Colleen Murrell
Prof
Full Professor Colleen Murrell researches international news gathering, crisis reporting, public service broadcasting, news production and digital and social media. She is currently writing a book on women foreign correspondents, and is the research lead for the Reuters Digital News Report (Ireland) 2021-2023. She teaches audio visual broadcasting and international news and has won several prizes for her teaching and research, including an Australian national citation for teaching excellence and a Deakin University VC award for research. She joined DCU in January 2020 after previously working at Monash University, Deakin University and Swinburne University. From 2021-2023 Colleen is an external course and subject examiner for Queens University, Belfast.
Professor Murrell holds a PhD in media and communications from the University of Melbourne and has held research fellowships at the London School of Economics (2015-16); The University of Oxford - Reuters Institute (2011) and City, University of London (2007). In her previous career she worked as a producer, reporter and news editor for a number of international broadcasters including the BBC, ITN, AP, TF1, CBC and ABC Australia. In these roles she travelled extensively in Europe, and the Middle East.
Colleen is the author of a range of scholarly publications, including the book Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering: The Role of Fixers (2015: Routledge). She is currently under contract with Palgrave Macmillan for a monograph (publishing date 2024). She has successfully supervised a number of PhD and Masters by research students and has taught postgraduate research theory and methodology. She is on the editorial boards of the following journals: The Australian Journalism Review, Ethical Space- The International Journal of Communication Ethics, and The Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies. Back in Australia she was also on the executive boards of the Journalism, Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) organisation, The Junction (a national student journalism platform) and was the executive editor of Swinburne University's journalism output The Standard. Colleen was a judge for the UNAA Media Awards from 2008-17, and in 2020 was a judge for the Canadian Mindset Award for Workplace Mental Health Reporting and the NewsBrands Ireland Journalism Awards (2020). Colleen speaks fluent French, basic Spanish, and has a basic understanding of Italian.
Professor Murrell holds a PhD in media and communications from the University of Melbourne and has held research fellowships at the London School of Economics (2015-16); The University of Oxford - Reuters Institute (2011) and City, University of London (2007). In her previous career she worked as a producer, reporter and news editor for a number of international broadcasters including the BBC, ITN, AP, TF1, CBC and ABC Australia. In these roles she travelled extensively in Europe, and the Middle East.
Colleen is the author of a range of scholarly publications, including the book Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering: The Role of Fixers (2015: Routledge). She is currently under contract with Palgrave Macmillan for a monograph (publishing date 2024). She has successfully supervised a number of PhD and Masters by research students and has taught postgraduate research theory and methodology. She is on the editorial boards of the following journals: The Australian Journalism Review, Ethical Space- The International Journal of Communication Ethics, and The Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies. Back in Australia she was also on the executive boards of the Journalism, Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) organisation, The Junction (a national student journalism platform) and was the executive editor of Swinburne University's journalism output The Standard. Colleen was a judge for the UNAA Media Awards from 2008-17, and in 2020 was a judge for the Canadian Mindset Award for Workplace Mental Health Reporting and the NewsBrands Ireland Journalism Awards (2020). Colleen speaks fluent French, basic Spanish, and has a basic understanding of Italian.
Book
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Colleen Murrell (2015) Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering: The Role of Fixers. New York: Routledge. [Link] |
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Colleen Murrell (2019) 'Foreign Correspondents and Bureaus' In: International Encylopedia of Journalism Studies. USA : John Wiley and Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118841570.iejs0176 | |
| 2016 | Colleen Murrell (2016) 'The International newsgathering challenge for public service Australian and Canadian 24/7 Channels' In: The Rise of 24 Hour Television: New Directions, New Challenges. Switzerland : Peter Lang. [Link] |
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Martin, F.; Murrell, C. (2021) 'Negotiating the Conversation: How Journalists Learn to Interact with Audiences Online'. JOURNALISM PRACTICE, 15 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Colleen Murrell (2021) 'Reporting Asia: Courtesy of Australian philanthropy'. Australian Journalism Review, 43 (1). [Link] | |
| 2021 | Murrell, Colleen (2021) 'Reporting Asia: Courtesy of Australian philanthropy'. Australian Journalism Review, 43 (1). [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Martin, F. & Murrell, C. (2020) 'You need a thick skin in this game: Journalists’ attitudes to resilience training as a strategy for combatting online violence'. Australian Journalism Review, 42 (1):93-111. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00021_1 | |
| 2020 | Martin, F.R.; Murrell, C. (2020) 'You need a thick skin in this game: Journalists’ attitudes to resilience training as a strategy for combatting online violence'. Australian Journalism Review, 42 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Murrell, Colleen (2019) 'Fixers as Entrepreneurs'. Journalism Studies, 20 (12):1679-1695. | |
| 2019 | Rupar, V. & Murrell, C. (2019) 'Ethical Dilemmas in Reporting Terrorist Attacks'. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, 16 (4):34-41. | |
| 2018 | Murrell, C. & Rupar, V. (2018) ''Covering Terrorism Safely in France, Belgium, Russia, Australia the UK and USA'. Australian Journalism Review, 40 (2):37-53. [Link] | |
| 2018 | Murrell, Colleen (2018) 'The global television news agencies and their handling of user generated content video from Syria'. Media, War and Conflict, 11 (3):289-308. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635217704224 | |
| 2018 | Baker, Andrea and Murrell, Colleen and Martin, Fiona and others (2018) 'A note from the guest editors'. 40 (2). | |
| 2016 | Murrell, Colleen (2016) 'The Guardian: Game of Editions'. Media@LSE Working Paper Series, 39 :1-25. | |
| 2016 | Murrell, Colleen (2016) 'The Guardian: Game of Editions'. Media@LSE Working Paper Series, 39 :1-25. [Link] | |
| 2016 | Murrell, Colleen (2016) 'The Guardian: Game of Editions'. Media@LSE Working Paper Series, 39 :1-25. [Link] | |
| 2015 | Murrell, Colleen (2015) ''Fixers, the people behind the foreign correspondents''. :1-1. | |
| 2014 | Murrell, Colleen (2014) 'Pommy media causing a stir in Australia'. . | |
| 2014 | Murrell, Colleen and others (2014) 'The vulture club: International newsgathering via Facebook'. 36 (1). | |
| 2014 | Murrell, C (2014) 'ABC National Television-Guest appearance (live)'. . | |
| 2014 | Murrell, Colleen (2014) 'ABC Television (ABC1 \& ABC News 24)-Guest appearance (live)'. . | |
| 2013 | Murrell, Colleen and others (2013) 'ABC News 24 and BBC World: A study of limited resources and challenging newsgathering'. 35 (1). | |
| 2013 | Murrell, Colleen (2013) 'International fixers: Cultural interpreters or'People Like Us'?'. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, 10 (2/3):72-79. | |
| 2012 | Murrell, Colleen and others (2012) 'Shining a light on TV agency practice [Book Review]'. 34 (1). | |
| 2010 | Murrell, Colleen (2010) 'Baghdad bureaux: An exploration of the interconnected world of fixers and correspondents at the BBC and CNN'. 3 (2):125-137. | |
| 2009 | Murrell, Colleen and others (2009) 'Fixers and foreign correspondents: News production and autonomy'. 31 (1). | |
| 2008 | Murrell, Colleen and Oakham, Katrina Mandy and others (2008) 'Gatekeepers, going, going, gone-challenge of citizen journalism to traditional practice [Paper in themed articles: Citizen Journalism. Bromley, Michael (ed).]'. 30 (2). | |
| 1982 | Murrell, Colleen (1982) 'Cultural interpreters or People Like Us?'. . |
Published Report
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Colleen Murrell; Kirsty Park; David Robins; Dawn Wheatley (2023) Digital News Report (Ireland) 2023. Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, . | |
| 2023 | (2023) Reuters Digital News Report 2023. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, . | |
| 2022 | Colleen Murrell; Kirsty Park; David Robbins; Dawn Wheatley (2022) Digital News Report (Ireland) 2022. Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, . | |
| 2022 | (2022) Reuters Digital News Report 2022. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, . | |
| 2021 | Colleen Murrell; Kirsty Park; David Robbins; Dawn Wheatley (2021) Digital News Report (Ireland) 2021. Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, . | |
| 2021 | (2021) Reuters Digital News Report 2021. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, . | |
| 2018 | Colleen Murrell (multiple contributors) (2018) Senate Select Committee on the Future of Public Interest Journalism. Commonwealth of Australia, . [Link] | |
| 2018 | Colleen Murrell - Associate Professor & Head of Program, Swinburne UniversityGary Dickson – Researcher, Monash UniversityHeather Jarvis – Senior lecturer, Monash UniversityLouisa Lim – Senior lecturer, Melbourne UniversityDr Alexandra Wake – Senior lecturer, RMIT University (2018) Submission to the Senate Review of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific. Commonwealth of Australia, . [Link] |
Conference Publication
Conference Contribution
Online Article
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Colleen Murrell (2019) Media chiefs unite on press freedom, but will it result in any action?. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] | |
| 2019 | Colleen Murrell (2019) Sydney stabbing shows reporters should not censor what they report on Twitter - as long as it’s verified. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] | |
| 2019 | Colleen Murrell (2019) Why news outlets should think twice about republishing the New Zealand mosque shooter’s livestream. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] | |
| 2018 | Colleen Murrell (2018) ‘A time of anxiety’: The depressing new reality for local journalists in conflict zones. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] | |
| 2017 | Colleen Murrell (2017) Manchester and the media: what coverage of the terrorist attack tells us about ourselves. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] | |
| 2017 | Colleen Murrell (2017) Le Pen vs Macron: after an acrimonious debate, the French will now choose their next president. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] | |
| 2016 | Colleen Murrell (2016) The Guardian’s costly gap between traffic and profits. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] | |
| 2016 | Colleen Murrell (2016) Islamic State is quick to claim Orlando shooting, but media should be careful in reporting those claims. Melbourne: ELEA [Link] |
Podcast
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Colleen Murrell (2017) Speaking with: The Daily Beast’s Christopher Dickey on reporting on and living through terrorism in Paris. Melbourne: PODCAST [Link] |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Professional Associations
Honors and Awards
Committees
Media
Research Interests
- - International newsgathering and crisis reporting
- - Public service broadcasting
- - Public interest journalism
- - Digital news and social media
- - Global news agencies
- - Foreign correspondence
- - Reporting in Europe and the Middle East
- - Women foreign correspondents
- - Online violence against women reporters
Research Projects
Teaching Interests
During my time as an academic I convened and taught the broadcasting modules (radio, television and documentary) at Monash University, Deakin University and Swinburne University of Technology. I have also taught modules in International News, Law for Journalists and Media and Society. My main interest is in internationalising curricula and I have won university and Australian national teaching awards. At DCU I convene and teach radio, podcasting, video and studio modules.