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  1. Home
  2. …
  3. People
  4. Academics
  5. Professor Mel Bunce
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photo of Melanie Bunce

Professor Mel Bunce

Professor of International Journalism

School of Communication & Creativity Department of Journalism

Contact details

  • +44 (0)20 7040 8818
  • melanie.bunce.1@city.ac.uk
  • @meljbunce

Address

Professor Mel Bunce A131, College Building [A]
City, University of London
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom

Personal links

  • Humanitarian News Research Network
  • Promoting Media Freedom In a Time of Crisis - AHRC/GCRF research project
  • About
  • Research
  • Publications
  • Professional activities

About

Overview

Professor Mel Bunce is the Head of the Journalism Department and the Deputy Dean of the School of Communication & Creativity at City, University of London. She is a researcher and media commentator focusing on changing journalism practice, media freedom, and the reporting of Africa and humanitarian crises.

Mel is the Principal Investigator of a major project, 'Promoting media freedom in a time of crisis' funded by a GCRF/AHRC Urgency Grant, with an international research team based in the UK, Sudan and the Philippines ( www.pressfreedom.co.uk ). She is also researching humanitarian journalism, focusing on the funding, production and impact of media reports about humanitarian crises.

Her previous work examined the work of foreign correspondents in Africa and the way that culture, power, technology and economics shape news narratives about the African continent. This included extensive fieldwork in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal. In 2016 she co- edited 'Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century' (Routledge) on the media representation of Africa.

Mel's research has also explored how digital media and new technology are transforming journalistic practice. This has included studies of how collaborative platforms like Slack change journalistic work; how the introduction of website analytics can alter news outputs and power dynamics within newsrooms; and how foreign correspondents relate to their audiences through social media.

Finally, Mel has retained a strong interest in the media system and politics of New Zealand (her home country) and is the author of the best selling book, 'The Broken Estate: Journalism and Democracy in a Post-Truth World' (BWB, 2019) which was widely reported in the New Zealand media, including features in TVNZ, RNZ, Stuff, NZ Herald, Newsroom, Newshub and Spinoff.

Before coming to City, Mel taught at Birkbeck, University of London and at the University of Otago. She also worked as a columnist / media commentator in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. She continues to do media commentary for a range of international and national outlets.

Qualifications

  • DPhil in Politics (No corrections), University of Oxford, United Kingdom, 2013
  • MPhil in Development Studies, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  • BA (Hons) in Political Science & English (first class), University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
  • Senior Fellow, Higher Education Association

Fellowships

  • Senior Fellow, Higher Education Association

Awards

  • AHRC/GCRF Urgency Grant (2020) "Promoting Media Freedom in a time of Crisis" (Principal Investigator)
  • International Communications Association (2020) Wolfgang Donsbach Outstanding Article of the Year Award
    For the best research article on journalism published in any journal in the year 2019.
  • International Communications Association (2019) Top faculty paper, Journalism Studies Division
  • University of East Anglia (2019) Best ‘Research Impact in Policy and Practice’ award
  • The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) (2018) African Journalism Studies Best Paper Award, International Communication Division
  • International Communication Association (2016) Best paper or panel on Africa, Global Communication Division

Research

Research Grants

2020 GCRF/AHRC Urgency Grant - “Promoting media freedom in a time of crisis” (Principal Investigator)

2018 British Academy, Visiting Research Fellowship

2016 AHRC, “What is Humanitarian News?” (Co-Investigator)

2015 Independent Social Research Foundation, Small group grant (Co-Investigator)

2014 British Academy, “Changing International News Coverage of Africa” (Principal Investigator)

Publications

Publications by category

Books (3)

  • Scott, M., Wright, K. and Bunce, M. (2022). Humanitarian Journalists: Covering Crises from a Boundary Zone. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-03-240767-8.
  • Bunce, M. (2019). The Broken Estate: Journalism and Democracy in a Post-Truth World. Bridget Williams Books. ISBN 978-0-947518-35-6.
  • Bunce, M., Franks, S. and Paterson, C. (Eds.), (2016). Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century: From the 'Heart of Darkness' to 'Africa Rising'. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-96232-3.

Chapters (7)

  • Scott, M., Wright, K. and Bunce, M. (2021). The politics of humanitarian journalism. Routledge Handbook of Humanitarian Communication (pp. 203–219). Routledge.
  • Bunce, M., Scott, M. and Wright, K. (2019). Humanitarian journalism. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication Oxford University Press.
  • Scott, M., Wright, K. and Bunce, M. (2018). “Doing Good” and “Looking Good” in Global Humanitarian Reporting. Communication in International Development (pp. 39–57). Routledge.
  • Bunce, M., Franks, S. and Paterson, C. (2017). A new Africa's Media Image? Introduction. AFRICA'S MEDIA IMAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: FROM THE HEART OF DARKNESS TO AFRICA RISING (pp. 1–13). ISBN 978-1-138-96232-3.
  • Bunce, M., Franks, S. and Paterson, C. (2016). Introduction: A New Africa’s Media Image? In Bunce, M., Franks, S. and Paterson, C. (Eds.), Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century: From the 'Heart of Darkness' to 'Africa Rising' (pp. 1–14). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-96231-6.
  • Bunce, M. (2016). The International News Coverage of Africa: Beyond the ‘Single Story’. Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century: From the 'Heart of Darkness' to 'Africa Rising' (pp. 17–29). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-96231-6.
  • Bunce, M. (2015). International news and the image of Africa. Images of Africa (pp. 42–62). Manchester University Press.

Journal articles (16)

  • Scott, M., Bunce, M., Myers, M. and Fernandez, M.C. (2022). Whose media freedom is being defended? Norm contestation in international media freedom campaigns. Journal of Communication. doi:10.1093/joc/jqac045.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Scott, M., Bunce, M. and Wright, K. (2022). The Influence of News Coverage on Humanitarian Aid: The Bureaucrats’ Perspective. Journalism Studies, 23(2), pp. 167–186. doi:10.1080/1461670x.2021.2013129.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Cooper, G., Blumell, L. and Bunce, M. (2021). Beyond the ‘refugee crisis’: How the UK news media represent asylum seekers across national boundaries. International Communication Gazette, 83(3), pp. 195–216. doi:10.1177/1748048520913230.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Wright, K., Scott, M. and Bunce, M. (2020). Soft Power, Hard News: How Journalists at State-Funded Transnational Media Legitimize Their Work. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(4), pp. 607–631. doi:10.1177/1940161220922832.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Blumell, L.E., Bunce, M., Cooper, G. and McDowell, C. (2020). Refugee and Asylum News Coverage in UK Print and Online Media. Journalism Studies, 21(2), pp. 162–179. doi:10.1080/1461670x.2019.1633243.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Bunce, M. (2019). Book Review: The media and aid in Sub-Saharan Africa: Whose news? JOURNALISM, 20(8), pp. 1141–1142. doi:10.1177/1464884919862053.
  • Bunce, M. (2019). Management and resistance in the digital newsroom. Journalism, 20(7), pp. 890–905. doi:10.1177/1464884916688963.
  • Wright, K., Scott, M. and Bunce, M. (2019). Foundation-funded Journalism, Philanthrocapitalism and Tainted Donors. Journalism Studies, 20(5), pp. 675–695. doi:10.1080/1461670x.2017.1417053.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Scott, M., Bunce, M. and Wright, K. (2019). Foundation funding and the boundaries of journalism. Journalism Studies. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2018.1556321.
  • Bunce, M. (2019). Humanitarian Communication in a Post-Truth World. Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, 1(1), pp. 49–55. doi:10.7227/jha.007.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Bunce, M., Wright, K. and Scott, M. (2018). ‘Our newsroom in the cloud’: Slack, virtual newsrooms and journalistic practice. New Media & Society, 20(9), pp. 3381–3399. doi:10.1177/1461444817748955.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Bunce, M. (2018). Book review: Reimagining Journalism in Aotearoa New Zealand. Communication Research and Practice.
  • Scott, Martin, , Bunce, M. and Wright, Kate, (2017). Donor power and the news:The influence of foundation funding on international public service journalism. International Journal of Press/Politics, 22(2), pp. 163–184. doi:10.1177/1940161217693394.
  • Bunce, M. (2016). Foundations, philanthropy and international journalism. Ethical Space: the international journal of communication ethics, 13(2/3), pp. 6–15.
  • Bunce, M. (2015). Africa in the click stream: audience metrics and foreign correspondents in Africa. African Journalism Studies, 36(4), pp. 12–29. doi:10.1080/23743670.2015.1119487.

    [publisher’s website]

  • Bunce, M. (2010). 'This Place Used to be a White British Boys' Club': Reporting Dynamics and Cultural Clash at an International News Bureau in Nairobi. ” The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 99(410), pp. 515–528.

Reports (5)

  • Myers, M., Scott, M., Bunce, M., Yassin, L., Fernandez, M.C.I. and Khan, R. (2022). Reset Required? Evaluating the Media Freedom Coalition after its first two years. London: Foreign Policy Centre.
  • Scott, M., Bunce, M. and Myers, M. (2020). Shining a Spotlight on Media Freedom: Media Coverage of the Global Campaign for Media Freedom..
  • Scott, M., Wright, K. and Bunce, M. (2018). Foundation support for international non-profit news: Mapping the funding landscape. University of East Anglia.
  • Scott, M., Wright, K. and Bunce, M. (2018). The State of Humanitarian Journalism. University of East Anglia.
  • Bunce, M. (2011). The new foreign correspondent at work: Local-national ‘stringers’ and the global news coverage of Darfur. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Professional activities

Online articles (3)

  • Media commentator for a range of outlets including: Al Jazeera English, BBC, The Financial Times, Africa is a Country and The Conversation.
  • Columnist at the Evening Herald, Dublin, Ireland (2006).
  • Columnist at the Otago Daily Times, Dunedin, New Zealand (2000-2005).

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