RISJ appoints Professor Robert Picard to new role of research director

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has named its new director of research as Professor Robert Picard, a leading specialist on media economics and government media policies.

According to a release from RISJ, which is based at the University of Oxford, Picard will become the institute's first director of research when he joins this month.

In his new role, Picard will direct projects across RISJ's main research areas, examining changes in the business of journalism, the practice of journalism and journalism and accountability, the release adds.

Picard was previously the director of the Media Management and Transformation Center at Jönköping International Business School in Sweden.

"The RISJ is expanding its capabilities as an organisation that undertakes vital research and provides independent analysis of media developments and issues," he said in the release.

"I am delighted to play a role in those efforts because it is critical to have a reliable, autonomous source from which policy makers and media companies can seek knowledge and insight in the rapidly changing media environment."

The RISJ recently received renewed funding from the Thomson Reuters Foundation, its core funder, of £1.25 million for 2011 to 2013, the release adds.

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