Lynette Sheridan Burns University of Western Sydney, Australia

Professor Lynette Sheridan Burns is Professor of Journalism and Head of the School of Communication Arts. Lynette has won numerous journalism awards as well as an Award for Excellence in Teaching (University of Newcastle) and The Australian Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing. Her research focuses on innovative approaches to teaching and since 1998 she has led three Federally-funded curriculum design projects. Her book, Understanding Journalism, was published in London in 2002, re-printed in New Delhi in 2003 and translated into Czech in 2005. Since 2000 she has been a member of the Expert Reference Group for the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care's National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy. She is a former president of the Journalism Education Association and a regular commentator on issues of media representation of social minorities. Her current research is part of the national Reporting Diversity project.