Director's message
Tom Morton,
Director
Welcome to the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism.
The Centre was founded in 1990. We are a not-for-profit centre which produces and promotes high-quality independent journalism and research. We are based in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney.
We see our work at the Centre as part of a global trend.
The business model which supported investigative journalism in mainstream media organizations in the 20th century is in crisis.
But crisis also creates opportunities. Around the world, independent non-profit news organizations, many of them linked to universities, are creating a new space for investigative journalism in the 21st century, and a new model which is focussed on working collaboratively and publishing stories across different media platforms.
The ACIJ aims to make a distinctively Australian contribution to this exciting global development. We regularly publish investigative journalism on key issues of public interest in Australia, often in collaboration with mainstream and independent media organizations.
Our work has a regional and global dimension, through our involvement in initiatives such as the Global Environmental Journalism Initiative, and our relationship with the Pacific Media Centre (opens an external site) of the Auckland University of Technology.
The ACIJ also believes strongly in bringing together the theory and practice of journalism and creating a conversation between both. In 2011 we hosted the first ever national conference on Investigative Journalism, Back to the Source (opens an external site).
If you believe, as we do, that independent journalism has a vital role to play in strengthening democracy, I invite you to explore our website, check out our latest investigations, and get involved with the activities of the Centre.
Tom Morton, Director
Australian Centre for Independent Journalism