Building Black Justice Journalism (PhD scholarship)

What you'll receive

• You'll receive a stipend of $51,000 per annum for a maximum duration of 3.5 years while undertaking a QUT PhD. The duration includes an extension of up to 6 months if approved for your candidature. This is the full-time, tax exempt rate which will index annually.
• You will receive a tuition fee offset/sponsorship, covering the cost of your tuition fees for the first 4 full-time equivalent years of your doctoral studies.
• As the scholarship recipient, you will have the opportunity to work with a team of leading researchers, to undertake your own innovative research in and across the field.

Eligibility

How to apply

• Apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to QUT's Doctor of Philosophy.
• The first step is to email Dr Amy McQuire detailing your academic and research background, your motivation to research in this field and interest in this scholarship, and include your CV.
• If supported to apply, you will then submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) following the advice at How to apply for a research degree.
• In your EOI, nominate Dr Amy McQuire as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship website into question 2 of the financial details section.

About the scholarship

This PhD scholarship is being offered as part of Dr Amy McQuire’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Project Building Black Justice Journalism. The project is focused on building an ethical framework for Indigenous media, foregrounding Black Witnesses, and fighting for justice for First Nations people.

Black Justice Journalism engages in ethical storytelling by foregrounding a commitment to, and belief in the necessity of, abolition, Indigenous Sovereignty, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and an opposition to all forms of oppression. These principles replace the traditional onus on journalists to be impartial and apolitical by instead insisting that emancipation and justice should be at the heart of independent black media work. Justice is here defined as First Nations people define it, not predicated on carceral logics, but instead on the resistances of First Nations people and community.  Black Justice Journalism relies first and foremost on the foregrounding of Black Witnesses, who are often silenced or are only granted legitimacy when backed by White Witnesses. Marginalised voices are made central to Black Justice Journalism, and these testimonies are given prominence and space to be heard.

This project disrupts and resists dehumanising representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the development of an Indigenous ethical practice that goes beyond current journalistic debates on media ethics. It is focused on centring the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in conversations on ‘justice’, illuminating how media representations cement power and further disempower Indigenous peoples, and will theorise and disseminate strategies to contest these acts of representational violence through the field of journalistic practice.

You have the opportunity to research and produce knowledge on an area of your interest which broadly aligns with the goals of the project. It would suit a candidate with an interest in black media and journalism or issues of justice affecting Indigenous peoples.

Possible research questions could address:

• The history of Indigenous media and activism
• Reporting on issues of justice affecting Indigenous people
• Trauma-informed reporting practices for Indigenous journalists
• Indigenous media and changes in digital media landscapes
• Artificial intelligence and its impact on Indigenous media and journalistic practice

The candidate will be supervised by Dr Amy McQuire and have the opportunity to engage with QUT’s Carumba Institute alongside leading Indigenous scholars.