Our Board
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Professor Allan Fels AO ChairProfessor Allan Fels AO is a Professor of Law and of Economics and a former Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
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Virginia Haussegger AM DEPUTY CHAIR
Virginia Haussegger AM is an award-winning journalist and gender equity advocate.
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Eric Beecher
Eric Beecher is Chair of two influential media groups – Private Media, which publishes Crikey, The Mandarin and Smart Company, and Solstice Media, which publishes The New Daily and InDaily.
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Leslie Falkiner-Rose
Leslie is an experienced print, radio and television journalist who now focuses on strategic communications and collaborative educational, social and cultural change initiatives.
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Richard Eccles
Richard Eccles is a consultant and company director and former Australian Public Servant.
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Professor Simon Wilkie
Professor Simon Wilkie’s career spans a remarkable array of roles that extend beyond the higher education sphere and include appointments as Chief Economic Policy Strategist at Microsoft Corporation and Chief Economist with the US Federal Communications Commission.
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Mette Schepers
Mette is an internationally-experienced financial and professional services executive and non-executive director.
Our Thanks
PIJI extends our gratitude to all of our former Directors, for their roles in founding, guiding, and supporting PIJI to achieve our vision;
Professor Glyn Davis AC
Adam Ferrier
Karen Mahlab AM
Margaret Simons
Grant Rule
Dr Sophie Oh
The Honourable Marilyn Warren AC QC
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The onset of COVID-19 and other upheavals in the Australian news media landscape have unveiled the rapidly diminishing production of public interest journalism in Australia, particularly in coverage of our councils, parliaments, and courts. PIJI’s research show’s regional and rural communities have been most adversely affected, with emerging local news gaps in print and online at the forefront of concern.
The Public Interest Journalism Initiative’s comprehensive research has become a leading point of reference for examining the state of public interest journalism production and availability in Australia. This means we now have a unique opportunity for systemic industry reform, using our Australia-first data to guide short and long-term policy ideas into action.
Public interest journalism in Australia plays a critical role in our democracy. The Public Interest Journalism Initiative’s research is uncovering indicators of a lack of media plurality and diversity across Australia. This research has the power to help communities and decision makers create effective media policies and interventions that improve the quality and provision of public interest journalism in Australia.