About

I am a Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Programme Leader for MA Journalism at the University of Derby. My work combines teaching, research and academic leadership, with a focus on journalism, political communication and digital media.

My research explores how journalism, media and emerging technologies shape political identities, public debate and understandings of social change. I am particularly interested in the relationship between media, democracy and citizenship across Latin America, especially Chile and the Southern Cone, and comparative UK contexts. My current work examines artificial intelligence, digital transformation and their implications for the future of digital journalism.

As a member of the Identity, Culture and Representation Research Centre, I contribute to doctoral supervision, international research collaborations and research-informed curriculum development. My work brings together perspectives from journalism studies, political communication, memory studies and digital media research, informed by my professional experience as a journalist working across Latin America and Europe.

Teaching responsibilities

I teach across undergraduate and postgraduate journalism and media programmes. My teaching areas include digital journalism, data journalism, political communication, media systems and research methods.

As Programme Leader, I support the development of industry-focused, research-led learning that connects academic enquiry with professional practice. I am particularly interested in helping students critically engage with the opportunities and challenges posed by data-driven reporting, artificial intelligence and the rapidly evolving media landscape.

I also supervise postgraduate and doctoral research projects in media, communication and political communication.

Professional interests

My works and research look at the structure and agency of the news media in the Southern Cone as political institutions within a neoliberal framework. I am interested in developing an understanding of how news media agency shapes national and political identities and political cultures in a digital environment. At the same time, I am personally interested in the recent developments of social media as a political tool.

Research interests

My research interests sit at the intersection of journalism, political communication and social change. My earlier work examined media narratives, collective memory, nationalism, migration, and neoliberal transformation in Chile, the wider Southern Cone, and the UK, exploring how journalism and political discourse shape political identities and public understandings of society.

Building on this foundation, my current research focuses on digital journalism, artificial intelligence and emerging media technologies. I examine how AI is represented in public discourse, how geopolitical contexts shape AI narratives, and how technological change is reshaping journalism, democratic communication and media systems across both the Global North and Global South.

I welcome PhD proposals in journalism, digital journalism and artificial intelligence; political communication; media discourse and identity; collective memory; migration and media; digital platforms; and comparative studies of media and politics in Latin America, the UK and beyond.

Membership of professional bodies

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCSSA)
• Society of Latin American Studies

Qualifications

• PhD in Politics, School of Politics and International Relations, The University of Nottingham (United Kingdom)
• MBA,  Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso (Chile)
• BA in Journalism and Media Studies, Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso (Chile)
• BA in History,  The University of Valparaiso (Chile)

Recent conferences

I regularly present research and deliver invited talks at international conferences, workshops and research seminars in journalism, media and political communication. Over the past five years, my presentations have explored topics such as artificial intelligence and journalism, digital media, political communication, collective memory, neoliberal transformation, migration and media narratives in Latin America.

My research has also been presented at major international events organised by the International Political Science Association (IPSA), the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA), the European Conference on Social Media, the Association for Journalism Education and the Historical Materialism Conference. These activities reflect my ongoing engagement with international research networks across Europe, Latin America and beyond.

Experience in industry

Before moving into higher education, I worked as a journalist for more than ten years in Chile and Europe. I reported on political and economic affairs for a range of media organisations, including El Mercurio de Valparaíso and America Economia.

Between 2011 and 2015, I covered European and UK political and economic developments for Latin American audiences. In 2013, my work received the CAF Development Bank of Latin America Award for Excellence in Economic Journalism.

This professional experience continues to inform my teaching, research and engagement with debates about journalism and media change

International experience

My academic and professional career has been shaped by experience across Latin America, the United Kingdom and Europe. This international perspective informs my research, which uses comparative approaches to explore journalism, media and political communication across Latin American and UK contexts.

I have delivered invited keynote and guest presentations in Chile, the United Kingdom and Europe, addressing topics including journalism in times of crisis, media and social change, collective memory, political communication, and the implications of artificial intelligence for journalism. These invitations reflect the international relevance of my research and its contribution to debates across journalism studies, political communication and media research.

I have also developed international educational partnerships that create opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration and global learning between students and academics in Chile and the UK. These initiatives encourage the exchange of perspectives on journalism, media and communication, complementing my engagement with research networks across Europe and Latin America and contributing to the internationalisation of journalism education.

Additional interests and activities

I am committed to supporting the development of early-career researchers and postgraduate students. I contribute to doctoral supervision, international research collaborations and interdisciplinary research activity through the Identity, Culture and Representation Research Centre.

I am also interested in curriculum internationalisation and creating opportunities for students to engage with global perspectives on journalism, media and communication. Through my teaching and research, I aim to connect academic enquiry with contemporary issues affecting journalism and society.

Beyond my teaching and research, I contribute to the wider academic community through editorial and peer-review activities. I serve on the editorial boards of the Journal for Cultural Research and the Revista Internacional de Estudios sobre Medios de Comunicación, and I am a member of the programme committee for the European Conference on Social Media. These roles support collaboration, knowledge exchange and the development of research in journalism, media and communication studies.

In the media

My research and professional expertise have contributed to public discussions about media, politics and communication in both the UK and Latin America. I have been interviewed by Chilean media on issues including media representation, public culture and international events.

I have also contributed to public engagement activities through invited talks, international roundtables and guest lectures, sharing research on journalism, political communication and the changing media environment with academic and non-academic audiences.

Recent publications

Recent publications

• Urbina Montana, M. L. (2025) ‘Transformative leader: General Augusto Pinochet and neoliberal memories of transformation in Chile’, Social Science Forum (Družboslovne razprave), 41(108-109), pp. 121-143.
• Suárez-Álvarez, R., García-Jiménez, A. and Urbina Montana, M.L. (2023) ‘Sexualising characteristics of adolescents on TikTok: Comparative study Great Britain-Spain’, Convergence, 29(5), pp. 1262-1282.
• Watkins, H. and Urbina Montana, M.L. (2022) ‘Obstinate memory: Working-class politics and neoliberal forgetting in the United Kingdom and Chile’, Memory Studies, 15(5), pp. 1127-1141.
• Urbina, M.L. (2020) 'The new Latin American right wing in the post-Pink Tide era', in Akgemci, T. and Ate, A. (eds.) The Opposite Corner of the World: Latin America: History, Society, Culture. Ankara-Istanbul: İletişim,pp291-302.
• Mansell, J., Urbina, M.L. and Watkins, H. (2019) ‘National renewal in the discourse of neoliberal transition in Britain and Chile’, Journal of Political Ideologies, 24(1), pp. 74-92.
• Urbina, M.L. (2018) ‘Tales of migration from the Global South: The civilised and uncivilised migrant in the narratives of La Tercera and El Mercurio’, in Balica, E. (ed.) Migration and Crime. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 109-138.

Other recent publications

• Urbina Montana, M.L. and Buzzo, C. (2025) 'A discourse analysis of AI narratives in Spanish speakers' social media platforms', Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Social Media, Porto,22-23 May. Available at. https://doi:10.34190/ecsm.12.1.3686.
• Urbina, M.L. (2023) 'Review of Díaz-Barriga, M. and Dorsey, M.E. (2020) ‘Fencing in Democracy: Border Walls, Necrocitizenship and the Security State', Bulletin of Latin American Research, 42(2), pp. 310-311.
• Urbina, M.L. (2022) 'Review of Beatriz Allende: A Revolutionary Life in Cold War Latin America', Bulletin of Latin American Research, 41(2), pp. 331-333..
• Urbina, M.L. (2022) 'Review of Media and the Images of the Nation during Brazil's 2013 Protests', Bulletin of Latin American Research, 41(5), pp. 846-847.