October 2005

Media maven in the making

A senior lecturer in Macquarie University’s Department of Computing will gain an inside view of the media when she spends six weeks in October and November at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation learning about radio, television and online journalism.

Dr Debbie Richards, who is also the Department’s Industrial and External Relations Director, was recently awarded an ABC Australian Academy of Science Media Fellowship.

In her application for the fellowship, Richards, whose main area of research is artificial intelligence, outlined her concerns about the current lack of interest from young people in pursuing studies and careers in science and the implications for a society which is short on scientists.

“Australia has been a leader in many scientific fields but the future shortage of scientists will have a detrimental impact on our knowledge economy,” she says.

Richards will begin with a five-day course at the ABC Ultimo Centre to get a basic introduction to radio, television and online journalism. She will see a range of daily and weekly programs in production and will be expected to come up with ideas, do research and perhaps some production and writing for both TV and online.

She is hopeful the media fellowship will help polish her presentation skills and provide more insight on the best ways to communicate about science with students and industry.