Research at Monash Journalism

At Monash Journalism we are interested in research on all aspects of the practice of journalism, including the political, legal and social conditions of its production. We are particularly interested in the ways that the research modes of investigative journalism relate to the more traditional scholarly modes of research and publication.  This focus provides an excellent context for mid-career journalists who want to draw on their experience and skills to undertake a major research project, for a book or documentary for example, and who want to get the benefit of an academic framework for their work.

We are in the process of developing two umbrella research themes to carry us into the next few years (though not to the exclusion of other interests as well).  One is on the relationship between investigative journalism and the law.  We are planning a conference for 2010 investigating the ways that journalists and the courts evaluate and analyse evidence, for example, in media exposés of miscarriages of justice on the one hand, and in judicial reviews of media allegations, for example the 2009 review of the Phuong Ngo conviction for the murder of NSW parliamentarian John Newman, prompted by the Four Corners program The Newman Case.

A second theme is on the response of the coal and oil industries to the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the way the media report the climate change issue.  This is part of the international collaboration on the research dimension supporting the Global Environmental Journalism Initiative linking eight Australian and European universities.

We have research links with European, Asian and Middle-East universities, with the Australian Centre for Investigative Journalism, and with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the Center for Investigate Journalism in San Francisco and the Center for Public Integrity in Washington.  We welcome proposals for research collaborations from national and international partners in the profession and the academy, and applications to commence PhD studies from working journalists and media students.

Further information

Contact Professor Chris Nash by
Email: chris.nash@arts.monash.edu.au or on
Telephone: +61 3 9903 4948.