The Media Innovation Studio at the University of Lancashire has appointed Professor Robert (Ted) Gutsche Jr. as a Visiting Research Fellow for 2026–27.
Professor Gutsche, currently Professor in Digital Culture at Florida Atlantic University, is an internationally recognised scholar whose work explores journalism futures, digital culture, politics, media power, climate communication, and the social implications of emerging technologies. He has previously held academic positions at Lancaster University and has contributed to major international debates on journalism innovation, trust, democracy, and digital transformation.
During the fellowship, Professor Gutsche will collaborate with MIS on research connected to news futures, public engagement, journalism innovation, and emerging media technologies.
His proposed project, Prototyping News Futures: Designing Preferable and Problematic Futures for News Engagement, will explore how journalists, students, and communities imagine the future of news platforms, interfaces, and audience relationships through collaborative workshops and speculative prototyping activities.
The work draws directly on the pioneering News Futures 2035 enquiry led by MIS into the future of public-interest news and information ecosystems.
The fellowship will support collaborative research, workshops, public engagement activities, and scholarly outputs, including white papers, conference presentations, and co-authored publications.
Dr François Nel, Reader/Associate Professor of Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director of the Media Innovation Studio, said:
“Ted’s work sits at the intersection of some of the most important questions facing journalism and society today — from platform power and digital culture to trust, participation, climate communication, and the future of democratic engagement.
We are delighted to welcome him as a Visiting Research Fellow and look forward to deepening an already longstanding international collaboration focused on innovation-informed research with real-world impact.”
Professor Peter Lloyd, Dean of the School of Arts and Media at the University of Lancashire, added:
“At a time when journalism, technology, and public trust are being reshaped at extraordinary speed, international collaboration has never mattered more.
Professor Gutsche brings a globally recognised body of work and a deeply interdisciplinary perspective that aligns strongly with the School’s commitment to innovation-informed research, public engagement, and real-world impact. We are delighted to welcome him to the University of Lancashire as a Visiting Research Fellow.”
“Technologists and journalists continue to predict what the future of civically minded journalism may look like,” said Professor Gutsche. He added:
“Predictions on the future of news range from increased citizen influence and interpretation of news information to dystopic scenarios of news no-more. More than likely, there is a balance between these outcomes of future-thinking surrounding journalism that leaves room for wild news imaginations inclusive of both publics and technological feats. This project hopes to capture formations of today’s shaping of tomorrow’s change in real-time and across cultural borders.”
The appointment reflects MIS’s growing international network of researchers, practitioners, and industry leaders working collaboratively on the future of journalism, media innovation, leadership, and public-interest communication.
