Skip to search boxSkip to navigationSkip to main content
David Robbins

Dr. David Robbins

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.

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.

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.

Research Interests

My research is focused on media representations of climate change. I worked as a national print and broadcast journalist in Ireland for 25 years, so I am interested in the sociology of journalism, and how journalistic norms, routines, and practices can influence climate coverage.

I also worked as a ministerial adviser for the Irish minister for the environment, and this experience has informed my work on the competition to establish dominant narratives and framings around climate change between different social actors, such as politicians, lobbyists, corporations, and journalists.

My PhD thesis examined 10 years of climate change coverage in Ireland, and was published as a monograph: Climate Change, Politics, and the Press in Ireland (Routledge 2019). I was also the lead editor of Irelamd amd the Climate Crisis (Palgrave, 2020)

 

Funding Highlights

Research Projects

  • I am a Funded Investigator with the Climate + Co Centre, a tri-jurisdictional research centre focused on climate change, biodiversity loss and water quality. My project looks at how coastal, rural, farming, and fishing communities construct meaning around these issues via the media they consume and create. The co-centre was awarded €41m in funding, and runs until 2030. 
  • I am a Principal Investigator on an Erasmus + project, Media For Future, aimed at promoting mutual understanding between climate journalists and climate scientists. This €400,000 project is funded to the end of 2027.

CV

External Positions

  • Columnist, Irish Independent
    01/03/2015 – 25/10/2016
  • Ministerial Advisor, Houses of the Oireachtas
    01/12/2010 – 01/07/2011
  • Associate Editor, Independent News and Media
    25/10/2005 – 01/06/2007

Academic Qualifications

  • PhD, Dublin City University (DCU)
    Award date: 01/10/2014
  • Master's Degree, Dublin City University (DCU)
  • Higher Diploma, Technological University Dublin

Sustainable Development Goals