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Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism to be established

News

19 January 2006

Oxford University and Reuters Foundation today announced the creation of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk), following funding of £1.75m over five years from the Reuters Foundation to establish and develop a research centre of excellence in the study of journalism.

Speaking at the Oxford Media Convention at the Saïd Business School today, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Dr John Hood, outlined plans for the Institute to become one of the most authoritative sources of reliable analysis of journalism at an international, national and local level. The Institute, which will be part of Oxford University’s Department of Politics and International Relations and based at Green College, will set the standards for high-quality research into contemporary issues which affect news organisations worldwide.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism will build on Oxford’s already wide-ranging engagement with media issues and the long-standing Reuters Foundation Journalists Fellowship Programme at Green College, Oxford. The programme for visiting journalists will continue as a key component of the new Institute. The Institute will have a distinct focus: it will analyse the practice of journalism worldwide and examine the basis for reliable and accurate reporting in the digital age.

The Reuters Institute will place particular importance on engaging practitioners in every area of the news media and the professions closely associated with them - through publications, seminars, lectures and debates. It will aim to break down the barriers of incomprehension and distrust which have tended to define the relationship between the academy and journalism.

The Chair of The Reuters Institute Steering Committee, Tim Gardam, Principal of St Anne's College, said: 'The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism will be a world-class research centre which will treat the media with the depth of seriousness it deserves. In establishing the new Institute with the Reuters Foundation we have aimed to create an arena where the worlds of media and academia can come together, and give current journalists, as well as academics working in this field, the time and space to reflect on the most pressing public policy issues connecting journalism, politics and our contemporary society.

'Most other media departments in universities are concerned with training the journalists and PR practitioners of the future, along with long-term research. These are all important issues. However, the Reuters Institute at Oxford will not offer undergraduate degree courses, but instead focus on supporting high quality research, analysis and comment about how the media operates, and provide an independent forum for exchanges between practitioners and analysts of journalism and all those affected by it.'

Dr John Hood, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, said: 'Oxford is ideally placed to become one of the most influential and authoritative centres for research into all issues governing how media operations gather and disseminate news. In addition to the programme for overseas journalists which has been run in conjunction with Reuters Foundation for the past two decades, we have expertise across our academic departments in the legal, technological and political issues which affect modern news organisations, as well as ongoing links with many of our alumni who work for media organisations around the globe. This existing range of expertise will also be augmented by the International Centre for Media and Communications Management, currently being developed by the Saïd Business School.'

Geert Linnebank, Reuters Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of Reuters Foundation, said: 'Reuters Foundation is delighted to be involved in this exciting initiative to create an international centre of excellence for research, analysis and debate of the many issues which arise in the practice of journalism around the world. Reuters Foundation's long association with Oxford University provides a sound basis on which to build a world-class institution.'

Sir John Hanson, Warden of Green College, said: 'The Reuters Foundation Journalists Fellowship Programme has been one of the longest standing international journalism institutions outside the USA and Green College is proud to have hosted it in Oxford. We are delighted that our links with international journalism and the Reuters Foundation will be strengthened further in the context of the new Institute.'

The Institute will aim to become a recognised and impartial authority on all aspects of the practice of journalism; to attain the highest standards in academic research but also to respond to current debates; to chart the technological and market changes which influence news media today; and to identify long- term trends.

For more information contact: Reuters: Yasmeen Khan, Reuters media relations, 0207 542 0496, yasmeen.khan@reuters.com; Oxford University: Press Office, 01865 280530, press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

  • The Institute will be developed from the existing Reuters Foundation Journalists Fellowship Programme based at Norham Gardens. It will be an integral part of the Department of Politics and International Relations within the University’s Social Sciences Division. It will also draw on the experience of the long-established Nuffield Seminars on Media and Politics jointly run by Dr David Butler and the Reuters Foundation Programme.
  • An established academic will be appointed as Director of the Institute, with a recognised journalist appointed as a Director of Journalism. The Institute will be governed by a Steering Committee, which will include a representative of Reuters. The Steering Committee will be accountable to the Department’s General Purposes Committee and the Head of the Department for Politics and International Relations.
  • The Institute will work alongside the other centres for the study of media in the University, notably the Oxford Internet Institute and the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy. Representatives of these centres will meet together regularly with the Head of the Social Sciences Division to create in Oxford a high-quality international capacity across the field.
  • Plans for the institute have been developed by a team including: Professor Timothy Garton Ash, Director of the European Studies Centre at St Antony’s College and a columnist on The Guardian, Professor Neil MacFarlane, Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations and Professor of International Relations, Geert Linnebank, Reuters Editor-in-Chief, John Lloyd, Contributing Editor of the Financial Times, Paddy Coulter, Director of the Reuters Foundation Journalists Fellowship Programme at Green College, Tim Gardam, Principal of St Anne’s College, and Sir John Hanson, Warden of Green College.
  • The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism will not offer undergraduate degree courses in media studies, but over time there will be scope for it to play a teaching role in the University, particularly through the supervision of postgraduate students. The Institute will establish a summer programme for journalists, academics and students, and host a number of full-time and visiting fellowships for scholars and practising journalists from around the world. Green College will continue to admit as Visiting Scholars the overseas journalists who come to the Institute in continuation of the former Programme.
  • Reuters Foundation (www.foundation.reuters.com) is an educational and charitable trust funded by Reuters, the global information company. Reuters Foundation offers a wide range of study and training opportunities to journalists from all over the world and funds charitable initiatives reflecting the concerns and interests of Reuters.
  • More information about the Oxford Media Convention can be found at: http://media.guardian.co.uk/oxfordmediaconvention