About

I joined Sheffield Hallam after spending over a decade as an academic at Leeds Trinity University's Centre for Journalism. I learned my trade at global publishers Independent News & Media, entering the world of professional media as a trainee reporter and photographer barely out of high school in the early-90s in southern Africa. 

Over the course of my career, I've dabbled in covering live music for South Africa’s leading national radio station 5FM before settling down in print and digital journalism. I've worked for a range of daily and weekly national newspapers in the Independent News & Media stable both in southern Africa and the UK – as an Entertainment Writer, Sports Reporter, Senior Writer, Sub-Editor, Chief Sub-Editor, Designer, Photo Editor, Section Editor and Editorial Director. 

Awarded a full Commonwealth Press Union Fellowship to study for a Masters in International Journalism at City, University of London, I have also been named South African Sports Writer of the Year, along with other prizes, primarily for reporting and photography. I've managed diverse newsrooms and covered global events ranging from political conflict/courts to football/rugby/cricket World Cups.

I am proud to be a part of the Media Arts & Communication (MAC) team at Hallam, where our dedicated staff and talented students make every day rewarding.

Specialist areas of interest

Artificial Intelligence
Automation
Robotics
Journalism
Photography

Teaching

Subject area

Journalism and Public Relations

Courses

BA Journalism
BA Sports Journalism
MA Journalism
MA Sports Journalism
MA International Journalism

Research

Current research projects

Century of Servitude: The Media Representation of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence by the Sunday Times of London (1920 – 2020)
(awarding body: University of Leeds. Expected completion: 2021)

Selected research reports

Invited speaker: BBC Civilisations: What Does It Mean To Be Human? Leeds, 2018

African Journalism Studies (Journal) Book Review: Volume 37, Issue 4: Jan 2017 

Digital Editors Network: Understanding the opportunities and challenges offered by distributed content. London, 2016

Leeds Trinity Learning and Teaching Award: Successful funding secured (£2000) to research immersive technology. 2015, Leeds

Where We Are on Drone Journalism?: Conference presentation at the Association for Journalism Education, Greenwich. London, 2015.

Young, Gifted and … Naïve: Athletes and Social Networking, accepted by the British Sociological Association and presented at the annual BSA conference. Cardiff, 2009.

Racism in British Football: Masters, City, University of London, 2004

Selected research reports

Invited speaker: BBC Civilisations: What Does It Mean To Be Human? 2018, Cardiff 

Leeds Trinity Learning and Teaching Award: Successful funding secured (£2000) to research immersive technology. 2015, Leeds

Publications

Invited speaker: BBC Civilisations: What Does It Mean To Be Human? Leeds, 2018

African Journalism Studies (Journal) Book Review: Volume 37, Issue 4: Jan 2017 

Digital Editors Network: Understanding the opportunities and challenges offered by distributed content. London, 2016

Leeds Trinity Learning and Teaching Award: Successful funding secured (£2000) to research immersive technology. 2015, Leeds

Where We Are on Drone Journalism?: Conference presentation at the Association for Journalism Education, Greenwich. London, 2015.

Young, Gifted and … Naïve: Athletes and Social Networking, accepted by the British Sociological Association and presented at the annual BSA conference. Cardiff, 2009.

Racism in British Football: Masters, City, University of London, 2004

Other activities

External examiner/course validation, University of Chester (2010-2014) 

External examiner: universities of Sunderland and Central Lancashire (2015-2019); University of Salford (2019 - present) 

External advisor/course validation: Manchester Met, UCA, Northampton, Wolverhampton Fellow of the Commonwealth Press Union Digital Editors’ Network

Postgraduate supervision

For MA and PhD supervision queries, please contact me directly.

Media

International journalist and researcher

Robotics, Sporting events, South African politics.

Robotics, Sporting events, Sport economics