My research and teaching examine digital cultures — spanning social media, journalism, and AI — through critical and cultural frameworks, analyzing how digital content creators act as both agents of change and conduits of dominant narratives in global and local contexts. Specifically, I examine power in journalism, political and environmental communication, and in discourse surrounding emerging technologies that shape media authority.

I am currently Professor in Digital Culture in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies at Florida Atlantic University and a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Informatics at Vytautas Magnus University, in Lithuania. Previously, I served as Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Critical Digital Media Practice at Lancaster University, in the U.K. There, I also developed, launched, and oversaw academic programs in journalism and communication at University Academy 92 in Manchester, which serves students from diverse backgrounds.

Prior to that, I was Assistant Professor in the Digital Media Studies program in the Department of Journalism + Media at Florida International University, researching and teaching immersive media cultures, entrepreneurialism in digital media and journalism, and cultures associated with surveillance, social movements, and media systems.

I share life with my wife and our two sons. Email me at rgutsche@fau.edu.