Associate Professor Jane Johnston
Director, Teaching and Learning
Associate Professor
School of Communication and Arts
Affiliate of Centre for Communication and Social Change
Centre for Communication and Social Change
+61 7 334 68291
Researcher biography
Associate Professor Jane Johnston's research extends across critical public relations, communication and justice, and media diversity and change. She has published widely about the interface between courts and the media, most recently examining how social media has impacted on communication practice in this space. Her most recent research investigates critical intersections in public relations, with publications including Public Relations and the Public Interest (Routledge 2016) and a chapter in Critical Perspectives in Public Relations (Routledge 2016). She is the author/(co)editor of two successful public relations books which have both been published in multiple editions: Public Relations: Theory and Practice (co-edited first with Clara Zawawi, then Mark Sheehan); and Media Relations: Issues and Strategies. Johnston sits on several journal editorial boards and is a regular contributor to the news media.
Other External Grants:
Jury Duty Public Awareness Campaign, (2015), Commissioned by the Queensland Department of Justice and Queensland Courts, January 2015-June 2015. ($31,000).
Social media and Juries, (2013), Report commissioned by the Victorian Attorney General on behalf of the Standing Council on Law and Justice, by Johnston, J., Keyzer, P., Holland, G. Pearson, M., Wallace, A. & Rodrick, S. ($20,000).
Other Books (edited):
Johnston, J. & Zawawi, C. (eds.) (three editions 2000, 2004, 2009), Public Relations: Theory and Practice, Allen & Unwin, Sydney
Johnston, J. & Sheehan, M. (eds.) (2014) Public Relations: Theory and Practice, Allen & Unwin, Sydney
Publications
Books
Johnston, Jane and Gulliver, Robyn (2021). Public interest communication. Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/316efde
Johnston, Jane and Glenny, Leanne (2020). Strategic communication : public relations at work. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003121930
Johnston, Jane and Rowney, Katie (2018). Media strategies: managing content, platforms and relationships. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003116523
Johnston, Jane (2016). Public relations and the public interest. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315737034
Johnston, Jane (2013). Media relations: issues and strategies. 2nd ed. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Johnston, Jane (2007). Media relations: issues and strategies. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Johnston, Jane (1997). Journalism as a career: in Australia and New Zealand. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Book Chapters
Johnston, Jane (2022). Public interest communication. The Routledge Handbook of Nonprofit Communication. (pp. 55-65) New York: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003170563-8
Johnston, Jane (2022). Open justice and court communication. The Routledge Handbook of Nonprofit Communication. (pp. 215-223) New York: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003170563-26
Johnston, Jane and Wallace, Anne (2021). Media disorder and the future of journalism: international developments and the challenge of WikiLeaks. The handbook of communication rights, law, and ethics: seeking universality, equality, freedom and dignity. (pp. 253-263) edited by Loreto Corredoira, Ignacio Bel Mallén and Rodrigo Cetina Presuel. Hoboken, NJ USA: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781119719564.ch21
Johnston, Jane and Pieczka, Magda (2019). Public interest communication: a framework for systemic inquiry. Public interest communication: critical debates and global contexts. (pp. 9-31) edited by Jane Johnston and Magda Pieczka. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315185521-2
Johnston, Jane, Forde, Susan and Robertson, Boni (2019). In whose interests?: media, political communication and First Nations Australians. Public interest communication: critical debates and global contexts. (pp. 133-152) edited by Jane Johnston and Magda Pieczka. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315185521-8
Johnston, Jane and Pieczka, Magda (2018). Public interest communication: critical debates and global contexts: an introduction. Public interest communication: critical debates and global contexts. (pp. 1-6) edited by Jane Johnston and Magda Pieczka. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315185521-1
Johnston, Jane (2016). Public relations, the postcolonial other and the issue of asylum seekers. The Routledge handbook of critical public relations. (pp. 130-141) edited by Jacquie L'Etang, David McKie, Nancy Snow and Jordi Xifra. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Forde, Susan and Johnston, Jane (2014). Australian Associated Press. A companion to the Australian Media. (pp. 39-40) edited by Bridget Griffin-Foley. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing.
Johnston, Jane (2013). Working with PR industry. Journalism Research and Investigation in a Digital World. (pp. 151-165) edited by Stephen Tanner and Nick Richardson. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford.
Johnston, Jane (2012). Courts' new visibility 2.0. The Courts and the media: challenges in the era of digital and social media. (pp. 41-54) edited by Patrick Keyzer, Jane Johnston and Mark Pearson. Braddon, ACT, Australia: Halstead Press.
Journal Articles
Hou, Jenny Zhengye and Johnston, Jane (2024). Putting ethics of care into public relations: Toward a multi-level agency model. Public Relations Review, 50 (5) 102495, 102495. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2024.102495
Doherty, Skye, Johnston, Jane and Matthews, Ben (2022). Materialising new forms of journalism: a process model. Digital Journalism, 11 (3), 1-15. doi: 10.1080/21670811.2022.2087097
Matthews, Ben, Doherty, Skye, Johnston, Jane and Foth, Marcus (2022). The publics of design: challenges for design research and practice. Design Studies, 80 101106, 101106. doi: 10.1016/j.destud.2022.101106
Johnston, Jane (2020). Where public interest, virtue ethics and pragmatic sociology meet: modelling a socially progressive approach for communication. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 15 (2), 79-94. doi: 10.16997/wpcc.355
Johnston, Jane (2018). Three phases of courts' publicity: reconfiguring Bentham's open justice in the twenty-first century. International Journal of Law in Context, 14 (4), 525-538. doi: 10.1017/S1744552318000228
Johnston, Jane (2017). The public interest: a new way of thinking for public relations?. Public Relations Inquiry, 6 (1), 5-22. doi: 10.1177/2046147X16644006
Johnston, Jane and Forde, Susan (2017). Mediatising politics and Australian Indigenous recognition: a critical analysis of two landmark speeches. Communication Research and Practice, 3 (3), 248-264. doi: 10.1080/22041451.2017.1283481
Johnston, Jane (2017). Courts' use of social media: a community of practice model. International Journal of Communication, 11, 669-683.
Johnston, Jane and Forde, Susan (2017). Churnalism: revised and revisited: introduction. Digital Journalism, 5 (8), 943-946. doi: 10.1080/21670811.2017.1355026
Johnston, Jane and Wallace, Anne (2016). Who is a journalist?: changing legal definitions in a de-territorialised media space. Digital Journalism, 5 (7), 1-18. doi: 10.1080/21670811.2016.1196592
Cantatore, Francina and Johnston, Jane (2016). Moral rights: exploring the myths, meanings and misunderstandings in Australian Copyright Law. Deakin Law Review, 21 (1), 71-90.
Johnston, Jane (2015). 'Loose tweets sink fleets' and other sage advice: Social media governance, policies and guidelines. Journal of Public Affairs, 15 (2), 175-187. doi: 10.1002/pa.1538
Wallace, Anne and Johnston, Jane (2015). Tweeting from court: new guidelines for modern media. Media Arts Law Review, 20 (1), 15-32.
Byrne, Caitlin and Johnston, Jane (2015). Wikipedia as medium and model of public diplomacy collaboration. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 10 (4), 397-419. doi: 10.1163/1871191X-12341312
Johnston, Jane (2013). Breaking from tradition: developing localised discourses in an emerging global discipline. TEXT: journal of writing and writing courses (23), 1-11.
Johnston, Jane and Graham, Caroline (2013). Shifting patterns in Australian newspaper writing styles: Results of a longitudinal study. Australian Journalism Review, 35 (2), 117-131.
Johnston, Jane (2013). The news triumvirate. Journalism Studies, 14 (1), 113-129. doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2012.679859
Johnston, Jane (2013). Public relations literature and scholarship in Australia: a brief history of change and diversification. PRism, 10 (1), 1-16.
Johnston, Jane (2013). Communicating justice: a comparison of courts and police use of contemporary media. International Journal of Communication, 7 (1), 1667-1687.
Johnston, Jane and Graham, Caroline (2012). The new, old journalism: narrative writing in contemporary newspapers. Journalism Studies, 13 (4), 517-533. doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2011.629803
Johnston, Jane (2011). The silent partner: news agencies and 21st Century news. International Journal of Communication, 5 (1), 195-214.
Johnston, Jane and Breit, Rhonda (2010). Towards a narratology of court reporting. Media International Australia, 137 (137), 47-57.
Johnston, Jane (2010). Girls on screen: how film and television depict women in public relations. PRism, 7 (4).
Johnston, Jane (2009). FM radio news: Spreading the news or spread too thin. Australian Journalism Review, 31 (1), 63-77.
Johnston, Jane and Forde, Susan (2009). 'Not wrong for long': the role and penetration of news wire agencies in the 24/7 news landscape. Global Media Journal, 3 (2), 1-16.
Johnston, Jane (2008). Australia's media climate: time to renegotiate control. Pacific Journalism Review, 14 (2), 72-88. doi: 10.24135/pjr.v14i2.945
Johnston, Jane and Gration, Steve (2008). Coastlines, CAGS, and communications. Media International Australia, 127, 166-179.
Johnston, Jane (2008). Peer reviewing: privilege and responsibility. TEXT: journal of writing and writing courses, 12 (1)
Johnston, Jane (2008). The court-media interface: Bridging the divide. Australian Journalism Review, 30 (1), 27-37.
Johnston, Jane (2007). Turning the inverted pyramid upside-down. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 18, 1-15.
Johnston, Jane (2005). Communicating courts: a decade of practice in the third arm of government. Australian Journal of Communication, 32 (3), 77-91.
Johnston, Jane (2002). Shall we dance: Who's leading whom in the journalism-justice shuffle?. Australian Journalism Review, 24 (1), 131-140.
Johnston, Jane (2001). Court on camera: television coverage of Australian legal proceedings. Media International Australia (100), 115-127.
Johnston, Jane (2001). Public relations in the courts - a new frontier. Australian Journal of Communication, 28 (1), 109-122.
Johnston, Jane (1999). Are the courts becoming more media friendly?. Australian Journalism Review, 21 (1), 104-122.
Johnston, Jane (1998). The impact of the media on the court process: Preliminary findings. Australian Journalism Review, 20 (1), 104-112.
Johnston, Jane (1995). Post trial jury disclosures to the media. Australian Journalism Review, 17 (2), 84-94.
Conference Papers
Johnston, Jane and Breit, Rhonda A.W. (2009). Constructing legal narratives: law, language and the media. Australian & New Zealand Communication Association Annual Conference, 2007: Communications, Civics, Industry, Brisbane, QLD, Austalia, 8-10 July 2009. Brisbane, Qld, Australia: ANZCA.
Breit, Rhonda A. W. and Johnston, J. (2008). Newspapers and courts: Developing a typology of court reporting. Comparative Journalism Conference, Hobart, Australia, 25-27 June, 2008. Tasmania, Australia: University of Tasmania.
Generic Document
Johnston, Jane (2015). Jury Duty Public Awareness Campaign. Australia. Queensland Courts.
Research Report
Johnston, Jane, Keyzer, Patrick, Holland, Geoffry, Pearson, Mark L., Rodrick, Sharon and Wallace, Anne (2013). Juries and social media: a report prepared for the Victorian Department of Justice.. Standing Council on Law and Justice.