Professor David Deacon

BA (Hons) Communication Studies, MA in Mass Communications, PhD

  • Head of Communication and Media
  • Professor of Communication and Media Analysis

David Deacon teaches on the BSc in Communication and Media Studies, MA in Media and Cultural Analysis and MA in Global Media and Cultural Industries. More information about publications, research, information for students and other matters can be found on his home page.

Communication and media theory and methods: David has written widely on theoretical and methodological issues relating to Communication and Media studies. He is the co-author of a leading international book on media and cultural research methods, which has recently been published in its second edition. 

Journalism, News Production and Public Relations: David has conducted several major studies into journalism and public relations. These studies have revealed the complex, context-dependent nature of relations between journalists and their sources, but also the structural limitations imposed upon and evident within the performance of the news media. 

Political Communication: David has had a central role in all of the media election investigations conducted by the Loughborough Communication Research Centre since 1992. However, his interests in political communication also extend beyond the electoral sphere to include the analysis of the promotional activities of the British State, the mediation of public policy and the increased blurring of the distinction between statutory and voluntary sectors. 

Media History: In his research, David has argued the need for historical perspective in analysing the dynamics of media production and consumption. This analytical approach finds its fullest expression in his most recent book on British news media coverage of the Spanish Civil War.

  • Producing the News
  • Communication and Citizenship
  • Researching Communications
  • Critical Viewings
  • Deacon DN British News Media and the Spanish Civil War: Tomorrow May be Too Late. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2008
  • Deacon DN, Pickering MJ, Golding P, Murdock G, Researching Communications: A Practical Guide to Media and Cultural Analysis
  • 430. Arnold, Second Edition, London 2007
  • Deacon DN, Wring DJ, Reporting the 2010 General Election: Old Media, New Media - Old Politics, New Politics
  • In Political Communication in Britain: the Leader Debates, the Campaign and the Media in the 2010 General Election. Editors: Wring D, Mortimore R, eds SA. 281-303. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire 2011
  • Deacon DN, Why Counting Counts. In Research Methods for Cultural Studies. Editors: ed MP. 89-104. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2008
  • Deacon DN, A Quietening Effect? The BBC and the Spanish Civil War Media History 18(2):143-158 12 May 2012
  • Wring DJ, Deacon DN, Patterns of Press Partisanship in the 2010 General Election British Politics 5((4)):436-454 2010