Verica Rupar

Serbian journalist and professor in New Zealand

Investigating the Journalistic Field:The Influence of Objectivity as a Journalistic Norm on the Public Debate on Genetic Engineering in New Zealand (2007)

Doctoral advisorPriya Kurian, Debashish MunshiAcademic workInstitutionsAuckland University of Technology

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). She researches comparative and historical epistemology of journalism.

Academic career

Rupar earned an honours degree in political science at the University of Belgrade in Serbia. She worked as a journalist for Politika for more than twenty years, in Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia, as a foreign correspondent and political journalist.^[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 on the historical and comparative epistemology of journalism.^[4] She says, "What motivates me now is the idea of public good, and the notion of public interest."^[4] She has written on 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

Scholia has a profile for Verica Rupar (Q104139668).

Verica Rupar (February 2006). "How did you find that out? transparency of the newsgathering process and the meaning of news". Journalism Studies. 7 (1): 127–143. doi:10.1080/14616700500450426. ISSN 1461-670X. Wikidata Q123411300.
Verica Rupar (October 2007). "Newspapers' production of common sense". Journalism. 8 (5): 591–610. doi:10.1177/1464884907081056. ISSN 1464-8849. Wikidata Q123411299.
Debashish Munshi; Priya Kurian; Rebecca Fraser; Verica Rupar (10 February 2013). "'Shadow publics' in the news coverage of socio-political issues". Journalism. 15 (1): 89–108. doi:10.1177/1464884912473393. ISSN 1464-8849. Wikidata Q57842841.
Ebbe Grunwald; Verica Rupar (December 2009). "Journalism curiosity and story-telling frame". Journalism Practice. 3 (4): 392–403. doi:10.1080/17512780902798703. ISSN 1751-2786. Wikidata Q123411297.
Verica Rupar (25 March 2020). "Journalists as first responders". Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal Of Social Sciences Online. 15 (2): 349–359. doi:10.1080/1177083X.2020.1741405. ISSN 1177-083X. Wikidata Q123411375.
Verica Rupar (December 2002). "Keeping Our Options Closed: the Dominance of the Conflict Story-Telling Frame in Media Coverage of the Royal Commission's Report On Genetic Modification in New Zealand". Political Science. 54 (2): 59–67. doi:10.1177/003231870205400204. ISSN 0032-3187. Wikidata Q123411374.
Folker Hanusch; Edson C. Tandoc; Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou; Nurhaya Muchtar; Kevin Rafter; Mireya Márquez Ramírez; Verica Rupar; Vittoria Sacco (31 December 2019), 10. Transformations: Journalists’ Reflections on Changes in News Work, pp. 259–282, doi:10.7312/HANI18642-011, Wikidata Q123411373
Basyouni Hamada; Sallie Hughes; Thomas Hanitzsch; James Hollings; Corinna Lauerer; Jesus Arroyave; Verica Rupar; Sergio Splendore (31 December 2019), 6. Editorial Autonomy: Journalists’ Perceptions of Their Freedom, pp. 133–160, doi:10.7312/HANI18642-007, Wikidata Q123411376

References

^ Auckland University of Technology. "Academic profile: Verica Rupar". academics.aut.ac.nz. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ 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.
^ "New Professors and Associate Professors - AUT News - AUT". www.aut.ac.nz. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ ^a ^b Communications, A. U. T. (14 February 2021), Five questions with Professor Verica Rupar, retrieved 12 November 2023
^ ^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.
^ 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.
^ Verica Rupar (28 March 2018). "Verica Rupar: Zuckerberg's apology is not enough". Newshub. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ "Quaker Lecture 2022 "The Search for Truth - Information, Disinformation and the Algorithms of Social Media" | Quakers Aotearoa". quakers.nz. Retrieved 12 November 2023.