Staff Profile
Career Summary
Biography
Professor Mark Balnaves started his career in the media as a news production assistant and journalist in print and television, in Canberra and northern Victoria, and then moved to Broadglen Publishing, Melbourne. As an academic he has taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Courses include cultural studies, communication and media research methodology, media audiences and public relations (theory). He has obtained funding for postgraduate scholarships and has supervised a number of PhDs, Masters and Honours students, as well as examining at all levels.
He has served on a range of school and university level committees at current and past universities. He served for two years as the Chair of the Mass Communication Program at Murdoch University and was program director for the BA Communication for two years at the University of Canberra where he developed courses for domestic and international programs. His research interests now include ethnography of design; history of media research; application of immersive media environments and global networks to design; broadcasting and related media fields; and social media and its role in e-governance; public opinion and news. He is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA), the European Consortium of Communication Research (ECCR), and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).
Professor Balnaves has been a theme editor for Media International Australia and is a reviewer for the Journal of Communication Management. He has published over 90 refereed papers, including book chapters, with leading journals and publishers in the field. He has published a number of books with Penguin, Sage, Bloomsbury Academic and Palgrave MacMillan. These include Mobilising the Audience (2002), Media Theories and Approaches: A Global Perspective (2008), A New Theory of Information and the Internet: Public Sphere Meets Protocol (2011) and Rating the Audience: The Business of Media (2011). In 2011 he was invited as a ‘World Thinker’ to the annual Festival of Thinkers in the United Arab Emirates to debate and discuss media issues.
Qualifications
- PhD, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 30/10/1991
Research
Research keywords
- Audience Research
- Diffusion and Adoption of New Media
- E-Governance and Participatory Media
- History of Audience Measurement
- History of Media
- Immersive Media
- Social Equity and Media Policy
- Social Games
- Social Media
Research expertise
Professor Balnaves's major research interests and expertise are in:
- immersive media;
- future of media production (news, broadcasting, design);
- e-governance;
- history of media;
- media and audiences;
- diffusion and adoption of new media; and,
- social equity and media policy.
Professor Balnaves research expertise portfolio includes:
Telstra/EIP and ACTEW:
At RMIT Professor Balnaves received $240,000 through the Telstra Fund for Social and Policy Research. This project was taken over by Patricia Palmer when I moved to Canberra. I received in Canberra a $15,000 competitive grant in 1994 from the Telstra Fund for Social and Policy Research in Telecommunications to begin preliminary planning of the longitudinal evaluation of Telstra Multimedia's broadband pilot in Gungahlin. Telstra Multimedia provided $94,000 for the baseline research. Telstra Multimedia suspended its trials of broadband in August 1996. The baseline study conducted for Telstra Multimedia was completed successfully in July 1996 and data has been provided in publications. Telstra's proposed broadband project was taken over by ACTEW, Canberra's energy and water utility. Professor Balnaves received $50,000 to undertake ACTEW’s baseline research. Both investigations led to the creation of actual services. In the case of Telstra the Gungahlin project was used in planning the establishment of BigPond. In the case of ACTEW the project was used for the establishment of TransACT.
Professor Balnaves also received an Evaluations and Investigations Program (DEETYA) grant of $350,000 to complement research in Gungahlin.
AOLAA:
At Murdoch University I have set up the Australasian Online Advertising Archive (AOLAA) with the Advertisers’ Federation of Australia (AFA) and the New Zealand Advertisers’ Federation (AAA). This was supported by a $48,000 grant to purchase a Sun250 server and equipment for digitisation.
Governing Media Audiences:
Together with Professor Tom O’Regan at the Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy, Professor Balnaves received funding to undertake a historical study of Australia’s television audiences. ACNielsen provided $20,000 additional support for interviews in a SPIRT bid.
Australian Research Council (ARC):
I have ARC LIEF, Linkage and Discovery Grants in the Communication and Media and Cultural Studies FOR Codes.
ARC LIEF D63170 Interactive Television Audience Laboratory
This grant established Australia’s first dedicated public research laboratory for assessing consumer motivation, evaluating program usability and theorising audience response to Interactive Television applications. Curtin/Murdoch/ECU and UWA were the joint funders. The laboratory features specialised testing equipment designed to emulate real-world digital broadcasting environments, enabling rich data on viewing behaviour to be collected and analysed.
ARC Discovery LP0349033 Smart Communities – Applied research into integrated government services and regional networked neighbourhoods to support children and young people at risk
This applied research project investigates and provides directions for improvement in the life choices available to children and young people at risk in remote, rural and urban areas of Western Australia. It does this by (i) conducting a detailed study of children and young people at risk, as identified by government and non-government agencies (ii) conducting quantitative and qualitative fieldwork into the communication patterns and information-seeking behaviour of children and young people at risk; (iii) exploring strategies and interventions through inter-agency co-operation in the provision of content and technology (as geographical or virtual communities).
ARC Discovery DP0770606 The Emergence, Development and Transformation of Media Ratings Conventions and Methodologies in Australia, 1930-2008
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 200102 | Communication Technology And Digital Media Studies | 40 |
| 200199 | Communication And Media Studies Not Elsewhere Classified | 30 |
| 200104 | Media Studies | 30 |
Collaboration
Professor Balnaves has been the chief or lead investigator on grants totalling more than $2million, the majority from commercial sources plus ARC LIEF, Linkage and Discovery grants. He is an ARC assessor. Professor Balnaves's recent ARC grants include:
2011 Chief and Lead Investigator (with Gary Madden, Michele Willson, Tama Leaver, Philip Moore and Jonathan Noal) ARC Linkage LP110200026. $240,000. Online Money and Fantasy Games - an applied ethnographic study into the new entrepreneurial communities.
2010 Chief Investigator (with Janette Hartz-Karp and Dora Marinova) ARC Linkage LP100200803. $358,000. Transitions to a Sustainable City - Geraldton WA: An applied study into co-creating sustainability though civic deliberation and social media.
2006 Chief and Lead Investigator (with Tom O'Regan). ARC Discovery DP0770606. $265,000. The Emergence, Development and Transformation of Media Ratings Conventions and Methodologies in Australia, 1930-2008.
2005 Chief Investigator (with Lelia Green). ARC Discovery. DP0559707. $146,000. Australian responses to the images and discourses of terrorism and the other: establishing a metric of fear
Administrative
Administrative expertise
ADMINISTRATION
Custodial Guardian:
Communications Policy Research Forum
Australian Communications and Media Authority:
Reviewer for research projects.
Conference Organisation:
Convenor. Personal Construct Psychology Association Conference. University of Canberra, 1995, Communication and Constructivisim: Breaking the Orthodoxies in PCP.
Organiser. Crossing Cultural Frontiers, 28-29 April, Joint Rangsit University and University of Canberra Conference, 1997.
Editorial:
Editorial collective and reviewer. Continuum: journal of media and culture. Current.
Theme Editor. Ratings in Transition. Media International Australia, 105, 2002.
Editor. Centre for Communication Policy Research Research Series, University of Canberra, 1993-1996.
Fellowships:
Research Fellow. Centre for Research in Culture and Communication, Murdoch University.
Media: Series Contributor. In the Pipeline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
SERVICE TO ARC
Workshop 5 advisor for Panel 11, RQF
ARC Reviewer
UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Edith Cowan University
Committees:
Academic Board
Faculty Board
Postgraduate co-ordinator, School of Communications and Multimedia, 2003.
AUSTRADE exhibitions and seminars, Emirates, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore 2002-2005.
Graduate Attributes Working Party.
Program Co-ordinator. UG, including PG program Hong Kong (LiPACE) and UG program at Malaysia (Raffles).
School Executive
International course creation:
Masters units for London School of Public Relations, Jakarta, Indonesia
Corporate communication for City of Jinan, China, 2006
Communication management for MDIS, Singapore
Murdoch University
Business, Information Technology and Law Appeals Committee Divisional Marketing
Committee.
Coordinator of twinned units in Media Audiences, Mass Communication II and Media
Research Methods, KDU campus, Malaysia.
Honours Committee.
Law Program Committee.
Program Chairs Committee.
University Marketing Committee
University of Canberra
Academic Board, 1994.
Chair, Information and Communication Services Committee, 2/94.
Chair, Faculty Building Committee 1993.
Chair, Inter-ACT: Interactive Services Consortium
Co-Convenor, Honours and PG.
Community Policy Reference Group, 1993-1994.
Co-ordinator Political Advertising Archives.
Director, Centre for Communication Policy Research, 1993-1997.
Faculty Appeals Committee.
Faculty Computer Needs Working Party, 1993.
Joint Co-ordinator, Asia-Pac
Teaching
Teaching expertise
TEACHING
- Edith Cowan University
Communication and Culture
Convergences
Advanced Communication Research Methods
Publication: preparation, research and writing
Issues and Crisis Management
Public Relations Theory/Perception Management
Professional Placement
Communication Research
- Murdoch University
Mass Communication II
Media Audiences
Media Planning (in conjunction with AIS Elliott Matthews)
Media Research
Writing for the Media
- University of Canberra
Intercultural Communication
Media Research (UG, Honours and PG)
Writing for the Media
Screen
- RMIT
Media Research
Power: its use and abuse
Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 36 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $3,229,615 |
For project grants received where the lead institution is other than the University of Newcastle, details are shown in italics.
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
2013 (3 grants)
City Evolutions Project - Watt Street$262,430
Funding Body: Newcastle City Council
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mr Chris Tucker, Professor Mark Balnaves, Doctor Ning Gu, Professor Mario Minichiello, Associate Professor Stephan Chalup, Doctor Keith Nesbitt | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Research Grant | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $262,430 | 2013 | 2013 |
| GNo:G1201004 | ||
Creativity and Cultural Production in the Hunter: an applied ethnographic study of new entrepreneurial systems in the creative industries.$180,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Phillip McIntyre, Professor Mark Balnaves, Doctor Susan Kerrigan, Mrs Evelyn King, Ms Claire Williams | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Linkage Projects | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $180,000 | 2013 | 2016 |
| GNo:G1201143 | ||
Digital Public Space: new architectures and finance models for public service media$10,000
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Mark Balnaves, Professor Mario Minichiello | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Linkage Pilot Research Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $10,000 | 2013 | 2013 |
| GNo:G1300806 | ||
2012 (1 grants)
A Cultural History of West Australian Popular Music, 1945 to 2010$120,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $120,000 | 2012 | 2012 |
| GNo:183959640 | ||
2011 (1 grants)
Online Money and Fantasy Games - an applied ethnographic study into the new entrepreneurial communities.$240,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Linkage Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $240,000 | 2011 | 2013 |
| GNo:180204186 | ||
2010 (1 grants)
Transitions to a Sustainable City - Geraldton WA: An applied study into co-creating sustainability though civic deliberation and social media$358,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Linkage Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $358,000 | 2010 | 2010 |
| GNo:183959652 | ||
2006 (1 grants)
The Emergence, Development and Transformation of Media Ratings Conventions and Methodologies in Australia, 1930-2008$265,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $265,000 | 2006 | 2006 |
| GNo:183959672 | ||
2005 (1 grants)
Australian responses to the images and discourses of terrorism and the other: establishing a metric of fear$146,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $146,000 | 2005 | 2005 |
| GNo:183959684 | ||
2003 (3 grants)
Smart Communities: applied research into integrated government services and regional networked neighbourhoods to support children and young people at risk.$125,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $125,000 | 2003 | 2003 |
| GNo:183959696 | ||
Female Spies 1915-1950: real and imagined$3,000
Funding Body: ECU Faculty of Communication and Creative Industries Grant Scheme
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Mentor | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $3,000 | 2003 | 2003 |
| GNo:183959720 | ||
Media Buying$3,000
Funding Body: ECU Faculty of Communication and Creative Industries Grant Scheme
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Mentor | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $3,000 | 2003 | 2003 |
| GNo:183959708 | ||
2002 (1 grants)
Interactive Television Audience Research Laboratory$400,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF) | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $400,000 | 2002 | 2002 |
| GNo:183959728 | ||
2000 (2 grants)
Making Online Learning Work: a trial of multi-modal multiple platform distributed delivery of courses$40,000
Funding Body: Murdoch University
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching and Learning Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $40,000 | 2000 | 2000 |
| GNo:183959740 | ||
Media Buying in the Marketing and Media Curriculum$5,000
Funding Body: ACNielsen and Murdoch University collaboration
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching and Learning Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $5,000 | 2000 | 2000 |
| GNo:183959748 | ||
1999 (2 grants)
Infrastructure Support for the Advertisers Federation of Australia/Murdoch University National Online Advertising Archive$48,000
Funding Body: REFE
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $48,000 | 1999 | 1999 |
| GNo:183959764 | ||
Governing Media Audiences$5,710
Funding Body: Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $5,710 | 1999 | 1999 |
| GNo:183959756 | ||
1998 (4 grants)
Driver Education and Information Package, Institute for Research in Safety and Transport, Murdoch University$40,000
Funding Body: Office of Road Safety
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $40,000 | 1998 | 1998 |
| GNo:183959772 | ||
Development of the National Online Advertising Archive$8,000
Funding Body: RBIG
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Murdoch University/Advertising Federation of Australia collaboration | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $8,000 | 1998 | 1998 |
| GNo:183959796 | ||
Crossing Cultural Frontiers$5,000
Funding Body: WorldSpace
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Conference Sponsorship | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $5,000 | 1998 | 1998 |
| GNo:183959804 | ||
Constructing the Australian Television Audience: an analysis of the role of Australian advertising and marketing trade journals and conferences in conceptualising audiences$2,475
Funding Body: Murdoch University
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Divisional Research Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $2,475 | 1998 | 1998 |
| GNo:183959784 | ||
1997 (2 grants)
Factors Influencing Residential Demand for Broadband Service Subscription in the Australian Capital Territory (stage 2).$40,000
Funding Body: ACTEW
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $40,000 | 1997 | 1997 |
| GNo:183959812 | ||
Factors Influencing Residential Demand for Broadband Service Subscription in the Australian Capital Territory (stage 1)$10,000
Funding Body: ACTEW
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $10,000 | 1997 | 1997 |
| GNo:183959820 | ||
1995 (3 grants)
Responses of Students, Employers and Educational Providers to the Provision of Narrowband and Broadband Educational Services$350,000
Funding Body: DEET
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluations and Investigations Program | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $350,000 | 1995 | 1995 |
| GNo:183959828 | ||
Modelling Future Communication Communities$94,000
Funding Body: Telstra Multimedia
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $94,000 | 1995 | 1995 |
| GNo:183959836 | ||
Vice-Chancellor’s Visiting Scholars Scheme$3,000
Funding Body: University of Canberra
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Vice-Chancellor’s Visiting Scholars Scheme | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $3,000 | 1995 | 1995 |
| GNo:183959844 | ||
1994 (2 grants)
Futures Research in the Televillage$15,000
Funding Body: Telecom Fund for Social and Policy Research in Telecommunications
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $15,000 | 1994 | 1994 |
| GNo:183959852 | ||
Evaluation of Student Research Scheme$3,000
Funding Body: CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate Scholarship | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $3,000 | 1994 | 1994 |
| GNo:183959860 | ||
1993 (2 grants)
Involving Key Stakeholders in the Community$40,000
Funding Body: University of Canberra
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Management Project 5 | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $40,000 | 1993 | 1993 |
| GNo:183959868 | ||
The Paperless Working Environment$20,000
Funding Body: Siemens
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Siemens Plessey collaborative study | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $20,000 | 1993 | 1993 |
| GNo:183959876 | ||
1992 (2 grants)
Information and Communication Needs$240,000
Funding Body: RMIT
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Telecom Australia Social and Policy Research Program Funding | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $240,000 | 1992 | 1992 |
| GNo:183959884 | ||
Telecommunications Policy Research$29,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Funding | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $29,000 | 1992 | 1992 |
| GNo:183959892 | ||
1991 (3 grants)
Basic Telecommunications Needs$42,000
Funding Body: Telecom and Telecom Australia Consumer Council
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $42,000 | 1991 | 1991 |
| GNo:183959900 | ||
Elderly Vietnamese and the Family Migration Program$30,000
Funding Body: Bureau of Immigration Research
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $30,000 | 1991 | 1991 |
| GNo:183959908 | ||
Telecommunications Policy Research$21,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Funding | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $21,000 | 1991 | 1991 |
| GNo:183959916 | ||
1990 (2 grants)
Technology and Stress$19,000
Funding Body: Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Communications, RMIT
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Staff Development and Research Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $19,000 | 1990 | 1990 |
| GNo:183959924 | ||
Social Equity and Telecommunications$7,000
Funding Body: Telecom Australia Consumer Council
| Scheme | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $7,000 | 1990 | 1990 |
| GNo:183959932 | ||
Research Supervision
| Number of current supervisions | 6 |
|---|---|
| Total current UoN Masters EFTSL | 0.9 |
| Total current UoN PhD EFTSL | 1.5 |
For supervisions undertaken at an institution other that the University of Newcastle, details are shown in italics, and the institution name is listed below the program name.
Current Supervision
| Commenced | Proposed Completion | Program | Supervisor Type | Research Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2017 | M Philosophy (Comm&Med Arts) | Co-Supervisor | Multiple Intelligences in Songwriting: an Autoethnographic Study |
| 2013 | 2015 | M Philosophy (Comm&Med Arts) | Co-Supervisor | The Long Term Impact of Workshops, Seminars and Conferences, with a Focus on Creativity and Innovation, on Attendees and Subsequent Work Practises |
| 2013 | 2017 | M Philosophy (Comm&Med Arts) | Principal Supervisor | Communicating for Gas: A Case Study of the Coal Seam Gas Industry's PR Spin |
| 2013 | 2021 | PhD (Comm & Media Arts) | Principal Supervisor | New Media and Personal Choice in Modern Schools: A study of disruptive innovations and individual performance modalities in complex technology environments. |
| 2012 | 2016 | PhD (Comm & Media Arts) | Principal Supervisor | Communication as aid: Exploring the Role and Impact of Communication in Assisting Humanitarian Aid Beneficiaries |
| 2011 | 2015 | PhD (Comm & Media Arts) | Co-Supervisor | Involvement of, and Communication with, Publics and Communities Concerning the Implementation of Renewable Energies |
Professor Mark Balnaves
| Work Phone | (02) 4985 4515 |
|---|---|
| Mark.Balnaves@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Position | Professor School of Design Communication and IT Faculty of Science and Information Technology |
| Office | ICT 3.14, ICT Building, Callaghan University Drive Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia |
| URL: | www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/mark-balnaves |
Research Networks
