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Valerie Belair-Gagnon

Photo of Valerie Belair-Gagnon

Contact Me

vbg@umn.edu
612-626-7754

Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication
206 Church St SE
Ste 329 Murphy Hall

Affiliations
Links

I am Assistant Professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Director of the Minnesota Journalism Center. My research looks at how tech and digital media is transforming information and journalism cultures and organizations. I use qualitative methods and use hybrid methodologies and theories at the intersection of the sociology of work and organizations, media management, and journalism studies. Some areas of current research include: 1) Media innovation, business models and engagement; 2) Platforms, professional identity and digital work; and 3) Social media, including misinformation and user-generated content.

Educational Background & Specialties

Educational Background

  • Ph.D.: Sociology, City University London, 2013.
  • B.A.: Sociology, McGill University, 2004.
  • M.Sc.: Sociology, Université de Montréal, 2007.

Curriculum Vitae

Specialties

  • Journalism Studies
  • media management
  • identity
  • Technology and Innovation Management
  • Social media
  • Audience engagement
Courses Taught
  • Digital Media and Culture
  • Digital Media Issues and Theories
  • Qualitative Methods in Mass Communication
  • Digital Truthmaking
Research & Professional Activities

Professional Activities

  • Director: Minnesota Journalism Center at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication , June 2017
Publications
  • Failure to Launch: Intrapreneurs, News Organizations, and Non-Adoption of Chatbots.: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Seth Lewis, Colin Agur, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2020. Link
  • When Product (Managers) Rule the Newsroom. : Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Avery Holton, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 2020. Link
  • Capturing Digital News Innovation Research in Organizations, 1990–2018: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Allison J. Steinke, Journalism Studies, 2020. Link
  • Constructing Audience Quantification: How Norms about Audience Analytics and Metrics are Developed.: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Rodrigo Zamith, Seth Lewis, New Media & Society, 2020. Link
  • Roles Orientations and Audience Metrics in Newsrooms: An Examination of Journalistic Perceptions and their Drivers.: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Rodrigo Zamith, Avery Holton, Digital Journalism, 2020 . Link
  • News on the fly: journalist-audience online engagement success as a cultural matching process: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Media, Culture & Society, 2019. Link
  • Audience Engagement, Reciprocity, and the Pursuit of Community Connectedness in Public Media Journalism: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Jacob Nelson and Seth Lewis, Journalism Practice, 2019. Link
  • Space for the Liminal. Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Avery Holton & Oscar Westlund, Author, 2019. Link
  • The Two Faces of Janus: Web Analytics Companies and the Shifting Culture of News.. Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Avery Holton, Author, 2019. Link
  • Boundary Work, Interloper Media, And Analytics In Newsrooms: An analysis of the Roles of Web Analytics Companies in News Production: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Avery Holton, Digital Journalism, 2018. Link
  • Strangers to the Game? Interlopers, Intralopers, and Shifting News Production: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Avery Holton, Media and Communication, 2018. Link
  • Mobile Sourcing: A Case Study of Journalistic Norms and Chat Apps Usage: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Mobile Media and Communication, 2018. Link
  • Media Capture with Chinese Characteristics: Changing Patterns in the Hong Kong Media System: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Nicholas Frisch and Colin Agur, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, Forthcoming 2018.
  • The Changing Physical and Social Environment of Newsgathering: A Case Study of Foreign Correspondents Using Chat Apps During Unrest: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Colin Agur; Nicholas Frisch, Social Media + Society, 1 1– 10, 2017. Download
  • UAVs and Journalism Disruption: Perspectives from Early Professional Adopters: Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Taylor Owen and Avery Holton, Digital Journalism, 2017. Download
  • New Frontiers in Newsgathering: A Case Study of Foreign Correspondents Using Chat Apps to Cover Political Unrest. Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Agur, C. and Frisch, N., Author, 2016. Link
  • Interaction and Training: Social Media in News Organizations. Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, MIT Press, Author, 2016. Link
  • Social Media at BBC News: Re-Making Crisis Reporting. Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Routledge, Author, 2015. Link
  • Reconstructing the Indian Public Sphere: Newswork and Social Media During the Delhi Gang Rape Case. Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Mishra, S. and Agur, C. , Author, 2014. Link
  • Revisiting Impartiality: Social Media and Journalism at the BBC. Belair-Gagnon, Valerie, Author, 2013. Link