Ex-Media Watch host Monica Attard in uni furore

Former Media Watch host Monica Attard has announced her departure from a role heading Australia’s top journalism school.

Monica Attard, who has announced her departure from Sydney’s University of Technology journalism school.

Former Media Watch host Monica Attard has announced her departure from a role heading Australia’s top journalism school, as two former colleagues claim she had a “poor” management style during her tenure.

Sue Stephenson, foundation executive producer of the ABC News Channel, and high-profile Sydney Morning Herald and Canberra Times columnist Jenna Price claim they made “complaints” formally and informally about Ms Attard during her three-year tenure running Sydney’s University of Technology journalism school before they left.

Jenna Price.

In an email to colleagues over the weekend Ms Attard confirmed that her departure as head of the UTS journalism school would be “announced on Tuesday”, with the five-time Walkley Award winner taking a new role as co-director of UTS’s Centre for Media Transition.

“As you know, for the past while I have been Head of Journalism and Writing AND (UTS) FASS (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) Co-Director of the Centre for Media Transition,” Ms Attard wrote to UTS colleagues on Saturday. “And to be honest, I have found it difficult to do three jobs. So I am moving to the CMT full time. I’ve been in the journalism discipline for 3 years and I think with the discipline expanding to take in CW (creative writing), it’s a great time for renewal.”

Ms Stephenson and Dr Price said their experiences of Ms Attard’s time in the UTS journalism school were not pleasant.

Ms Stephenson, who was in charge of the Central News website and co-ordinator of first and final year subjects, said she had complained several times about her treatment at UTS, before and after she had “two collapses and two medical emergencies” from what she claims was overwork under Ms Attard’s tenure. “I can confirm that I made multiple complaints about my workload under Monica Attard,” said Ms Stephenson, who is now managing another prominent journalism course at Sydney’s Macleay College. “The promise of a full-time job was always held over my head, and used to get me to work phenomenal hours, which I have documented.”

When The Australian reached Ms Attard on Sunday, she said: “No one was asked to work undue hours.”

Dr Price said she also expressed unhappiness about her treatment under Ms Attard, who hosted Media Watch from 2006-07.

“I and others made multiple informal complaints about what I considered to be poor supervision by our line manager, and there was no demonstrable evidence that there had been any training or development plan for her,” Dr Price told The Australian.

“In my opinion, from the minute she began, the culture in the journalism department deteriorated.”

However, Ms Attard said: “My response to that would be I completely and utterly disagree. It’s a tight little discipline that has a shared vision to train the journalists of tomorrow. I don’t know anyone who would disagree with that in the discipline. Everyone is committed to providing a highly practical and relevant course for future journalists.”

A third ex-UTS academic did not name Ms Attard, but said: “One of the reasons I left was workload. I was doing a part-time job that was demanding full-time attention.”

Ms Stephenson said that her workload and stress-related collapses were “now the subject of three separate investigations”.

She also noted that eight academics had left the journalism school in the past two years.

Ms Attard said: “I literally don’t have any hostility towards Sue, and I’m really sorry that she’s aggrieved and she’s been unwell.”