Himelboim

Dr. Itai Himelboim

Thomas C. Dowden Professor of Media Analytics; Director of the SEE Suite: Social media Engagement & Evaluation; Associate Professor, Advertising & Public Relations
Office: Journalism Bldg, Room 226

About: Dr. Himelboim, the Thomas C. Dowden Professor of Media Analytics and director of the SEE Suite, studies the role social media plays in news, politics and international communication. Through applying network analysis, he examines political talk and information flow.

View Curriculum Vitae

Education

Ph.D. (2008) - School of Journalism and Mass Communication,  University of Minnesota
M.A. (2003) - Department of Political Science (emphasis on Political communication), Tel-Aviv University
B.A. (1999) - Department of Communication and Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University

Research Interests and Activities

Dr. Himelboim's research involves computer-mediated social networks and their implications for political communication, international communication and the news.  He examines political discussions on online forums and the micro-blogging social media Twitter, as well as international networks, based on foreign news reporting and the flow of information technologies.  The role of news media, traditional and online, in political communication is examined via their websites and their presence in social media spaces.

Taking a network-related theoretical approach to research is natural to communication as a discipline, as it focuses on the relationships and communication patterns among Internet users, individuals and organizations.  This is valid particularly in online spaces that merge interpersonal and mass communication.  Across online technologies, Dr. Himelboim identifies the naturally occurring patterns of communications among social actors in online spaces; how these patterns indicate how we choose our information sources; who the most connected users – hubs – in these networks are; and what role news media plays in these primarily interpersonal-communication spaces.

His research has been published in top journals in the field, including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Communication Research, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (JCMC) and Journal of Public Relations Research.  These and other studies have been presented in major national and international conferences in the field.

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Itai_Himelboim/publications

Teaching Specialties

Dr. Himelboim teaches in the area of new communication technologies and social networks. He developed and teaches Network Analysis of Social Media (JRMC 8240) for graduate students and Social Media Analytics (TELE 4450/NMIX 4200) at the undergraduate level. He also teaches the graduate level seminar Mass Communication and Society (JRMC 8030), focusing on new communication technologies and undergraduate classes entitled Media and Technology (Tele 3290), Digital Media Production (Tele 4290/NMIX 4110) and Media Research and Theory (Tele 3410).