A new research centre established in a partnership between universities in Beijing and Perth will investigate media and communications management in Australia, China and across the Asia Pacific region.

 

The Asia Pacific Centre for Media Economics and Communications Management Research will be based at both Murdoch University and the Communication University of China (CUC), allowing academics from both institutions to forge collaborations and undertake comparative investigations with greater ease.

 

The centre’s co-director, Associate Professor Christine Daymon from Murdoch’s School of Media Communication and Culture said researchers would probe issues like media governance and policy, managing media organisations, political and marketing communication and cross-cultural learning.

 

“The influence of Asian countries on global economics and politics is growing, and China is a very important partner economically for Western Australia in particular,” she said.

 

“A lot of economic, political and cultural reorganising is taking place in the region with many countries now on a consumption-driven growth path. To some extent, these reforms are driven by a relatively transformed and liberalised media sector. How this operates and is managed in Asian societies which are undergoing restructuring is the focus of our research.

 

“The collaborative nature of the centre will allow us to compare both Asian and Australian perspectives on important issues related to managing the media in both regions with researchers able to offer valuable new insights that will potentially be applicable globally.

 

“To date, most knowledge about the media comes from Western traditions and we are keen to change this.”

 

A/Prof Daymon said that Murdoch had developed links with the CUC in recent years via its cohorts of postgraduate students who had studied in Perth on Murdoch’s MA Communication Management course.

 

It is hoped the collaboration will allow more postgraduate students from both universities to study in Masters and doctoral programs at both institutions. It is also hoped the centre will assist with professional development for staff at both universities.

 

The centre is associated with Murdoch’s Asia Research Centre and researchers are drawn from Murdoch’s School of Media Communication and Culture, its Business School and CUC’s School of Economics and Management.