GORT native Dr James Mahon, one of the first doctors of mobile journalism, recently graduated with a PhD from Queens University Belfast.
The broadcast journalist, author and lecturer conducted field research with newsrooms of STV (Scotland), NDTV (India), CBS, WDEF and News 12 (USA) and Lemen Bleu (Switzerland) as part of a pioneering study between 2018 and 2019.
James looked at how digital technology is changing broadcasting around the world and found that in many situations these innovations in the workplace were cutting costs for the companies but also having an adverse effect on the older employees.
While cost-cutting in most industries causes a stunt in innovation, James found that the opposite was true for journalism, with newsrooms in Switzerland and India switching their studio cameras for phones and even training citizen journalists in how to record videos they could use for their social media platforms.
James’ findings were presented at the World Journalism Conference in Paris in 2019 and the UK Media Education Summit. James’s three-hour viva exam took place at Queens University Belfast in June 2021 with journalism academic examiners from Brazil, South Africa and England evaluating the thesis.
The thesis is dedicated to James’s father Oliver Mahon of Gort and my aunt Anne Dervan of Loughrea both who died in 2018 and encouraged me to undertake the study.
Since the viva exam in June 2021, James has worked for ITV as a reporter in Belfast, Scotland and England covering the covid pandemic and Ukraine refugee crisis and have undertaken post doctoral studies with recent research published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in spring 2022 and at the World Journalism Summit in June 2022.
James is a past pupil of Ballyturn NS near Kilbeacanty from 1995-2002 and Gort Community School from 2002-2008
He attended NUI Galway from 2008-2011, studying a BA in English and Classics and a Diploma in Irish.
James emigrated in 2011 and have worked in TV as a reporter and presenter in America, Iraq, India and the UK since then and have been a lecturer and course leader at the University of the West of Scotland.