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Communication & Creativity Research Flagship - Projects

Foundation for Public Interest Journalism

New Models for Funding and Supporting Journalism

This not-for-profit foundation, based at the ISR, will help develop new models for funding and supporting journalism. It will bring together journalists, publishers, academics and community representatives to develop and test the new models. The foundation will support investigative, interactive journalism while exploring ways of making good journalism sustainable in the new media age.

The project will make a significant contribution to the field of media studies and to public policy debates in the following ways:

The foundation will fund worthy journalism projects initiated by either members of the public or practising journalists. Projects will be assessed on their capacity to serve the public interest, with priority given to issues that are under-reported by the traditional media. As well as publishing works of journalism, the foundation will make a major contribution to journalism education and research.

The foundation’s first project is to establish a website through which members of the public and journalists can come together to organise journalistic projects without the intervention of Big Media. This will be partly modelled on USA experiments such as  www.spot.us

Donations to the foundation are tax deductible - Donation Form Here

In The News

Melissa Sweet (Interim Secretary of the foundation) provides her personal perspective on the Foundation for Open Forum in August 2009: Foundation for Public Interest Journalism Launches.

David Cohn founder of Spot.Us reports provides some words of advice for the Foundation for Public Interest Journalism on Crikey in August 2009: Community-funded reporting: bringing a new transparency to journalism

In June 2009 ISR Director, Professor Julian Thomas, called for suitably qualified and experienced people to nominate for membership of the foundation’s board.

The foundation received initial coverage in The Australian in late 2008.

The Board

Announced on August 17, 2009, the Foundation for Public Interest Journalism board includes leading Australian journalists, publishers, journalism academics, community advocates and online media innovators.

Dr Margaret Simons is interim chair of the board, and Melissa Sweet is the interim secretary.

The board members are:

• Prof Michael Bromley: Head of the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Queensland.
  
• Ms Bronwen Clune: Director of Norg Media (http://www.norg.com.au/)
  
• Mr Chris Graham: Co-founder and editor of the National Indigenous Times newspaper.
  
• Ms Diana SGribbleSAM: Director of Private Media Pty Ltd.
  
• Mr Steve Harris: Strategic consultant
• Mrs Elaine Henry OAM: Chief Executive Officer, The Smith Family,
  
• Prof Julianne Schultz AM: Founding editor of Griffith REVIEW, and a professor at Griffith’s Centre for Public Culture and Ideas, a member of the board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Arts Minister’s Creative Australia Advisory Group. 
  
• Dr Margaret Simons: Freelance journalist, author and lecturer at Swinburne University, Simons has published seven books and numerous essays and articles over her 29 year career as a professional journalist.
  
• Ms Melissa Sweet
  Freelance journalist and author, with adjunct positions at University of Sydney School of Public Health and University of Notre Dame’s medical school (Sydney campus)
  
• Prof Julian Thomas
  Director of the Institute for Social Research and Professor of Media and Communications at Swinburne University.