Biography

Dr Joce Nettlefold is the national Media Education Partnerships Manager at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Director of the ABC-UTAS Media Literacy Project in 2018.She is a journalist and editorial leader with more than 30 years’ experience, mostly as a reporter with ABC’s 730 Report and News. She has worked around Australia across all platforms, and in the UK.  Most recently, she was the manager of ABC Radio Hobart, leading ABC content, community engagement and stakeholder management in Tasmania.  Joce’s journalism and media leadership have been recognised by several awards, including a United Nations Peace Prize and National Resilience Award.

Research Themes

Dr Nettlefold’s research aligns to the University’s research theme of Creativity, Culture and Society.

The media and communications landscape has been transformed by digital transformation, media consolidation, political disengagement, a dramatic decline in public trusts and the rising power of technology companies.

Telling the difference between an advertisement, real news or propaganda is becoming more of a challenge in today’s fast-changing digital media landscape. The consequences of this on civil society are yet to be fully understood. What is clear though is that education and engagement are critical to ensure the future of quality journalism and information to support democracy.  The national partnership in 2018 between the ABC and the University of Tasmania aims to help equip young Australians with better critical thinking skills to navigate the complex media landscape. The ABC-UTAS Media Literacy Project will expand scholarly knowledge about media literacy and inform the production of more segments and features by the ABC which teach audience how to be critical of content they consume and build their knowledge and skills about how to participate. The focus will be on particularly on students aged 11 -16. The ABC is also planning a range of other activity to help Australians to navigate the news, including a special National Media Literacy Week in September 2018.

Career summary

Qualifications

Memberships

Professional practice

Member, Peter Underwood Advisory Committee for Educational Attainment

Administrative expertise

Project leadership, community engagement, media content production management.

Dr Nettlefold has also led strategic HR for an international telecommunications company and served on several not-for-profit boards.