JERAA@40: Towards a history of the professional association of Australian journalism academics

Abstract

The professional association representing Australian journalism educators was established in 1975. This article, on the occasion of the association's 40th anniversary, traces the history and evaluates the role of the Australian Association for Tertiary Education in Journalism (AATEJ) and its successors, the Journalism Education Association (JEA) and the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA). It finds collegiality and a desire to improve standards of journalism teaching have endured as key features of the group's ethos. More recently, the association has taken a leadership role in the contested area of research development and, less consistently, adhered to a founding objective to champion free expression. The authors conclude that this repositioning of the association beyond its capacity as a support group for journalism educators raises the question of whether the time has come to renew the traditional mission statement and rejuvenate JERAA's public profile to account for its newfound disciplinary leadership.