Her research investigates a range of issues in the fields of sociology of news, political communications, and audience research. She has published articles and book chapters which analyse news and journalism from a number of perspectives including the role of the news media and digital forms of communication in engaging citizens in democracy at a local level. Julie’s publications on local journalism and political engagement can be found in Journalism Practice, Media, Culture and Society, and Information, Communication and Society as well as in an edited volume “Local Journalism: the decline of newspapers and the rise of digital media”. http://media.leeds.ac.uk/people/julie-firmstone/