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. My journalism has appeared in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Newsday (Capitol Hill bureau), among other outlets.

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