His research, which has been published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly and the Handbook of Mass Media Ethics, focuses on the influence of social media on journalistic practice and political communication. Heim was the recipient of a 2014-15 AEJMC/Scripps Howard Foundation Visiting Professor in Social Media Grant and spent two weeks during the summer of 2014 observing the Knoxville News Sentinel’s usage of social media in its daily operations. Heim has a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Heim worked for 15 years in the news industry, including editing positions at the Chicago Tribune and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.