Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Ben Eltham is a Lecturer in Media and Communications at Monash University’s School of Media, Film and Journalism. Ben is a passionate teacher who leads several of the core subjects in Monash's innovative Masters of Cultural and Creative Industries. Before taking up his position at Monash, he lectured at Deakin University in the School of Communications and Creative Arts. After completing his doctoral thesis at Western Sydney University's Institute of Culture and Society in the field of cultural policy, he held a three year post-doctoral fellowship at Deakin in the Centre for Memory, Imagination and Invention.
Ben’s primary research interest is the public policy of culture in Australia, particularly at federal level. He has published peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations, creative works, and edited book chapters. His monograph, When the Goal Posts Move: Patronage, power and resistance in Australian cultural policy 2013-2016 was published by Currency House in 2016. His key research collaborations are currently with Professor Mark Andrejevic's Culture Media Economy group at Monash, and with Professor Deb Verhoeven’s Kinomatics Group for digital humanities at the University of Alberta.
Ben also works extensively in the popular media as a journalist and essayist. Ben has covered federal politics for a decade as the National Affairs Correspondent at New Matilda, and he is a regular contributor to journals such as Crikey, Guardian Australia, Overland, Meanjin and the Sydney Review of Books. He is also sought out as a cultural policy consultant by federal, state and local policymakers, authoring reports for the federal Department of Industry, Creative Victoria, the Victorian Music Development Office, and the City of Sydney.
In 2020, Ben's professional standing as a journalist was recognised when he served as a judge for the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- cultural policy
- cultural industries
- Innovation Systems
- media studies
- public policy
- International Relations
- journalism studies
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 3 Finished
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Research on benefits of supporting the arts for the Creative City Portfolio
31/08/21 → 31/01/22
Project: Research
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Precarity in the Australian cultural labour force - Bodies of Work project
22/04/21 → 1/07/21
Project: Research
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Victorian Music Development Office scoping study
Eltham, B. & Ryan, C.
Contemporary Music Victoria Incorporated
1/05/19 → 30/08/19
Project: Research
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By a long shot: power, devaluation and discrimination in a toxic cultural workforce
Coate, B., Eltham, B. & Verhoeven, D., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Australian Journal of Management. 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
A Government Adrift, and Out of Time
Eltham, B., 15 Feb 2022, 11 p. Carlton : Meanjin: an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing.Research output: Other contribution › Other
Open Access -
AUKUS, and the Complex Art of Giving Defence
Eltham, B., 17 Jan 2022, Australia : Meanjin: an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing.Research output: Other contribution › Other
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National accounts: A whiff of corruption
Eltham, B., 2022, In: Meanjin.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Other
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A pandemic to die for
Eltham, B., 29 Jul 2021, 6 p. Carlton Vic Australia : Meanjin: an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing.Research output: Other contribution › Other
Activities
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Independent Publishing Conference
Ben Eltham (Keynote/plenary speaker)
24 Nov 2022 → 26 Nov 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Walkley Foundation (External organisation)
Ben Eltham (Member)
2020Activity: Industry, Government and Philanthropy Engagement and Partnerships › Membership of an advisory panel/policy group/ board
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Australian Cultural Policy
Ben Eltham (Organiser)
8 Apr 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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CollArts Entertainment Management Course Advisory Committee
Ben Eltham (Fellow)
12 Feb 2019Activity: External Academic Engagement › Peer review panel or committee
Press/Media
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ABC Statewide Drive with Nicole Chvastek
26/03/19 → 27/05/20
16 Media contributions
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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3RRR FM 'Uncommon Sense' federal politics expert commentator
12/09/17 → 19/11/19
8 items of Media coverage, 8 Media contributions
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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