The Australian news media is facing an existential crisis. Traditional media business models are imploding, and digital platforms are not coming to their rescue. New digital models are emerging, particularly for younger audiences, but the media landscape is distressed. The loss of quality news that informs, challenges and entertains is a threat to the social and democratic fabric of our community and country. The public needs access to reliable information and to guard against misinformation.

The News and Media Research Centre (N&MRC) from the University of Canberra will bring together leading voices to discuss the future of news and propose solutions to counter the challenges faced by consumers and producers of news content.

Order of events:

5:30pm - arrival
5:45-7pm - opening remarks, panel and audience Q&A
7pm - networking

Panel and speakers:

Host: Dr Kerry McCallum, Director of the News and Media Research Centre and researcher in political communication and media at the University of Canberra.
Opening remarks: Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Prior to being elected in 2010, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in Arts and Law. Andrew is a past recipient of the Economic Society of Australia's Young Economist Award and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. His many books include Fair Game: Lessons From Sport for a Fairer Society & a Stronger Economy (2022). Andrew is the father of three sons - Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary, and lives with his wife Gweneth in Canberra. He has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1991.
Moderator: Dr Caroline Fisher, Associate Professor of Journalism at the News and Media Research Centre with vast industry experience as a former reporter and producer for ABC News and Radio National, and ministerial media adviser to Anna Bligh.
Panelist: Dr Sora Park, Professor of Communication and Professorial Research Fellow at the News & Media Research Centre and Digital News Report: Australia lead.
Panelist: Dr Greg Jericho, The Australia Institute. Greg Jericho is The Australia Institute's Chief Economist and also the Policy Director on labour markets and fiscal issues for the Centre for Future Work. He also writes a weekly column for Guardian Australia on economics and politics, and has written for multiple media organisations for 15 years. He won the Walkley Award for Commentary, Analysis, Opinion and Critique in 2016. From 2011 to 2021 he lectured political communications and journalism at the University of Canberra.
Panelist: Michelle Ainsworth, ABC. Michelle Ainsworth is an innovator in thought and action and is currently the Knowledge and Skills Lead ABC News. She has 30 years experience as a journalist, producer and news executive with commercial networks and public broadcasters. Michelle led the ABC’s federal election coverage in 2019 and 2022 and returned to the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery to witness the decline in trust in both the media and Australia's democratic institutions. She also observed the growing trend in misinformation designed to confuse Australia’s diverse communities as well as first time voters. In 2023 Michelle was awarded the Winston Churchill Trust Fellowship.
Panelist: Saffron Howden, Australian Community Media and University of Canberra. Saffron is a leader in journalism, news innovation and media literacy. She has worked as a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph and AAP, and was a teaching fellow for Google News Initiative. She founded national children’s newspaper Crinkling News and co-authored Kid Reporter: The Secret to Breaking News. Saffron is ACM’s national editorial training manager and AI lead as well as a PhD candidate investigating media literacy and misinformation at the University of Canberra.

This event is hosted by the News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra as part of research Festival 2024. Get involved and explore the full program on our website.