Dr
Dave
Robbins

Primary Department
School of Communications
Role
Academic Staff
David Robbins
Phone number: 01 700
6567
Campus
Glasnevin Campus
Room Number
GLA. C148

Academic biography

I am Director of the DCU Centre for Climate and Society, a research centre aimed at bringing inter and transdisciplinary perspectives from the social sciences and humanities to the climate crisis.

I am an Associate Professor at the School of Communications. My research interests are centred around media representations of climate change, journalism practice as it relates to the coverage of environmental matters and media framing effects.

I welcome approaches from PhD candidates who wish to study the broad area of climate change communication.

I also have an interest in, and have written about, mobile journalism (Mojo) and social media. I completed a Masters degree by research at DCU and my PhD (2018) research concerned the topic of print media coverage of climate change in Ireland from 2007 to 2016. My thesis was subsequently published as a book by Routledge.

I teach on the undergraduate and post-graduate journalism programmes at DCU, delivering modules on reporting, writing, design and mobile journalism.

I have also worked at a senior level in the media in Ireland, for the Irish Times, Cara magazine and for various titles in Independent News and Media. I was features editor of the Evening Herald, assistant and associate editor of the Irish Independent and launch editor of the Irish Independent compact edition. I have experience as a reporter, editor, columnist, broadcaster and feature writer. I wrote a weekly column for the Irish Independent from 2005 to 2015 and had a weekly radio column on RTÉ's 'Drivetime'.

I worked as an advisor to the Minister for the Environment up to 2011 and continue to be involved in local politics. I have also worked as a non-profit consultant.

Research interests

I am interested in how climate change in represented in the media, and in the factors affecting such representations. My research in concerned with levels of coverage, and with how coverage is framed. As a practising journalist, I am interested in how journalism practice influences the reporting of climate change.