The Journalism, Media and Communications Program at UTAS is recognised nationally and internationally for the quality of its research. Our research in Journalism received top-ranking in Australia in the Excellence in Research Australia 2012 (with only one other university). Quality of research was measured as ‘above world standard’.
JMC staff combine national and international media experience with a breadth of research interests and skills. Our research on food, music, anime, crime, social history, documentary, international politics, environmental protest and health complements our extensive experience as war and political correspondents, broadcasters and in strategic and corporate communications. We bring a range of methodological and conceptual approaches to the study of journalism, media and communications research, and encourage scholarship that draws on ideas from across diverse fields.
We welcome proposals for PhDs and Masters, and are pleased to discuss research proposals that cross disciplines, including law, science, creative arts, economics and health sciences.
Specific research strengths include:
An example of the program’s research in this area is Dr Michelle Phillipov’s grant to investigate connections between the viewing pleasures offered to audiences of food television and the current cultural anxieties surrounding the ‘dangers’ of food that also circulate in the media.
For RHDs in this area, see Liam Gash.
For a selection of publications, see Michelle Phillipov.
JMC offers a range of research approaches and strengths in the area of media and crime, including Dr Nicola Goc’s historical studies of media coverage of crimes and courts, and Dr Katrina Clifford’s research into reporting of police shootings.
For a selection of research higher degrees in this area, see Fiona Reynolds and Claire Konkes profiles.
For a selection of recent publications, see Goc, and Katrina Clifford profiles.
UTAS’s research on media and environmental politics, the media politics of climate change and transnational mediated protests is internationally recognised. It has been supported by recent Australian Research Council grants - ‘Changing Landscapes: Online Media and Politics in an Age of Environmental Conflict’ (2010-2012), and ‘Leadership and the Construction of Environmental Concerns in Australia’ (2013-2015).
For a selection of RHD research in the area, see Lyn McGaurr and Gabi Mocatta profiles.
For recent publications, see Libby Lester profile.
An example of research in this area is Dr Kate Nash’s Measuring Interactive documentary engagement, which investigates the way in which audiences engage with complex interactive documentary narratives. Using web analytics data several aspects of the user experience are analysed to reveal patterns in user behaviour.
For RHDs on documentary, see here (Damian McIver)
For publications, see Liam Nash.
For a selection of publications, see John Martinkus .
Dr Nicola Goc’s most recent media history project explores migration through snapshot photography. The aim of this project is to provide a greater understanding of the female experience of migration in Tasmania in the period 1945-1985.
For a selection of publications, see Nicola Goc.
The most recent focus of Dr Craig Norris’s work on anime, manga and cosplay fan communities involves the creation of hybrid Asian-Australian goods/practices that are in turn influencing other cultures. New research by Professor Libby Lester investigates transnational media flows of political and environmental conflict between Australia and Asia.
For RHD research, see Sophie Staite.
For recent publications, see Craig Norris and Libby Lester.
Soft Power
Dr Craig Norris's research on cult media tourism and transmedia explores how fans transform existing elements of popular culture through their physical surroundings to express changes in culture, geography and identity. Dr Michelle Phillipov's work explores the pleasures and politics of extreme media and cultural forms, including death metal music, extreme food and eating practices, and transgressive media.
For recent publications, see Craig Norris and Michelle Phillipov.
