representation, and governance-related activities. First Nations have been intensively using media and information technologies since the early 1970s, and the increasing pervasiveness of Facebook builds on this sedimentation of use and experimentation with varied media. The research seeks to address an emerging gap in scholarly literature by considering the spread and multiple uses of Facebook in relation to new and ongoing shifts in demographics, urban migration, and varied aspects of community relations and governance within First Nations communities.
Applied research projects
Prof Hermida supervised the development of website for the UBC journalism student investigation into the impact of cheap shrimp. This web project was the culmination of a year-long investigation into the Thai shrimp industry undertaken by 10 students on the International Reporting course with Prof Peter Klein.
- Visualization in journalism
Prof Hermida has partnered with IBM Canada to explore the use of data visualization in journalism. The project is investigating how emerging visualization tools can aid journalists in the preparation, manipulation and visual representation of complex data, creating new interactive forms of story-telling to engage audiences and enhance public understanding of public policy issues. As part of the project, he collaborated with CBC News for an interactive on workplace carcinogens.
- The Canadian Music Wiki
The Canadian Music Wiki, launched in May 2010, was the result of an innovative partnership between the UBC Graduate School of Journalism and CBC Radio 3, led by Prof Hermida. It applied social media technologies to create a collaborative, crowd-sourced online encyclopedia of Canadian music. The partnership was formed under the aegis of the MITACS Accelerate program, which aims to support research and development partnerships between companies and universities. The project highlights the role for journalism schools as a catalyst for innovation in the media, as it served to bolster CBC Radio 3 efforts to remain at the forefront of offering innovative and distinctive Canadian content.
- Mobile journalism
In 2009, Prof Hermida partnered with Canadian company Vericorder to pioneer the application of smartphone mobile media applications with the Poddio audio suite app for the iPhone. We are moving onto the next stage of the pilot project, with students adopting the 1st Video iPhone app that enables them to put together news items, video or podcasts, with multi-track audio.
- Journalism education
The website, JournalismTV.ca, was created by Prof Hermida to educate students in theoretical issues and ethical practices in journalism through a series of interactive teaching online modules. These modules offer video clips or pertinent journalism material on key research questions in media studies, designed to enhance the existing journalism courses at the school. This UBC-funded project extends classroom learning into the intellectual and online spaces that students already occupy, using a visual format, to provide a forum outside of the classroom for critical thinking and discussion of journalistic topics. The online format encourages quieter students to interact online with fellow students in discussion, promoting reflection on topics ahead of scheduled classes.
- NetPrimeminister.ca
In 2008, Prof Hermida created NetPrimeMinister.ca to track the social media buzz on the federal elections. NetPrimeMinister.ca aggregated blog content, YouTube videos, Twitter comments and Flickr photos about the race, offering a unique perspective on the race to be Canada’s next prime minister. The site was built on the NetVibes platform and has since been archived.
