Anne was a former President of AANZCA, and was President of JERAA at the time of her death, both associations felt it appropriate to honour her via a joint prize. Anne was widely respected for her broadcast experience and management skills, including responsibilities at the ABC and as Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Sydney. She was well known as a mentor of early career researchers, especially women making the transition from industry to academia, as she had done. The award explicitly aims to honour Anne’s commitment to critical research of high academic standard. It recognises excellence in research about the fields of communication and journalism, including but not limited to broadcast media for the public benefit. This reflects Anne’s passion for public service broadcasting, radio studies and media ethics, and her work in bridging journalism and media studies scholarship.
Application
Judging will be done by two members of the JERAA executive and two members of the AANZCA executive and will be finalised in time for the winner to use the prize to attend either or both of the annual AANZCA and JERAA conferences should they wish to do so.
Who can apply?
The award is open to all scholars working in the journalism and communication studies fields in Australia and New Zealand. Applicants must be able to refer to a body of their own research work in journalism or communication. As a journalist, Anne Dunn worked primarily in broadcast media but applications are welcome from scholars in any part of the journalism and communication field. Entries will be judged on the merit of the body of work that is submitted. The award explicitly aims to honour Anne’s commitment to important research of high academic standards.
Application guidelines for 2025:
Nominations and self-nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Anne Dunn Scholar of the Year Award. To nominate yourself or a peer, please provide a 3- to 4-page application addressing the following criteria:
- Description of the nominee’s body of research about journalism, media, or communication for the public benefit (2 pages maximum)
- Demonstration of the impact of this body of research (1 page maximum)
- Statement about how the nominee builds bridges, whether between industry and the academy or across academic disciplines and/or mentors and invests in the next generation of scholars (half a page maximum)
Also attach a copy of the nominee’s current CV, containing all relevant publications, research grants and other awards, which will help the judging panel to evaluate the nominee’s body of work.
The 2025 Anne Dunn Scholar award will be judged cooperatively by representatives of the executive groups of the JERAA and AANZCA. Nominations should be uploaded to this form by 1 August, 2025.
Please direct any questions to the JERAA Vice President (Research), Dr TJ Thomson (t.j.thomson@rmit.edu.au).
Previous Recipients
2014 – A./Prof. Siobhan McHugh (University of Wollongong)
2015 – Prof. Mia Lindgren (Monash University)
2016 – A./Prof. Emma A. Jane (University of New South Wales)
2017 – Prof. Geoffrey Craig (Auckland University of Technology)
2018 – A./Prof. Caroline Fisher (University of Canberra)
2019 – Dr T. J. Thomson (Queensland University of Technology)
2020 – Dr Penny O’Donnell (The University of Sydney)
2021 – Dr Catriona Bonfiglioli (University of Technology Sydney)
2022 – Prof. Elizabeth (Libby) Lester (University of Tasmania)
2023 – Prof. Matthew Ricketson (Deakin University)
2024 – A/Prof Willa McDonald (Macquarie University)