Brett Hutchins

Brett Hutchins is Professor of Media and Communications Studies and Head of Communications and Media Studies (2018-  ) in the School of Media, Film & Journalism. He recently completed an Australian Research Council Fellowship program titled, The Mobile Media Sport Moment: Markets, Technologies, Power.

Brett undertakes research, postgraduate supervision, and media commentary in the following areas:

• Sports media and communications
• Environmental media
• Mobile media and communications
• News media and journalism
• Media Studies

Curriculum Vitae – Hutchins CV

Focus and Approach

Brett’s research investigates who wins, who loses, and how from processes of technological change, focussing particularly on questions of social, economic and political power. These processes are explored through case studies that examine sports media, environmental media, and other forms of digital, mobile and online media. His approach is based on a combination of critical analysis, accessible writing, and evidence drawn from industry and policy circles.

His major publications include the following books and articles:

• (Under contract) Mobile Media and Sport: Content, Technology and Markets on the Move. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Digital Media Sport: Technology, Power & Culture in the Network Society (co-edited with David Rowe and published by Routledge, New York).
• Environmental Conflict & the Media (co-edited with Libby Lester and published by Peter Lang, New York)
• Sport Beyond Television: The Internet, Digital Media & the Rise of Networked Media Sport(co-authored with David Rowe and published by Routledge, New York).
• Sociology (Pearson Australia). Brett is responsible for the materials on media and popular culture presented in this market-leading sociology textbook, which is written by a team of authors led by Robert Van Krieken.
• Don Bradman: Challenging the Myth (Cambridge University Press; softback edition, 2005).
• His many refereed articles have appeared in leading international media studies journals, including Media, Culture & Society, New Media & Society,International Communication Gazette, Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Television & New Media, Information, Communication & Society, European Journal of Cultural Studies, and Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism.

He also sits on the editorial board of the journals, Media International Australia (Sage), Journal of Sport and Social Issues (Sage), Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature & Culture (Taylor & Francis) and Communication & Sport (Sage).

PhD and Masters-by-Research Supervision

Brett supervises a range of PhD and Masters research projects. He has worked successfully with students from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Colombia, South Africa, Germany, New Zealand and Australia. These projects examine a range of topics, including mobile communications and media, sports media, mediatised conflict, social networking, blogging, e-government, online journalism, the radio industry, branding, video gaming, and diapsoric media communities. (Click here for details of these projects.)

Podcast Series and Media Commentary

Available on both iTunes and Soundcloud, Brett has hosted the Media Sport Podcast Series since 2014. Focusing on the intersections between sport and media across the globe, this series features interviews about significant social, cultural, economic and political issues with leading international researchers working across the humanities and social sciences.

Brett is also an active media commentator. As well as writing opinion pieces for The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Inside Story and The Conversation, he receives regular invitations from national and international news outlets to be interviewed about sport, digital technologies, and the media. These outlets have included the BBC World Service, Mashable and The Huffington Post in the US, The Daily Telegraph in London, The New Straits Times in Malaysia, ABC Television News, ABC News 24, News Hour on the “Australian Network” of ABC International, ABC Radio’s “PM with Mark Colvin”, Radio National’s “Australia Talks” and “Life Matters”, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, and Crikey.