About
I am a Lecturer in Journalism and Global Communication in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication at the University of Sheffield, where I lead the MA in Global Journalism and co-lead the Disinformation, Information Integrity and Literacies (DIIL) research cluster. Before joining Sheffield in 2022, I was an Assistant Professor of Journalism at the Valenti School of Communication, University of Houston, and a PhD Fellow at City University of Hong Kong. Earlier still, I spent fifteen years as a journalist in Barcelona — first in sports radio and online news, then as a producer and news editor covering foreign affairs at Televisió de Catalunya (TV3).
My research examines global political communication and international media flows in the Global South, with a particular focus on Chinese media in Africa and the geopolitics of disinformation in Sub-Saharan Africa. I combine computational methods with audience research to understand how information shapes public opinion — and I remain, as ever, a coding aficionado.
Current personal goals
A recap of how I'm progressing with some current professional and personal goals. Not necessarily accurate, but I'm trying hard.
Prospective PhD students
I welcome enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers. I am particularly keen to supervise PhD projects in political communication and large language models (LLMs); China–Africa media relations; disinformation in Sub-Saharan Africa; audiences and global media flows; and computational approaches to the study of news. If your interests align with these areas, I'd be glad to hear from you. You can find further details, including my current students and how to apply, on my University of Sheffield staff profile.
Media inquiries
I am available for media commentary and interviews in English, Spanish and Catalan on a range of topics, including state-sponsored disinformation in Africa, misinformation on social media, global media, China–Africa relations, and the state of journalism in East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Samples of my media appearances are available on this website. If you'd like to reach me for an interview, a quote, a sound bite or an op-ed, I can be contacted by email at d.madrid-morales (at) sheffield.ac.uk and, during office hours, by phone at +44 (0)114 222 2508.
Dani Madrid-Morales, Ph.D.
BA Journalism, UAB
BA East Asian Studies, UPF
MA East Asian Studies, UAB
MA International Relations, FU Berlin
PhD Media and Communication, CityU Hong Kong
Download my CV