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About the Speakers
Mark Andrejevic
Mark joined the Centre for Critical Cultural Studies at UQ in May 2007. His current project Interrogating Interactivity: New Media and Surveillance explores the ways in which interactive media technologies are used for commercial and government surveillance by drawing on several case studies, including interactive marketing campaigns, political campaign databases, homeland security initiatives, and interactive television. His goal is to offer a critique of the democratic promise of new media technologies, in the sense of both tracing its limits and exploring its potential. Mark completed his PhD. in Media Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has since taught at Fairfield University and the University of Iowa, in the Department of Communication Studies. He is the author of Reality TV: The Work of Being Watched, Rowman and Littlefield, 2004, and iSpy: Surveillance and Power in the Interactive Era, University of Kansas, 2007 as well as numerous articles and chapters on surveillance and popular culture. Mark also edits the book series Critical Studies in Television for Lanham Publishers.
Eric Beecher
Eric started his career in newspapers as a journalist on The Age newspaper in Melbourne. He later worked at The Sunday Times and The Observer in London and The Washington Post in the US. In 1984, at age 33, he became the youngest-ever editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, and in 1987 was appointed editor-in-chief of the Herald and Weekly Times newspaper group. In 1990 he became a founder, CEO and major shareholder in The Text Media Group, a public company which produced newspapers, magazines and books, which was acquired by Fairfax Media in 2003. In 2003 he formed Private Media Partners, which acquired Crikey.com.au in 2005. Since then he has been a founding shareholder and chairman of three further online media ventures: SmartCompany.com.au, EurekaReport.com.au and BusinessSpectator.com. He is also chairman of the Victorian Government's Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. In 2000 he delivered the annual Andrew Olle Media Lecture and in 2007 was awarded the Walkley Award for Journalistic Leadership.
Brigadier Brian Dawson
Brigadier Dawson is a graduate of the Australian Army Command and Staff College 1989 and the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies 2000. As a graduate of the University of New South Wales he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Military Studies in 1976 and a Master of Management Studies in 2005. He completed a Master in Strategic Studies through Latrobe University in 2001.
Brigadier Dawson was appointed the Director General Preparedness in Defence Headquarters in 2001, Chief of Staff Land Headquarters from 2003 to 2005 and Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy in February 2006. He assumed his current appointment as the Director General Public Affairs in June 2008.
James Der Derian
James Der Derian is a research professor at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University. With a focus on global security, James leads a research initiative, 'Beyond Terror: Innovating Global Security and Media for the 21st Century'. His most recent books are Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network and Critical Practices in International Relations. He has produced two film documentaries, Virtual Y2K and After 9/11, and is completing a third, Human Terrain.
James was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he completed a M.Phil. and D.Phil. in international relations. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California, MIT, Harvard, Oxford, and the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.
http://www.watsoninstitute.org/contacts_detail.cfm?id=24
Nicholas Farrelly
Nicholas Farrelly works in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the ANU where he convenes the core courses for the Master of Asia-Pacific Studies program. Previously a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, he completed an MPhil in Development Studies and is currently finalising his doctoral thesis. He maintains strong interests in Thai and Burmese politics, alongside ongoing research on conflict elsewhere in mainland Southeast Asia. In 2006 Nicholas co-founded New Mandala with the ANU's Andrew Walker. It has grown to become a leading forum for the discussion of the politics, cultures and societies of mainland Southeast Asia. New Mandala is best known for its coverage of Thai political conflict. Nicholas is also a regular contributor to debates in the Australian media about regional affairs and is a consistent advocate for the potential of academic blogging.
Kate Geraghty
Kate began her photographic career at The Border Mail in Albury-Wodonga. After freelancing in Cambodia and Australia, she joined The Sydney Morning Herald in 2001. Since then, she has covered the 2002 Bali bombings and the arrests of Amrozi and Samudra; the Iraq war during the first two months of the 2003 invasion and again in 2004; the Australian Intervention Forces' arrival in the Solomon Islands; the aftermath of the tsunami in Aceh; Van Tuong Nguyen's execution in Singapore and, most recently, the war in Lebanon. She has also covered conflict in the Philippines, famine in Ethiopia, and worked at the Irish Times for eight months in 2007. This year she covered the troubles in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Jakarta hotel bombings.
In 2006, Kate was named the Nikon Walkley Press Photographer of the year for her coverage of the Lebanon war. She won it again in 2007 for her coverage of a story about euthanasia.
Lisa Goldman
A Canadian-Israeli freelance journalist living in Tel Aviv, Lisa has been documenting life in Israel and the Palestinian territories on her blog at lisagoldman.net.
Matthew Hornsey
Since graduating in 1999, A/Prof Hornsey has published over 60 papers on topics related to the social psychology of group processes, intergroup relations, and intergroup communication. His research primarily focuses on the tension between individual and group will, and the conditions under which people are willing and able to challenge the status quo. He is on the editorial boards of 6 journals, and has received 16 grants (6 from the ARC). He is currently Associate Dean (Research) in the Social and Behavioural Sciences Faculty at the University of Queensland. Matthew will be speaking to the following paper: 'Enemy persuasion: Australians' Emotional and Attitudinal Responses to Messages From Al Qaeda'.
Sebastian Kaempf
Sebastian Kaempf is Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies at the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland (Australia). He received his PhD (‘Wresting under Conditions of Asymmetry: Contemporary US Warfare and the Trade-off between Casualty-Aversion and Civilian Protection’) at the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University (UK) in 2007. From September 2004 to January 2005 he was a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University (US). He holds a BSc and MSc (Econ) in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Sebastian has recently begun exploring the historical and contemporary roles of media in international affairs, both as an important source of information, and increasingly, as a medium of war and diplomacy. In this newly emerging and multidisciplinary field, his research focus has been on the impact of new media technology on contemporary warfare, with particular reference to the US ‘War on Terror’. For some more details, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjT8SGErqco and http://soundcloud.com/dwgmf/war-2-0.
Peter Leahy AC
Peter Leahy retired from the Army in July 2008 after a 37 year career as a soldier. As an infantry officer the focus of his career was with soldiers in command, training and staff appointments. He was fortunate enough to command at almost every level in the Army and to serve on exchange in Hong Kong with the Gurkhas and in the United States at the Army's Command and General Staff College.
Peter concluded his career in the Army with the rank of Lieutenant General in the appointment of the Chief of Army. He served in this appointment for 6 years, which was the longest period of service as Chief since General Harry Chauvel in the 1920s. His period of command was marked by the continuous global deployment of Australian soldiers on high tempo, complex and demanding combat operations. During his tenure as Chief of Army he was responsible for the rapid expansion and development of the Army to enable it to cope with the many changing demands of modern conflict. His focus was to enlarge the Army and provide a hardened and networked force with increased adaptability and flexibility.
Since leaving the Army Peter has joined the University of Canberra as a Professor and the foundation Director of the National Security Institute. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has been appointed to the Boards of Codan Limited and Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited. He is a member of the Defence South Australia Advisory Board and is a Director of the Kokoda Foundation.
Peter Mantello AC
Peter Mantello is a lecturer, media artist and writer as well as founder of the Center for Advanced Media Arts Studies program at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. Upon finishing his Bachelor degree in Asian Studies, at Carleton University in Ottawa, he took the path less traveled by doing a long stint in the Canadian merchant marine. After visiting more than 43 countries, living in many of them as well he delivered his stories and photographs in a pizza box to the selection committee of Concordia Universities Film Department in Montreal, where he went on to study at the master’s level and later teach.
From 1989 to 1996, he covered the civil war in Burma, living for various periods of time inside the Karen rebel controlled areas as well as along the Thai-Burmese border. His photographs can be found in the United Nations Gallery in New York, the Bundekunsthalle Museum in Bonn and the Powerhouse Gallery in New York.
A 'self-confessed' serious gamer, his recent research examines how the aesthetics, dynamics and politics of First Person Shooter (FPS) gameplay, specifically, the 'Special Operations' tactical subgenre, transform videogames into poignant cultural artifacts which reflect and enact the way in which actual social, political and military doctrines are constructed in order to validate the usage of force as a legitimate tool of foreign policy.
Mehran Mortezai
Mehran Mortezai started university first studying physics then moving to theatre and later on did his master degree in media and dramatic literature. After high school, while he was a University student, Mehran worked as a journalist. Mehran started from a local bilingual weekly when he was 18 and then continued working as a freelancer for many dailies. Mehran has worked as a radio broadcaster for different radio stations. Almost all the media he has worked for were pro-democratic. Mehran was involved in students' movement for freedom in Iran. He has used the experience and knowledge gathered during his involvement with students' movement as a base to do research in political issues and publishing articles in papers and websites. His other writings include many cultural essays and some scripts, plays and short critiques. Since coming to Australia Mehran has become involved in community activities such as community radio and newspapers, and community cultural groups.
Paul McGeough
Paul is a former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and is now its chief correspondent spending much of his time in conflict zones - Iraq and Afghanistan in particular. McGeough was in Afghanistan just before September 11 and in New York on that day. His book Kill Khalid: Mossad's Failed Hit ... and the Rise of Hamas, published this year, was acclaimed internationally. His other books include Manhattan to Baghdad: Despatches from the frontline in the War on Terror and In Baghdad: A Reporter's War.
Among many acknowledgements for his work, McGeough has twice been named Australian Journalist of the Year. He has won seven Walkley Awards and he is a three-times winner of the UN Association of Australia Media Peace Prize. In the aftermath of 9/11, he received an award for excellence in international reporting from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Washington.
Sophie McNeill
Sophie is currently based in Jerusalem. She is an accomplished video journalist, one of the new breed of reporters working for SBS news and current affairs program Dateline. Sophie made her first documentary at age 15, when she travelled solo to East Timor to film the health crisis crippling the recently-liberated country. At 18, Sophie joined the team at SBS Television's Insight program where she produced a revealing documentary on the death of an asylum seeker who'd been held under Australia's mandatory detention policy. Sophie moved to Dateline and since working on the show she's covered a range of stories from the US midterm elections, Burmese refugees in Thailand, the Mexican election controversy and young Tibetans challenging the Dalai Lama, to name a few. In 2005 Sophie was a New York Film Festival finalist for Shoot the Messenger, documenting the shooting of an unarmed, wounded Iraqi in a Fallujah mosque by an American soldier. In 2007 Sophie was nominated for a Walkley for her camerawork in Sects in the City, documenting Lebanon's political infighting.
Prakash Mirchandani
Prakash is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at Australian National University. He is researching the impact of new media on the military-media relationship. He has been a strategic communications consultant for the past 15 years, having spent 35 years before that as an international media executive and journalist, working with the BBC in India and the United Kingdom and the ABC in Australia. His recent focus has been in the area of public advocacy between Governments and their national and international stakeholders, with an emphasis on the need for inclusiveness. He is a consultant to Australian Federal and Security agencies (including the Departments of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Attorney General etc.) on crisis and stakeholder communications and his company Media Gurus is a provider of training to them. Prakash began his career in 1962 as a Television reporter in India for All India Radio and Television and then joined the BBC in India as their correspondent for radio. He moved to the BBC in London in 1976 where he reported for radio and Television, as well as for TV current affairs. Prakash moved to Australia in 1980 and for the next 16 years worked with ABC TV in all reporting and management capacities. He was the ABC's first Defence Correspondent. He was a senior ABC executive who set up the news division of the Australia Television satellite service to Asia and travelled extensively in the region to cement media alliances to the service. He is the founder and principal of Media Gurus, whose aim is to provide a common-sense approach to provide high quality communications advice to organisations.
http://www.mediagurus.com.au/team/team.html?n=mirchandani
Bill Paterson
Bill Paterson was Australia’s Ambassador to Thailand from 2004-2008. He has extensive experience in international strategic and security policy, politico-military affairs, intelligence and regional issues as a senior government official, including as head of DFAT’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force immediately after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
In 2002-03 he was head of the Australian Government’s Iraq Task Force. He has also served as head of the International Security Division and the South-East Asia Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra.
Mr Paterson served as Chief of Staff and Principal Adviser to the Foreign Minister (2000) and as Assistant Secretary for Asia, APEC and Trade policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (1998-99). Overseas, Mr Paterson has served in Dhaka, Baghdad, Vienna, Washington, Tokyo and Bangkok.
Mr Paterson has a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours from the University of Melbourne. He was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2004 and the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal in 2005.
Julie Posetti
Julie Posetti is an award winning journalism academic and journalist. She lectures in radio and television journalism at the University of Canberra. The recipient of the 2005 Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence, she also won a national Carrick Award for Outstanding Contribution to Learning and Teaching in 2007. She's currently undertaking a PhD on Australian broadcasters' reporting of Muslim women and she's the University of Canberra's Chief Investigator on the national Reporting Diversity project inquiring into media coverage of Multiculturalism. She's also a researcher on projects investigating the experiences and motivations of talkback radio callers and the intersection of journalism and talkback radio. In addition, she's undertaking research into issues around the future of journalism in the Social Media Age. She's published academically in Australian and international peer reviewed journals on journalism and Multiculturalism/Islam and political interference at the ABC in the Howard Era.
In 2008 she was attached to Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media Studies in South Africa as a visiting lecturer.
As a radio and television journalist with the ABC, she reported politics and social affairs at the national level. In recognition of a series on racism and Hansonism for ABC Radio Current Affairs (AM and PM), she was awarded the 1996 Australian Human Rights Award for Radio. The same year she was a finalist in the prestigious Walkley Awards for Best Investigative Story. She continues to freelance as a reporter and commentator for the ABC and write for online publications including Mediashift, Crikey and New Matilda. She blogs at www.j-scribe.com and you can find her on Twitter: @julie_posetti.
Thomas Rid
Thomas Rid is a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations in the School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.
Previously he was a Tapir-Fellow at the RAND Corporation in Washington, DC, and the Institut français des relations internationales in Paris. He wrote his first book and thesis at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, a think tank. From 2006 to 2007 he directed the foreign policy program at the American Academy in Berlin. Thomas Rid holds a PhD from the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.
As student, intern, and volunteer he explored the London School of Economics, the OECD in Paris, the IOM in Geneva, and a Kibbutz by the Sea of Galilee. Thomas originally is from Aach, a village in Baden-Württemberg's lavish most southern region.
Hugh White
Hugh is Professor of Strategic Studies and Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at ANU and Visiting Fellow, Lowy Institute for International Policy. Hugh has served as an intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments, as a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald, as a senior adviser on the staffs of Defence Minister Kim Beazley and Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and as a senior official in the Department of Defence, where from 1995 to 2000 he was Deputy Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence. Hugh was also the first Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).