About us

The Humanitarian Journalism Research Project is jointly led by Prof Mel Bunce (City, University of London), Dr Martin Scott (University of East Anglia) and Dr Kate Wright (University of Edinburgh). If you have any questions about our research or want to find out more then please do get in touch with one of us.

Prof Mel Bunce is the Head of the Journalism Department 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. Dr Bunce 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. She is also researching humanitarian journalism, focusing on the funding, production and impact of media reports about humanitarian crises.

Email: melanie.bunce.1@city.ac.uk

Twitter: @meljbunce

Dr Martin Scott is an associate professor in Media and International Development at the University of East Anglia. His research and teaching focusses on the intersection of media studies and development studies. He is currently researching media’s influence on humanitarian aid, international media freedom initiatives, international journalism and media capture. He has previously published research on foundation-funded news, representations of Africa, celebrities and development, audiences of distant suffering and the political roles of popular culture. These issues are also explored in his book Media and Development (Zed Books, 2014).

Email: Martin.Scott@uea.ac.uk

Twitter: @martinscott2010

Dr Kate Wright is the Academic Lead of the interdisciplinary research cluster in Media and Communications at the University of Edinburgh. She studies international news and mediated advocacy, particularly humanitarian and human rights campaigning. She is PI on, 'Beyond Humanitarian Emergencies', which is funded by the Centre for Data, Culture and Society. This interrogates the different meanings associated with the term 'humanitarian' in Anglophone news output around the world, over the past decade. She has studied major state-funded international broadcasters and wire agencies, as well as specialist outlets funded by private foundations. She has also published extensively on the growing involvement of NGOs in the production of international news, focusing on the coverage of Africa.

Email: Kate.Wright@ed.ac.uk

Twitter: @newsprof1