معرفی
Virginia Small is a Lecturer in the School of Policing Studies at Charles Sturt University, based at the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn, New South Wales. With over 18 years of experience as an economics journalist and broadcaster at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, she brings practical media expertise to her academic role. Her doctoral research analyzed international drug trafficking and terrorism through the lens of media framing, examining how public perceptions are shaped by journalistic narratives. She currently teaches in the Associate Degree in Policing Practice program, leveraging her background in media studies, business communications, and criminology.
Her academic qualifications include:
- PhD
- Master of Professional Communication (MProfComm)
- Master of Letters (MLitt)
- Bachelor of Arts (BA)
- Graduate Diploma in Education (Grad Dip Ed)
- Associate of the Trinity College of Music, London (ATCL)
Dr. Small's research spans media studies, journalism, and criminology with a focus on how media narratives frame complex social issues. Her work examines international drug trafficking, terrorism, food security policy, and mental health awareness through the prism of media representation. She investigates the interplay between traditional and social media in shaping public opinion on critical policy matters, often drawing from her prior career as a finance journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Associated Press. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges communication theory, public policy, and social justice concerns.
Her recent scholarly output centers on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's institutional challenges, culminating in the 2021 monograph 'Strangling Aunty' and related chapters analyzing political pressures and funding models. Earlier works explore media framing of food security, educational interventions for dyslexia, peace journalism applications to Wikileaks, and death penalty coverage in the Bali Nine cases. This body of work consistently investigates how media narratives construct public understanding of contentious social and political issues across Australian and international contexts.
