Newspaper & Mailroom

Australian journalism lecturer appointed first research fellow with WAN-IFRA

Thursday 16. January 2014 - Julie Posetti, an academic and journalist at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia, will join the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) after securing a 12-month research fellowship to investigate and report on the future of journalism and newspapers.

Ms Posetti, who has 25 years of media experience, will take up the research fellowship with the world press organization in February. WAN-IFRA, headquartered in Paris and Germany, represents more than 18,000 news publications, 15,000 online sites, and 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.
The role will entail reporting on innovation within the sector and undertaking research on the future of journalism, the future of newspapers and digital transformation within the media industry.
WAN-IFRA is a trade association with a human rights mandate covering every aspect of newspaper and news publishing and works closely with 79 national newspaper associations.  Its main charter is the defence and promotion of press freedom and the economic independence of newspapers.  It is also the industry’s leading “think tank” for new strategies, business models, and operational improvements. It issues a wide variety of research reports through its “Shaping the Future of the Newspaper” project, which identifies, analyses and publicises all important breakthroughs and opportunities that can benefit newspapers all over the world.
“This is a huge coup for UOW, and is testament to Julie’s passion for and capacity to embrace our digital futures, and particularly the ways in which web-based technologies are becoming an integral part of how we teach journalism.  This research fellowship places her at the front line of transformative journalism,” said Sarah Miller, Head of the School of the Arts, English and Media.
Ms Posetti is currently completing a PhD through UOW on the “Twitterisation of Journalism”. She is a respected former ABC journalist and PBS MediaShift correspondent who has developed and delivered extensive industry training in the fields of social media and audio/video journalism.  She teaches convergent and social journalism at UOW.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity – both in terms of research and journalism practice. Despite the gloomy future often predicted for journalism, I remain optimistic about the opportunities for industry transformation and I feel privileged to work at the frontline of these processes as a WAN-IFRA Fellow,” Ms Posetti said. “I am also thrilled to be able to extend the opportunity to talented UOW journalism students to intern with WAN-IFRA.”
In addition to her fellowship, Ms Posetti has secured over $20,000 Federal Government funding to assist up to 10 Journalism students from UOW to undertake internships with WAN-IFRA during her time with the organisation.
The research fellowship commences next month in Paris where Ms Posetti will relocate with her family for the duration of the fellowship.