Dr Emma Heywood

BA; MA (Manchester); PhD (Manchester)

School of Information, Journalism and Communication

Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Radio and Communication

A profile photograph of Emma Heywood.
Profile picture of A profile photograph of Emma Heywood.
e.heywood@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 2541
C638, The Wave

Full contact details

Dr Emma Heywood
School of Information, Journalism and Communication
C638
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Profile

Dr Emma Heywood is a Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Radio and Communication at the University of Sheffield. She is Impact Lead at the Sheffield Institute for International Development (IGSD), Chair of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) , and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Her teaching has been recognised with a University of Sheffield Vice-Chancellor's Award for Learning and Teaching.

Emma's research explores communication, media, participation and innovation in contexts of conflict, displacement and social change. Her work focuses particularly on Africa, where she has led and contributed to a range of externally funded projects examining community media, gender, misinformation, social cohesion, humanitarian communication, and the role of communication infrastructures in development processes. She has conducted extensive fieldwork across West and East Africa, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A significant strand of her research examines the role of radio and other communication systems in conflict- and crisis-affected environments. Her work has investigated issues including gender-based violence among internally displaced populations, media responses to misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, community participation in development initiatives, and the relationship between communication, trust and social change. She is the author of Radio and Women's Empowerment in Francophone West Africa (Palgrave Macmillan) and has published widely on radio, development communication, gender and conflict.

Emma is also the founder of , a University of Sheffield spin-out that provides training, consultancy and practical tools to help researchers, innovators and organisations engage communities throughout the innovation process. Drawing on research from communication, development and innovation studies, the programme helps organisations reduce implementation risks and strengthen innovation adoption, sustainability and impact. The 80:20 Pathway has supported clients from universities, innovation agencies and development organisations seeking to improve the real-world uptake and effectiveness of their work.

Research interests

Emma's research examines the relationship between communication, participation and social change, particularly in contexts of conflict, displacement and development. Her work explores how communication infrastructures, including radio, digital media and community communication systems, shape access to information, participation, trust, innovation adoption and social cohesion.

A significant strand of her research focuses on Africa, where she has conducted extensive fieldwork and led a range of externally funded projects examining community media, humanitarian communication, misinformation, gender, displacement and conflict. Her work has explored issues including gender-based violence among internally displaced populations, media responses to health crises, women's empowerment, social cohesion, and the role of communication in development and peacebuilding processes.

More recently, her research has expanded to explore community engagement, innovation adoption and communication infrastructures, examining how participation is negotiated through relationships, technologies and institutions. This work informs both her academic research and the development of , a University of Sheffield spin-out that translates research on communication, participation and innovation into training, consultancy and practical tools for researchers, innovators and organisations.

Publications

Books

  • Heywood E (2024) Radio and Women's Empowerment in Francophone West Africa. Springer Nature.
  • (2022) . Peter Lang Verlag.
  • Heywood E (2017) European Foreign Conflict Reporting: A Comparative Analysis of Public News Providers. London: Routledge.

Edited books

  • Aryaeinejad K, Reed A, Heywood E & Udo-Udo Jacob J (Eds.) (2023) . RESOLVE Network.
  • (Ed.) (2019) ..

Journal articles

  • Heywood E & Fierens M (2025) . Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 32(2), 192-196.
  • Heywood E & Fierens M (2025) . Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 32(2), 187-191.
  • Yaméogo L & Heywood E (2025) . Mande Studies, 27(1), 33-56.
  • Yaméogo L, Le Cam F, Fierens M, Heywood E, Sawadogo JP & Sidibé S (2024) . Journalism Studies, 25(14), 1776-1793.
  • Snoussi T, Heywood E & Lugo-Ocando J (2024) . Journalism, 25(9), 1837-1844.
  • Fierens M, Heywood E & Yaméogo L (2024) . Media, War and Conflict.
  • Heywood E, Fierens M & Yaméogo L (2024) . Journalism, 25(9), 1845-1863.
  • Heywood E & Yaméogo L (2023) . African Journalism Studies.
  • Yaméogo L & Heywood E (2022) . RadioMorphoses, 8.
  • Heywood E, Meuter S & Ivey B (2022) . International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 27(1), 107-121.
  • Heywood E & Harding S-A (2022) . Development in Practice, 32(2), 188-200.
  • Heywood E & Ivey B (2021) . Journal of Alternative & Community Media, 6(2), 179-196.
  • Heywood E (2021) . Journalism, 22(7), 1702-1719.
  • Heywood E & Ivey B (2021) . Feminist Media Studies, 22(5), 1050-1066.
  • Heywood E & Harding S-A (2021) . Translation Studies, 14(1), 18-35.
  • Heywood E, Ivey B & Meuter S (2021) . International Journal of Market Research, 63(1), 43-57.
  • Heywood E (2020) . Journalism Studies, 21(10), 1344-1362.
  • Heywood E & Tomlinson M (2019) . Feminist Media Studies, 20(5), 713-729.
  • Heywood E & Goodman S (2019) . Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 29(2), 133-145.
  • Heywood E (2018) . Radio Journal: international studies in broadcast and audio media, 16(1), 59-75.
  • Heywood E (2015) . Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 23(2-3), 195-211.
  • Heywood E (2015) . Russian Journal of Communication, 7(1), 40-52.
  • Heywood E (2014) . Slovo, 26(1), 2-17.
  • Heywood E, Grundy M & Newman E () A scoping review of anglophone scholarship on trauma and journalism in sub-Saharan Africa. Journalism.
  • Heywood E, Yaméogo L, Sharma V, Scott J, Meuter S & Niaoné M () Identifying and Assessing Gender Bias in Radio Journalism in Conflict-Affected Contexts: Evidence from Burkina Faso. Feminist Media Studies.
  • Heywood E & Fierens M () Renewed Perspectives on Media, Journalism and the Circulation of Knowledge in “Francophone” and “Anglophone” Africa. African Journalism Studies (Fromerly Ecquid Novi - African Journalism Studies).
  • Heywood E & Fierens M () Repenser la circulation des connaissances sur les médias et le journalisme en Afrique « francophone » et « anglophone ». African Journalism Studies (Fromerly Ecquid Novi - African Journalism Studies).

Book chapters

  • Heywood E, Fierens M, Niaoné M & Le Cam F (2024) Local journalists and trauma in Burkina Faso, Journalism as the Fourth Emergency Service Trauma and Resilience (pp. 79-88).
  • Heywood E & Bradley L (2024) Introduction, Journalism as the Fourth Emergency Service Trauma and Resilience (pp. 3-8).
  • Heywood E (2024) , Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 137-164). Springer International Publishing
  • Heywood E (2024) , Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 55-85). Springer International Publishing
  • Heywood E (2024) , Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 225-232). Springer International Publishing
  • Heywood E (2024) , Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 87-110). Springer International Publishing
  • Heywood E (2024) , Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 165-194). Springer International Publishing
  • Heywood E (2024) , Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 195-223). Springer International Publishing
  • Heywood E (2024) , Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change (pp. 111-135). Springer International Publishing
  • Heywood E (2023) In Haywood E (Ed.), Radio and Women's Empowerment in Francophone West Africa (pp. 1-53). Palgrave Macmillan Cham
  • Heywood E (2022) , The Routledge Companion to Radio and Podcast Studies (pp. 318-326). Routledge
  • Heywood E (2019) , Research Impact and the Early Career Researcher (pp. 155-157). Routledge
  • Graham H, Hill K, Matthews P, O’Brien D & Taylor M (2019) , Research Impact and the Early Career Researcher (pp. 106-126). Routledge
  • Heywood E (2017) Compassion as a News Value: Comparing French and UK Humanitarian Coverage of the War in Gaza 2014 In Anderson, R. & de Silva, P. L. (Ed.), Routledge Companion to Media and Humanitarian Action (pp. 211-220). New York: Routledge.
  • Heywood E (2017) Perceptions of Foreign Conflict: Reporting of the War in Gaza in 2014 In hodgson G (Ed.), Conflict, Trauma and the Media : A Collection of Essays Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.
Teaching activities

Emma is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), and her teaching has been recognised with a University of Sheffield Vice-Chancellor's Award for Learning and Teaching.

Her teaching focuses on journalism, communication and international development, with particular interests in radio and audio media, conflict and crisis communication, humanitarian communication, community engagement, and communication for social change.

She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and is module leader for IJC473 Radio and NGO Communication in Conflict-Affected Areas and JNL315 Communication for International Development. She also leads IJC114 Researching Journalism and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations.

PhD supervision

Emma welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in communication, media and social change, particularly in the following areas:

  • Communication and international development
  • Media, conflict and humanitarian communication
  • Radio, audio media and communication infrastructures
  • Community engagement, participation and innovation adoption
  • Gender, communication and social change
  • Misinformation, trust and information access
  • Communication in fragile, crisis-affected and displacement contexts
  • Media development and communication for development

She has particular regional expertise in Africa and has supervised research on topics including media and conflict, development communication, journalism, gender, participation and social change.

PhD study in journalism, media and communication