SYDNEY (University of Technology Sydney/Pacific Media Watch): One of Australia's most celebrated journalists, five-time Walkley award winner Monica Attard, has been appointed professor and head of journalism in the University of Technology Sydney's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
She will join UTS in July this year, taking over from Professor Peter Fray, who has been head of journalism for the past three years. Professor Fray will focus on his new role as co-director for the UTS Centre for Media Transition, that has replaced the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ).
Attard, the current head of journalism at Macleay College, is best-known for hosting some of the ABC's flagship programs, including PM, The World Today and Media Watch, and being a reporter and foreign correspondent for AM.
A journalist for 35 years, she has also been a TV and radio reporter, including for Four Corners and Lateline, a foreign correspondent and was the foundation editor of the website, The Global Mail.
She has won five Walkley awards for reporting, including the Gold Walkley, and is a Member of the Order of Australia for service to journalism.
Best-selling book
She is also an author of the best-selling book, Russia: Which Way Paradise, on the collapse of Soviet communism which she witnessed as a foreign correspondent.
The move to UTS will see Attard lead an existing team of outstanding researchers and teachers in the journalism discipline. Attard said she was “excited to be coming to UTS” and helping to “further its reputation and shape journalists for a digital future”.
“It's crunch time for journalism in so many respects: preparing journalism students for the realities and equipping them with the skills to succeed has never been more important.”
Attard has spent the past 20 months at Macleay where she reformed journalism into a cutting-edge, digital-first program.
Professor Fray said he was delighted to be handing the reins to someone with Monica's track record in the industry and passion for journalism education.
“This is a great time to be shaping the next generation of journalists,” he said. “There are many challenges ahead. I know Monica will relish them.”
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