Journalism Professor at Humber College (see below)
Academic-focused summary CV in Word format available here
Summary / Academic Publication / Employment History / Education and Training / Technology skills
Summary of Skills and Experience
Academic Research (see here for full details)
- Wrote Sharing Our Lives Online: Risks and Exposure in Social Media published by Palgrave - which the Times Higher Education Supplement described as"compelling" and a "rich discussion of the economic, technical and social factors that encourage self-desclosure".
- Wrote a journal article and book chapter on the relationship personal webloggers have with their readers, a further chapter on MySpace profile production and a journal article and book chapter on social media and the digital divide.
- Completed a thesis on the practice of personal weblogging in the UK.
- Co-authored a policy-oriented journal article on the significance of social network sites for young people in the UK and a report "Meeting Their Potential: The Role of Education and Technology in Overcoming Disadvantage and Disaffection in Young People", contributed to and subsequently updated "Harm and Offence in Media Content: A Review of the Evidence" and produced entries in three encyclopedias.
Education & training
- Teaching an undergraduate journalism degree at Humber College, Toronto, Canada
- Teaching undergraduates and postgraduates at the University of Bedfordshire (2011 - 2014)
- Taught undergraduates and postgraduates at the media department of the University of Leicester (2009 - 2011)
- Taught "Media in Britain" - an undergraduate course I developed – at ASE, an Oxford-affiliated college.
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Media department at the LSE teaching media theory and The Internet and Globalization to seminar groups of MSc students (2004/5). Also designer and leader of an advanced Internet research methods workshop (2006-7).
- Associate lecturer for the MA in Journalism and the BA in Media and Cultural Studies at the London College of Communication (2003/4).
- Associate lecturer for "You, Your Computer and the Internet" at the Open University in 2000.
- Speaker at workshops aimed at SMEs and non-profits for New Media Knowledge on virtual community management and on effective search engine use.
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Research, editing and writing on technology for business and consumer audiences
- Wrote Dealing with E-mail, for Dorling Kindersley's Essential Managers Series and wrote the 'mass media' entry in their 2006 encyclopaedia, Human.
- Wrote, edited and commissioned stories about science, technology and Internet issues for 15 years in a variety of online and print publications including The Daily Telegraph, BBC News Online, Which?, Salon.com and New Scientist.
- Produced an online consumer guide to Internet use for The Net magazine.
- A research associate for the iSociety project at The Work Foundation.
- Links to a selection of my journalism are here.
Strategic consulting and management of Internet and Interactive TV ventures
- As Communities Director, designed and managed the virtual communities for the six websites run by Network of the World - a $500m broadband news and entertainment site.
- Oversaw the construction, launch and development of newscientist.com and newsscape.net, a news aggregator.
- Designed the on-screen help system for NTL's interactive TV.
Helping non-profits and the public sector use Internet technologies effectively
- Reported for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Office of the e-Envoy on the use of the Internet by voluntary organizations and housing associations.
- Addressed conferences for local and national government on virtual community building and web design.
- Wrote a MSc dissertation on Factors shaping the political use of the Internet among UK activists.
Creating and maintaining healthy virtual communities to meet business goals
- Was in charge of the specification, development and maintenance of six virtual communities at Network of the World.
- Have overseen chatrooms and messageboards for the BBC, the Financial Times and various commercial TV clients
- An active participant in online communities including The Well for more than 20 years.
To get in touch | Return to home page
Summary /Academic Publication / Employment History / Education and Training / Technology skills
Employment History
University of Bedfordshire Feb 2011 - Present
Senior Lecturer, Department of Journalism and Communication
• Co-creator of MA in International Journalism
• Co-managed tendering process for a £250,000 multimedia newsroom
• Part of core team which achieved Broadcast Journalism Training Council certification for the BA Broadcast Journalism
• Course Leader: BA Magazine Journalism, BA Multimedia Journalism
• Unit Leader: Specialist and Feature Writing, Magazine Publishing, Print Production and Design, Online Publishing, Multiplatform Journalism, Research Methods
• Teaching undergraduates and masters students across the division, including supervision of final year portfolios and BA and MA dissertations
• Director of Studies/First Supervisor for one PhD students, co-supervisor of two more.
University of Leicester October 2009 - Jan 2011
Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication
Designing and delivering MA-level lectures and leading MA seminar groups on media depictions of crime, digital cultures and news management, communication and social problems and research methods.
Supervising MA and BA dissertations and MA group work projects.
Web editor for the redesign of the departmental site.
London School of Economics April 2009 - September 2009
Research Support Assistant to Sonia Livingstone, Leslie Haddon
Principally supporting the EU Kids Online project, a €2.5 million pan-European effort. Aided the development of the project’s online group work infrastructure using Google Apps and helped provide technical specifications for an online research repository for the UK Council for Child Internet Safety.
Concurrently IT Trainer at the LSE - training research students and faculty in web publishing and the use of Office applications.
Advanced Studies in England (affiliated with University College Oxford) Sep 2008 - Dec 2008
Designed and delivered an undergraduate course - “The Media in Britain” for ten undergraduate students.
Lecturer
London School of Economics & University of Bristol 2007 - 2008
Designed and led advanced workshops for masters students in research methods for the internet. Also led a workshop for graduate students at University of Bristol in the use of Web 2.0 tools for academic research and collaboration.
Freelance Lecturer
London School of Economics Sep 2004 - May 2005
Graduate Teaching AssistantTaught Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications and Globalization, Communication and the Internet to Masters students in seminar groups.
London College of Communication Sep 2003 - May 2004
Associate LecturerDeveloped and delivered lectures and workshops in the Media Ownership and Structure course at MA level. The lectures covered Critiques of the Public Sphere, The Political Economy of the Internet and The Internet and Public Deliberation. Adapted and delivered the first two lectures in the following term for 30 1st year media studies undergraduates.
In addition to marking MA coursework I supervised final year BA dissertations and MA dissertations.
Tempero Sep 2003 - Feb 2004
Messageboard ModeratorOversaw messageboards and chatrooms for several UK cable television websites and monitored incoming text messages live for ITV's Pop Idol and I'm A Celebrity television programmes.
Which? July 2002 - Oct 2002
Project Leader and Senior Researcher
Researched, wrote and supervised tests of computing, consumer electronics and other products for the Consumer's Association, Britain's leading source of consumer advice and advocacy.
- Commissioned market research and reports from test labs in the UK and across Europe.
- Used the data to write reports in Which? - the Consumer Association's main magazine and one of Britain's largest circulation titles.
Consultant Feb 2001 - July 2002
Provided strategic web consultancy, virtual community building advice and training - principally to the public and not for profit sectors. Activity during this period included:
Network of the World August 2000 - Feb 2001
- Doing telephone and focus group interviews for the e-Envoy's report "E-enabling the Voluntary and Community sector"
- Conducting workshops with voluntary sector organizations with David Wilcox of Partnerships Online
- Speaking at conferences and seminars about web design and about virtual communities for the private sector and local and national government.
- Acting as a host for messageboards and chatrooms at the BBC and for FT.com.
- Acting as an online mentor for DirectSupport, which helps charities and community organizations that have decided to become UK Online Centres.
- Being on the boards of the Rural Broadband Interest Group - working to make broadband available to the third of the UK population which can't access it - and the Newington Green Action Group
- Administering the mailing list of the Voluntary and Community Sector Internet Task Force (Volcom).
- Writing Dealing With Email for Dorling Kindersley.
Communities DirectorResponsible for the creation and development of an internet community based around NOW's TV programming which was streamed and broadcast through digital satellite, and its web content aimed at global broadband users.
- Wrote specification for the technology platform and 'social infrastructure' required to start and foster the growth of a virtual community. Worked with a global team of consultants and 25 in-house staff to implement the strategy.
- Identified future technology and content partners for the business development team.
- Co-developed the content plan for a technology channel on the service.
- Developed a search engine strategy for the site.
Enformatica January 2000 - July 2000
Editorial Consultant, Knowledge Engineering teamWorked in a variety of roles for a small technology incubator whose products included IP-based multicast of business TV to corporate networks (Enfocast), web-based customs clearance and a magazine and newspaper advertising sales engine.
NTL (was Cable & Wireless) July 1999 - January 2000
- Managed a team in the UK and Minsk to deliver NewsScape, a news headline aggregation service
- Defined a PR strategy for the company's current projects.
- Researched new opportunities and identified competitors.
Editorial Consultant, Digital TelevisionWorked with the content management team of the world's first commercial interactive TV project (based on technology from Liberate, Andersen Consulting and C & W internal staff).
- Gained comprehensive understanding of the capabilities and limitations of interactive TV.
- Produced help text across multiple platforms - interactive TV, website and brochure.
Open University November 1999 - September 2000
Associate LecturerTaught T171 You, Your Computer and the Net.
- Tuition was almost entirely online.
- The 25 students were part time adult learners from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Freelance Journalist November 1998 - July 1999
Follow link for further details including links to selected stories.BBC News Online January 1998 - November 1998
Broadcast JournalistProduced news stories containing audio, video and Internet links for the most popular news website in Europe.
- Subjects covered included technology, business and world news.
- Worked in a fast-paced, 24-hour news operation, bringing together information from foreign correspondents, news wires, picture libraries and the Internet.
New Scientist July1995 - Dec 1997
Net EditorResponsible for the launch, management and editorial content of this weekly magazine's web site.
- Launched one of the UK's first major commercial websites.
- Site was profitable, was one of the ten most popular in the UK and won several awards.
- Wrote about developments in technology and the Internet for the magazine and the site.
Personal Computer World March 1994 - July 1995
Cutting Edge EditorWrote and commissioned for the leading British monthly computer magazine. Managed contributions from an in-house reporter and an international team of freelance journalists.
- Founded, wrote and edited a new, 50 page editorial section - Cutting Edge.
- Created and wrote the first Internet column in a mainstream UK computer magazine.
- Created a website for the magazine and a popular site about the best British websites in late 1994.
Personal Computer World September 1991 - March 1994
News EditorSolely responsible for the monthly 16-page news section, Newsprint. Researched and wrote news, reviews and features based on interviews andconferences here and abroad. Also managed contributions from an in-house reporter, the computer columnist for The Guardian and a US correspondent.
MacUser September 1989 - September 1991
Senior Reporter, Reviews EditorStarted writing news, features based on visits to major companies and reviews of new products for for the market-leading UK Macintosh magazine. Quickly gained an in-depth grasp of the major players and products in the industry and went on to be responsible for commissioning and writing six pages of reviews and features fortnightly.
Which Computer? August 1988 - September 1989
Staff WriterWrote news, features, and product evaluations aimed at the non-technical executive wanting to gain an understanding of the direction of the information technology industry.
Woman's Journal May - August 1988
ResearcherInterviewed numerous celebrities including Cilla Black, Derek Nimmo and Joan Fontaine for articles on how they dealt with stress and on lifeas an expatriate, among other subjects. Also contributed library and cuttingsfile research for features.
Freelance 1988 - 2000
Alongside the full-time work and contract work detailed above I was an active freelance journalist - largely writing about computing and the Internet for publications including Wired, Salon and The Daily Telegraph.
Summary / Academic Publication / Employment History / Education and Training / Technology skills
Education and Training
London School of Economics Oct 2003 - June 2009
PhD Media and Communications ‘As if nobody’s reading’: The imagined audience and socio-technical biases in personal blogging practice in the UK - supervised by Professors Robin Mansell and Nick Couldry.Also attended several workshops about teaching methods at University of Leicester, the LSE and the London College of Communications in preparation to become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
London School of Economics Oct 2002 - August 2003
MSc New Media, Information and Society - Graduated with distinction
An integrated and interdisciplinary education and training in the key social and institutional issues raised by contemporary media and communication and technological change. Courses taught in this Masters included contributions from:
Information Systems - Exploring the social, political and economic context of Information Systems and their global consequences.
Research Methods - Qualitative and quantitative methods (including interviewing, surveys and archive analysis) for use in media and communications research.
Sociology - The core course for the Masters, taught by Prof. Robin Mansell gave analytical perspectives on the social, organizational and economic processes within new media.
Media Studies - Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications and Dr Stephen Coleman's course in Citizenship and the Media, which examined the mass media social structures of communication from the perspective of their relationship to democratic citizenship.Abstracts and bibliographies of papers written as assignments and my dissertation, Missing the grassroots? Factors shaping the political use of the Internet among UK activists are available here. Copies of the papers are available on request.
Rheingold Associates Nov 2000
Hosting and Facilitating Online Communities - a two week course which took place online.IPC Nov 1996
One-day in-house Internet law seminarPMA Training Sep 1991 - July 1995
Reed Business Publishing January - May 1988
Several one day courses on libel law, commissioning, editing and writing news and features
Pre-entry Journalism Training CourseIncluded writing experience with the South London Guardian as well as training in news and feature writing, interviewing techniques, sub editing, layout, business for journalists and journalistic law.
International Graduate Summer School, University of Oxford Jul - Aug 1987
Britain: Literature, History and Society from 1870 to the Present DayTrinity College, University of Toronto 1984 - 1987
B.A. (English) 2:1 equivalentCourses taken included Economics, Sociology, Computer Science and History as well as English.
Extracurricular activities included co-founding the University of Toronto Mensa Society, writing for the college yearbook and the university newspaper, and choral singing.
Summary / Academic Publication / Employment History / Education and Training / Technology skills
Technology skills
Web Software (Mac & Windows):
Familiar with Dreamweaver and FrontPage. Have created and maintain three websites myself: davidbrake.org, blog.org, and the unofficial Media@LSE group weblog, and several mailing lists including the main Bourdieu-related mailing list online.
Other Software (Mac & Windows):
I taught Word, Powerpoint and Frontpage as an IT trainer for three months to staff and students at the LSE.
In-depth knowledge of Word, NVivo, Endnote, several web browsers and email packages on both PCs and Macs.
Familiar with Excel, Powerpoint, Photoshop, SPSS, InDesign and several other packages used over 15 years of software reviewing.
Academic affiliations
Association of Internet Researchers - Member of Research Ethics Committee
International Communication Association (member)
International Association for Media and Communication Research (member)
European Communication Research and Education Association (member)
Media Communications & Cultural Studies Association (member)
Mediatized Stories Project - Member of a 20-strong international and inter-disciplinary network of scholars with a €535,000 budget led byProf Knut Lundby studying self-representation through digital storytelling.
Reviewer for New Media & Society, Journal of Computer Mediated CommunicationOther memberships, interests and skills
- Co-founder of and participant in LSE PhD student mentoring programme
- Speaker at workshops for New Media Knowledge
- Freelance virtual communities consultant with Rheingold Associates
- A research associate for the iSociety project at The Work Foundation
- Member of e-mint (a network of UK virtual community builders)
- Webmaster and committee member of the Newington Green Action Group
- Successfully encouraged the local council to work alongside several charitable organizations to improve a local park
Languages: English (native), French (fluent)
Enjoy travel - I have visited India, Egypt, Israel and Japan as well as much of Europe and North America.
For exercise I practice yoga and cycle.
Have sung with the London Philharmonic Choir, the London Symphony Chorus and the Crouch End Festival Chorus
Citizenships: British, American, Canadian
References: Available on request