Dr Emma Heywood
BA; MA (Manchester); PhD (Manchester)
School of Information, Journalism and Communication
Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Radio and Communication
+44 114 222 2541
Full contact details
School of Information, Journalism and Communication
C638
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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Dr Emma Heywood is a Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Radio and Communication at the University of Sheffield. She is Impact Lead at the Sheffield Institute for International Development (IGSD), Chair of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) Radio and Sound Section, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Her teaching has been recognised with a University of Sheffield Vice-Chancellor's Award for Learning and Teaching.
Emma's research explores communication, media, participation and innovation in contexts of conflict, displacement and social change. Her work focuses particularly on Africa, where she has led and contributed to a range of externally funded projects examining community media, gender, misinformation, social cohesion, humanitarian communication, and the role of communication infrastructures in development processes. She has conducted extensive fieldwork across West and East Africa, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A significant strand of her research examines the role of radio and other communication systems in conflict- and crisis-affected environments. Her work has investigated issues including gender-based violence among internally displaced populations, media responses to misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, community participation in development initiatives, and the relationship between communication, trust and social change. She is the author of Radio and Women's Empowerment in Francophone West Africa (Palgrave Macmillan) and has published widely on radio, development communication, gender and conflict.
Emma is also the founder of The 80:20 Pathway, a University of Sheffield spin-out that provides training, consultancy and practical tools to help researchers, innovators and organisations engage communities throughout the innovation process. Drawing on research from communication, development and innovation studies, the programme helps organisations reduce implementation risks and strengthen innovation adoption, sustainability and impact. The 80:20 Pathway has supported clients from universities, innovation agencies and development organisations seeking to improve the real-world uptake and effectiveness of their work.
- Research interests
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Emma's research examines the relationship between communication, participation and social change, particularly in contexts of conflict, displacement and development. Her work explores how communication infrastructures, including radio, digital media and community communication systems, shape access to information, participation, trust, innovation adoption and social cohesion.
A significant strand of her research focuses on Africa, where she has conducted extensive fieldwork and led a range of externally funded projects examining community media, humanitarian communication, misinformation, gender, displacement and conflict. Her work has explored issues including gender-based violence among internally displaced populations, media responses to health crises, women's empowerment, social cohesion, and the role of communication in development and peacebuilding processes.
More recently, her research has expanded to explore community engagement, innovation adoption and communication infrastructures, examining how participation is negotiated through relationships, technologies and institutions. This work informs both her academic research and the development of The 80:20 Pathway, a University of Sheffield spin-out that translates research on communication, participation and innovation into training, consultancy and practical tools for researchers, innovators and organisations.
- Publications
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Books
- Radio and Women's Empowerment in Francophone West Africa. Springer Nature.
- Journalism as the Fourth Emergency Service. Peter Lang Verlag.
- European Foreign Conflict Reporting: A Comparative Analysis of Public News Providers. London: Routledge.
Edited books
- Researching violent extremism: considerations, reflections, and perspectives. RESOLVE Network. View this article in WRRO
- Research Impact and the Early Career Researcher: Lived Experiences, New Perspectives..
Journal articles
- Introduction des rédactrices invitées : La radio en Afrique subsaharienne « anglophone » et « francophone ». Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 32(2), 192-196.
- Guest Editors’ Introduction: Radio in “Anglophone” and “Francophone” Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 32(2), 187-191.
- Pandémie ou infodémie ? Une étude des représentations du Covid-19 par les personnes déplacées internes et les familles hôtes au Burkina Faso. Mande Studies, 27(1), 33-56.
- Journalists at the Frontline: Recognising and Managing Emotions in the Face of Conflict and Terrorism in Burkina Faso. Journalism Studies, 25(14), 1776-1793.
- Radio journalism and podcast news in the Global South. Journalism, 25(9), 1837-1844.
- A cog in a wheel? Journalism under pressure during coups d’etat in Burkina Faso. Media, War and Conflict. View this article in WRRO
- ‘Radio as usual’? Digital technologies and radio in conflict-affected Burkina Faso. Journalism, 25(9), 1845-1863. View this article in WRRO
- Radio and social media as a two-way communication tool in conflict- and pandemic-affected communities in Burkina Faso. African Journalism Studies.
- La radio et le défi de la mobilisation contre la COVID-19 : exemple des personnes déplacées internes à Kaya, Pissila et Kongoussi au Burkina Faso. RadioMorphoses, 8.
- Reaching hard-to-reach communities: using WhatsApp to give conflict-affected audiences a voice. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 27(1), 107-121. View this article in WRRO
- The “contrôleuse” : recognising the role of the “fixer” in academic and media NGO development partnerships. Development in Practice, 32(2), 188-200. View this article in WRRO
- The significance of ‘loud’ and ‘quiet’ forms of audience participation to community radio in Niger and Mali. Journal of Alternative & Community Media, 6(2), 179-196.
- Increasing female participation in municipal elections via the use of local radio in conflict-affected settings: The case of the West Bank municipal elections 2017. Journalism, 22(7), 1702-1719. View this article in WRRO
- Radio as an empowering environment : how does radio broadcasting in Mali represent women’s “web of relations”?. Feminist Media Studies, 22(5), 1050-1066. View this article in WRRO
- ‘If you’ve done a good job, it’s as if you’ve never existed’: Translators on translation in development projects in the Sahel. Translation Studies, 14(1), 18-35. View this article in WRRO
- Evaluating academic and media nongovernmental organization partnerships for participatory data gathering. International Journal of Market Research, 63(1), 43-57. View this article in WRRO
- Radio journalism and women’s empowerment in Niger. Journalism Studies, 21(10), 1344-1362. View this article in WRRO
- The contribution of citizen views to understanding women’s empowerment as a process of change : the case of Niger. Feminist Media Studies, 20(5), 713-729. View this article in WRRO
- How Palestinian students invoke the category "human" to challenge negative treatment and media representations. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 29(2), 133-145. View this article in WRRO
- The work of women’s NGOs on commercial radio in the West Bank: frustrations and shortcomings. Radio Journal: international studies in broadcast and audio media, 16(1), 59-75. View this article in WRRO
- Comparative Representations of the Middle East: National Values and Russian State-aligned Media. Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 23(2-3), 195-211.
- Comparing Russian, French and UK television news: portrayals of the casualties of war. Russian Journal of Communication, 7(1), 40-52.
- Comparative media: Vremya’s manipulation of foreign conflict reporting in Russia in the context of Western news providers. Slovo, 26(1), 2-17.
- Identifying and Assessing Gender Bias in Radio Journalism in Conflict-Affected Contexts: Evidence from Burkina Faso. Feminist Media Studies.
- Renewed Perspectives on Media, Journalism and the Circulation of Knowledge in “Francophone” and “Anglophone” Africa. African Journalism Studies (Fromerly Ecquid Novi - African Journalism Studies).
- Repenser la circulation des connaissances sur les médias et le journalisme en Afrique « francophone » et « anglophone ». African Journalism Studies (Fromerly Ecquid Novi - African Journalism Studies).
Book chapters
- Local journalists and trauma in Burkina Faso, Journalism as the Fourth Emergency Service Trauma and Resilience (pp. 79-88).
- Introduction, Journalism as the Fourth Emergency Service Trauma and Resilience (pp. 3-8).
- Radio, Women, and Inheritance, Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 137-164). Springer International Publishing
- Radio, Women, and Politics, Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 55-85). Springer International Publishing
- Conclusion, Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 225-232). Springer International Publishing
- Radio, Women, and Finances, Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 87-110). Springer International Publishing
- ‘We’re More Than Just a Radio’: Radio Scout and Its Women’s Listening Associations, Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 165-194). Springer International Publishing
- Radio, Women IDPs, and Women Journalists, Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 195-223). Springer International Publishing
- Radio, Women, and Life Within Marriage, Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 111-135). Springer International Publishing
- Introduction In Haywood E (Ed.), Radio and Women's Empowerment in Francophone West Africa (pp. 1-53). Palgrave Macmillan Cham View this article in WRRO
- Radio's role in empowering women in conflict-affected areas, The Routledge Companion to Radio and Podcast Studies (pp. 318-326). Routledge
- Reflection, Research Impact and the Early Career Researcher (pp. 155-157). Routledge
- Connecting epistemologies and the early career researcher, Research Impact and the Early Career Researcher (pp. 106-126). Routledge
- Compassion as a News Value: Comparing French and UK Humanitarian Coverage of the War in Gaza 2014 In Anderson, R. & de Silva, P. L. (Ed.), Routledge Companion to Media and Humanitarian Action (pp. 211-220). New York: Routledge.
- Perceptions of Foreign Conflict: Reporting of the War in Gaza in 2014 In hodgson G (Ed.), Conflict, Trauma and the Media : A Collection of Essays Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.
- Radio and Women's Empowerment in Francophone West Africa. Springer Nature.
- Teaching activities
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Emma is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), and her teaching has been recognised with a University of Sheffield Vice-Chancellor's Award for Learning and Teaching.
Her teaching focuses on journalism, communication and international development, with particular interests in radio and audio media, conflict and crisis communication, humanitarian communication, community engagement, and communication for social change.
She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and is module leader for IJC473 Radio and NGO Communication in Conflict-Affected Areas and JNL315 Communication for International Development. She also leads IJC114 Researching Journalism and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations.
- PhD supervision
Emma welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in communication, media and social change, particularly in the following areas:
- Communication and international development
- Media, conflict and humanitarian communication
- Radio, audio media and communication infrastructures
- Community engagement, participation and innovation adoption
- Gender, communication and social change
- Misinformation, trust and information access
- Communication in fragile, crisis-affected and displacement contexts
- Media development and communication for development
She has particular regional expertise in Africa and has supervised research on topics including media and conflict, development communication, journalism, gender, participation and social change.