Verica Rupar (born 17 March 1957) is a Serbian–New Zealand journalist and academic, and is professor of journalism at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).

Verica Rupar
Born (1957-03-17) 17 March 1957 (age 67)
Kostolac, Yugoslavia
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Waikato
Thesis
Doctoral advisorPriya Kurian, Debashish Munshi
Academic work
InstitutionsAuckland University of Technology

Academic career

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Rupar earned an honours degree in political science at the University of Belgrade in Serbia. She worked as a political reporter and foreign correspondent for Politika covering Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia.[1] Seeking greater stability, she moved to New Zealand, and in 2007 she completed a PhD titled Investigating the Journalistic Field:The Influence of Objectivity as a Journalistic Norm on the Public Debate on Genetic Engineering in New Zealand at the University of Waikato.[2] Rupar then joined the faculty at AUT, rising to full professor in 2021.[3]

Rupar's research is in the area of journalism studies.[4] She says, "What motivates me now is the idea of public good, and the notion of public interest."[4] She has written on media, politics and journalism in New Zealand, as well as commenting on international issues such as Zuckerberg's apology after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and Trump's use of social media.[5][6][7] In 2021 she edited the book Journalism and Meaning-making – Reading the Newspaper (Hampton Press), a collection of essays about "how journalism affects our public life".[5] She said: "Journalism’s power to facilitate social inclusion and exclusion, has significant consequences on public life. At its highs, when performing the highest standards of profession, journalists can affirm tolerance, pluralism and social harmony actively contributing to the cultural changes in the society. At its lows, unethical journalism reinforces prejudices and stereotypes whose diffusion contribute to racism, hate speech, discrimination and violence."[5]

In 2022, Rupar gave the 2022 Quaker Lecture in Christchurch, on 'The Search for Truth - Information, Disinformation and the Algorithms of Social Media'. The lecture was recorded and later broadcast on Plains FM.[8]

Rupar is a consultant for the London-based Media Diversity Institute.[5]

Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ Auckland University of Technology. "Academic profile: Verica Rupar". academics.aut.ac.nz. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  2. ^ Rupar, Verica (2007). Investigating the Journalistic Field:The Influence of Objectivity as a Journalistic Norm on the Public Debate on Genetic Engineering in New Zealand (PhD thesis). Waikato Research Commons, University of Waikato.
  3. ^ "New Professors and Associate Professors - AUT News - AUT". www.aut.ac.nz. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b Communications, A. U. T. (14 February 2021), Five questions with Professor Verica Rupar, retrieved 12 November 2023
  5. ^ a b c d Efferink, Leonhardt van (7 January 2014). "Verica Rupar: Journalism and Meaning-making - Reading the Newspaper". Exploring Geopolitics. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  6. ^ Smedt, Tom De; Rupar, Verica (19 January 2021). "Trump's time is up, but his Twitter legacy lives on in the global spread of QAnon conspiracy theories". The Conversation. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  7. ^ Verica Rupar (28 March 2018). "Verica Rupar: Zuckerberg's apology is not enough". Newshub. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Quaker Lecture 2022 "The Search for Truth - Information, Disinformation and the Algorithms of Social Media" | Quakers Aotearoa". quakers.nz. Retrieved 12 November 2023.