Evelyn Polacek Kery, PhD
Journalist, social media researcher, media lecturer
I am multi-media journalist with a PhD exploring how YouTube creators shape young people's critical thinking and why our emotions matter in online space. I currently teach digital journalism at the University of West London and have trained the next generation of reporters at Middlesex University and King's College London. When I’m not in the classroom, I am working at The Guardian, writing blogs, creating websites, or judging entries for the Press Awards. I wrote for The Times, The Conversation and many other online magazines.
Academia
I successfully completed my PhD degree at the University of Sussex in May 2025, where I explored critical thinking of young people in the case of YouTube. In my research, I focused on YouTube influencers, current social media trends, audiences and fandom, the theory of critical thinking, ethical and practical problems in a research with children and young people, participatory and digital methods, ethnography and use of thematic inductive analysis.
Click here to read my full thesis. ​​​​
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I have been teaching digital journalism, journalism skills and media ethics at the University of West London since January 2024. Previously, I taught journalism and media at the Middlesex University where I also supervised BA and MSc dissertations.
Media
Apart from working in academia, I am also working as assistant production editor at the Guardian. As a multi-media journalist with interest in digital/social media, I have a vast portfolio of online articles, websites, blogs and social media posts which I create for companies and individuals.
I founded and edited Euron magazine, first online magazine for Europeans in London. I specialise in writing profile features and food reviews.
