Explore TJ Thomson’s Research

Research Outputs

The visual unites almost all of T.J.’s research and he often focuses on under-represented identities, attributes, and environments in his scholarship. His outputs can be grouped into three categories: the visual dimensions of news and journalistic practice; visual communication in personal and online contexts; and the scholarship of learning and teaching.

You can find a list of T.J.’s research outputs on Google Scholar, ORCiD, or Figshare. You can find his public writings for The Conversation here.

You can sort his research by category, find full-text versions of his research outputs, and search by abstracts using this spreadsheet. You can also find his scholarly outputs (last updated on Jan. 1, 2026) grouped by type below.

Books

  1. Notley, T., Dezuanni, M., Park, S., Thomson, T. J., & Hourigan, A. (2026). Living with Misinformation. Milton Park, Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
  2. Thomson, T. J. & Anderson, R. (2026). Everyday Visual News: Expectations, Engagements, and Meanings. Milton Park, Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
  3. Thomson, T. J. & Dahmen, N. (2025). The Routledge Companion to Visual Journalism. Milton Park, Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
  4. Thomson, T. J. (2019). To see and be seen: The Environments, Interactions, and Identities Behind News Images. London & New York: Rowman & Littlefield. (Winner of the National Communication Association’s 2020 Diane S. Hope Book of the Year Award.)
  5. Thomson, T. J. (2019). In Front of the Lens: The Expectations, Experiences, and Reactions of Visual Journalism’s Subjects. Journalism & Communication Monographs.

Reports

  1. Thomson, T. J., Meese, J., Bossio, D., Waller, L., Hurcombe, E., & Spina, D. (2025). Resourcing, Technology and Audiences: An industry-led agenda for journalism practice and research. Melbourne: News, Technology, and Society Network, RMIT University. doi. org/10.60836/g3rb-zx83
  2. Park, S., Thomson, T. J., & Lee, J. (2025). Engaged journalism in the heartland: Understanding regional news audiences. University of Canberra and RMIT University. https://doi.org/10.60836/djte-h654
  3. Thomson, T. J., Thomas, R. J., Riedlinger, M. & Matich, P. (2025). Generative AI & journalism Content, journalistic perceptions, and audience experiences. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. https://apo.org.au/node/329601
  4. Park, S., Notley, T., Thomson, T. J., Hourigan, A., & Dezuanni, M. (2024). Online Misinformation in Australia: Adults’ Experiences, Abilities, and Responses. University of Canberra and Western Sydney University. https://doi.org/10.60836/jpmm-dw04.

Journal Articles

  1. Thomson, T. J., Anderson, R., & Nicolette, S. (2025). Analysing and contextualising regional, rural, or remote visual news:  a two-pronged approach. Journalism Practice.
  2. Thomson, T. J., Hess, K., Anderson, R., & Krismantari, I. (2025). Local visual news presentation and sourcing practices: Insights and implications. Journalism Practice.
  3. Thomson, T. J. & Anderson, R. (2025). News audience experiences with local visual news: a digital diary study. Journalism Practice.
  4. Kuai, J. & Thomson, T. J. (2025). Rethinking journalistic autonomy in the algorithmic era: Toward context-aware, value-driven, and human-centred research into journalistic AI. Communication Research and Practice.
  5. Westlund, O., Carlson, M., Hamada, B., Helberger, N., Lecheler, S., Lewis, S., Quandt, T., Reese, S., Salaverría, R., Saldaña, M., Thomson, T. J., Wahl-Jorgensen, K., Wu, S. (2025). Public Knowledge and Expertise under Authoritarian Siege: A defense of academic freedom from Digital Journalism Studies. Digital Journalism.
  6. Thomson, T. J. (2025). Computer-mediated representations: A qualitative examination of algorithmic vision and visual style. Visual Communication. doi.org/10.1177/14703572251358425
  7. Thomson, T. J., Pfurtscheller, D., Lobinger, K., Laba, N., & Christ, K. (2025). Visual Literacies in Transition: Multimodal Co-Production with Generative AI. Journal of Visual Literacy.
  8. Thomson, T. J., Anderson, R., & Snowden, N. (2025). Bodies in Journalism: The view from behind and in front of the lens. Journalism Studies. 10.1080/1461670X.2025.2514455
  9. Thomson, T. J. & Anderson, R. (2025). Audience perceptions of engaging news photos: A picture-sorting and interview study. Journalism Practice.
  10. Westlund, O., Boyles, J. L., Guo, L., Saldaña, M., Salaverría, R., Thomson, T. J., & Wu, S. (2025). Digital Journalism (Studies): An Agenda for the Future. Digital Journalism, 13(2), 179–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2474530
  11. Thomson, T. J. (2025). Visual veracity in an AI age: one simple approach to image provenance. Visual Communication Quarterly.
  12. Matich, P., Thomson, T. J., & Thomas, R. (2025). Old Threats, New Name? Generative AI and Visual Journalism. Journalism Practice. 
  13. Patrick, R., McLaughlin, J., King-Smith, L., Schultz, T., Thomson, T. J., & Dezuanni, M. (2024). Unlearning journalism through decolonising, Indigenous approaches. Journalism.
  14. Thomson, T. J. (2024). Place, access, and (lack of) belonging in news photographs of migration. Journalism & Communication Monographs.
  15. Thomson, T. J., Zhang, S., Chen, Y., and Ren, Q. (2024). Contrasting Frames:  Visual Coverage at Urban and Regional News Outlets in Australia and China. Journalism Studies (Q1).
  16. Thomson, T. J. (2024). Picturing a quality local news visual: Perspectives from non-specialist journalists. Journalism (Q1).
  17. Thomson, T. J., Irvine, L., & Thomas, G. (2024). Learning the art of scholarly peer-review: Insights from the communication discipline. Media International Australia (Q1).
  18. Thomson, T. J., Thomas, R., & Matich, P. (2024). Generative Visual AI in News Organizations:  Challenges, Opportunities, Perceptions, and Policies. Digital Journalism (Q1). (Top Faculty Paper Award, International Communication Association Journalism Studies Division.)
  19. Thomson, T. J. & Thomas, R. (2023). Generative visual AI in newsrooms: Considerations related to production, presentation, and audience interpretation and impact. Journalistik.
  20. Thomson, T. J. & Bock, M. (2023). Designing the visual gateways into crime news: A comparison of thumbnails from journalists and non-journalists. Journalism Practice.
  21. Thomson, T. J. & Uddin, S. (2023). Contemporary ways of seeing: Exploring how smartphone cameras shape visual culture and literacy. Journal of Visual Literacy.
  22. Thomas, R. J. & Thomson, T. J. (2023). What Does a Journalist Look Like? Visualizing Journalistic Roles Through AI. Digital Journalism (Q1). (Top Faculty Paper Award, International Communication Association Journalism Studies Division.)
  23. Thomson, T. J., Phan, A., Holland-Batt, S., Seevinck, J., & Miller, E., & Regi, S. (2023). Who or What Gets Quoted by Whom, How Often, and in Which Ways? Exploring Journalists’ Sourcing Practices in the Context of Aged Care Coverage. Journalism Practice (Scimago Q1). (Winner of the 2023 National Communication Association’s Communication and Ageing Outstanding Journal Article Award.)
  24. Rossiter, E., Thomson, T. J., & Fitzgerald, R. (2022). Supporting university students’ learning across time and space: A from-scratch, personalised, and mobile-friendly approach. Interactive Technology and Smart Education (Scimago Q1).
  25. Thomson, T. J., Johnson, S., Seevinck, J., Holland-Batt, S., & Miller, E. (2022). It’s not enough to be seen: Exploring how journalists show aged care in Australia from 2018-2021. Communication Research and Practice (Scimago Q1).
  26. Thomson, T. J., Miller, E., Holland-Batt, S. Seevinck, J, and Regi, S. (2022). Visibility and invisibility in the aged care sector: Visual representation in Australian news from 2018-2021. Media International Australia (Scimago Q1). (Winner of the National Communication Association’s 2022 Communication and Ageing Outstanding Journal Article Award.)
  27. Thomson, T. J., McLaughlin, J., & King-Smith, L. (2022). Indigenous Knowledges and Perspectives in University Journalism Education: Exploring experiences, challenges, and opportunities. Australian Journalism Review (Scimago Q2).
  28. Thomson, T. J. (2021). International, innovative, multi-modal, and representative? The geographies, methods, modes, and aims present in two visual communication journals. Visual Communication (Scimago Q1). (Winner of the National Communication Association’s James Edwards Article of the Year Award.)
  29. Thomson, T. J. (2021). Reflections on 25 years of Visual Communication Quarterly. Visual Communication Quarterly. (Scimago Q2).
  30. Thomson, T. J., Thomas, G. & Irvine, L. (2021). Conceptualising communication: A survey of introduction to communication university units. Communication Research and Practice. (Scimago Q1).
  31. Thomson, T. J. & Sternberg, J. (2021). Journalism employability in the modern newsroom: Insights from applicant resumes and cover letters. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator (Scimago Q2).
  32. Dootson, P., Thomson, T. J., & Angus, D. (2021). Managing problematic visual media in natural hazard emergencies. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (Scimago Q1). (Winner of the 2020 Emergency Media and Public Affairs Australia Award for Excellence in Emergency Communication.)
  33. Thomson, T. J. (2021). Picturing Disaster at Home and Abroad: A Comparative Visual Analysis of Icons and News Values During Disaster. Media International Australia (Scimago Q1).
  34. Thomson, T. J. (2021). Exploring the life cycle of smartphone images from camera rolls to social media platforms. Visual Communication Quarterly (Scimago Q2).
  35. Thomson, T. J., Angus, D., Dootson, P., Hurcombe, E., & Smith, A. (2020). Visual mis/disinformation in journalism and public communications: Current verification practices, challenges, and future opportunities. Journalism Practice. (Scimago Q1). (Awarded by the editors and editorial board as the top paper published in Journalism Practice in 2022-23.)
  36. Thomson, T. J. (2020). Pride in America’s Heartland: A visual exploration of queer life in the rural midwest. Visual Communication Quarterly (Scimago Q2).
  37. Greenwood, K., & Thomson, T. J. (2019). Framing the Migration: A study of news photographs of people fleeing war and persecution. International Communication Gazette (Scimago Q1).
  38. T. J. Thomson, (2018). Mapping the emotional labor and work of visual journalism. Journalism (Scimago Q1).
  39. Thomson, T. J. (2018). The evolution of story: How time and modality affect visual and verbal narratives. Visual Communication Quarterly (Scimago Q2).
  40. Koegler, E., Thomson, T. J., Speno, A., & Teti, M. (2018). Image-Sharing via Social Media: Reflections from an Ethnically- and Age-Diverse Sample of People Living with HIV in the Midwest. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services (Scimago Q3).
  41. Thomson, T. J. (2018). From the closet to the beach: A photographer’s view of gay life on Fire Island from 1975-83. Visual Communication Quarterly (Scimago Q2).
  42. Thomson, T. J. & Greenwood, K. (2017). I “Like” That: Exploring the Characteristics That Promote Social Media Engagement with News Photographs. Visual Communication Quarterly (Scimago Q3).
  43. Thomson, T. J., Perreault, G., & Duffy, M. (2017). Politicians, Photographers, and a Pope: How state-controlled and independent media covered Francis’s 2015 Cuba visit. Journalism Studies (Scimago Q1), 1-18.
  44. Thomson, T. J., & Greenwood, K. (2017). Beyond Framing: Influences of subject–photographer interactions on visual journalism. Journalism Practice (Scimago Q1), 11(5), 625-644.
  45. Thomson, T. J. (2016). Black, White, and a Whole Lot of Gray: How White Photojournalists Covered Race During the 2015 Protests at Mizzou. Visual Communication Quarterly (Scimago Q3), 23(4), 223-233.
  46. Thomson, T. J. (2016). Freelance Photojournalists and Photo Editors: Learning and adapting in a (mostly faceless) virtual world. Journalism Studies (Scimago Q1), 1-21. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2016.1215851

Book Chapters

  1. Thomson, T.J. & Dahmen, N. (2025). Visual Journalism from Above and Below: Exploring forms, definitions, structures, evolutions, challenges, considerations, and caveats. In Dahmen, N. & Thomson, T.J. (Eds), The Routledge Companion to Visual Journalism. Routledge.
  2. Thomson, T.J. & Dahmen, N. (2025). Possibilities, Principles, and Provocations for Studying Visual Journalism into the Future. In Dahmen, N. & Thomson, T.J. (Eds), The Routledge Companion to Visual Journalism. Routledge.
  3. Thomson, T.J. (2025). Know your audience? Understanding social and cultural contexts is vital to effective teaching, communication. In Kelly, S. & Prentiss, S. (Eds), Real Challenges of the Classroom: The Hahas, Oh Nos, and As Ifs that Lead to Better How-Tos. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  4. Thomson, T. J. (2025). Planning, conducting, and presenting visual journalism research: Considerations for visual data collection, analysis, and publication. In Boyle, M. & Rainear, A. (Eds), Evolving Journalism Research Methods: Applications, Trends, Analyses. Routledge.
  5. Thomson, T. J., & Sternberg, J. (2023). Using Course Management Software and Videoconferencing. In S. Keith & R. Cozma (Eds.), Teaching Journalism Online. The World Journalism Education Council and UNESCO.
  6. Thomson, T.J. & Greenwood, K. (2020). Profile Pictures Across Platforms: How identity visually manifests itself among social media accounts. In Josephson, S. & Kelly, J. (eds), The Handbook of Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media (2nd ed). London: Routledge.