CLAS journalism professor keynotes University of Paris conference

A book by David Dowling serves as the basis for the conference in Paris where he presented the keynote.
Monday, February 20, 2023

By Emily Delgado  

University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication professor David Dowling gave the keynote address at an international conference that was organized around his 2021 book release.  

David Dowling
David Dowling

The conference is called The Future of Technological Mediation in Journalism and the Media and will take place at the University of Paris. Dowling will present research from his book titled The Gamification of Digital Journalism: Innovation in Journalistic Storytelling, which explains how the rise of digital media has changed journalism.  

“The University of Paris was attracted to my research, in part, through the reputation of the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication—which is increasingly known for its voluminous and influential leading-edge faculty research generated,” Dowling says. 

He says the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was an essential part of writing his book because it provided him with access to state-of-the-art research databases and support to pursue his research. 

“I see [this opportunity] as a collective and mutual success to be shared with my unit, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” he explains. “The college provided key resources in a stimulating environment."  

Dowling says the story of journalism and the digital revolution is an important one to tell because it impacts civic engagement. In his everyday teaching life Dowling says he presents case studies that support advocacy of marginalized populations. 

"Students are moved by interactive and gamified media that demonstrates the potential for journalistic storytelling to reach new ranges and depths of expression through more empathic, human connection with subjects than traditional media can offer,” he says.  

Dowling presented at the conference on March 7.  

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.