| SUMMARY | Journalist and documentarian with twenty years’ experience in Ireland and globally. Work in a digital-first manner in the “multimedia mindset” mode of journalism. Published and broadcast by top international platforms including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, BBC, NPR, CBC and RTÉ, among others Currently a full-time lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast, working across undergrad and postgrad levels. Over ten years’ experience teaching and training various aspects of journalism. Extensive experience in the practice and teaching of multimedia production (social media journalism, digital-first publishing, mobile journalism (‘MoJo’), verification, SEO and analytics). Significant experience in foreign corresponding and in long-form storytelling Academic research areas: digital media, social media, evolving media ethics, media disruption and democracy, digital verification, documentary, narrative podcasting, investigative journalism in the digital era, media and multilingualism, Irish language media |
| SKILLS & ABILITIES | Video editing software (Final Cut Pro, Premiere and Avid); audio editing software (ProTools, Audition, Reaper, Audacity); ‘MoJo’ shooting and editing softwares; photo editing software; as well as various podcasting publishing platforms Languages: fluent French; proficient Irish; intermediate Portuguese; and intermediate Arabic |
| ACADEMIC/TEACHING EXPERIENCE VOLUNTARY TEACHING/TRAINING |
Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland 08/2018 – Present Lecturer of Journalism and Documentary • Created, developed and implemented a full journalism syllabus at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels • Applied a social media sensibility and “multimedia mindset” to the core of all journalism and documentary modules in the subject area • Teach practice modules, strongly underpinned by critical theory • Have written and taught five modules from scratch (including social media journalism and podcasting modules) all of which incorporate online editorial strategy, UGC, verification, SEO and analytics • Average personal teaching score (voted by students at the end of every module each semester) is: 4.65 out of 5 • Supervise research and practice projects at BA and MA levels • Help evolve the curricula at BA and MA levels with a special focus on digital first and social media journalism • Work closely with universities abroad with more established journalism programmes (GB, RoI, US and South Africa) to identify partnership opportunities and benchmark our teaching practice • Work closely with local, national (UK, RoI) and international media companies to secure work experience, training and employment opportunities for our students and graduates • Sit on selection and hiring panels for new staff members • Undertake external consultancies, routed through the university • Specialisations: multimedia and online/social media journalism (breaking news, features); verification; audio documentary and podcasting; mobile journalism (‘MoJo’); SEO, UGC and ethics • Committee Membership: School Research Ethics Committee; Faculty Digital Learning Team; Queen’s Gender Initiative; Queen’s Centre for Documentary Research; Faculty’s “New Methods for New Media” working group; School’s work placement steering group Thomson Reuters Foundation., London (UK) 01/2020 – Present Media Consultant, Trainer and Online Mentor • Work on a wide range of contracts pertaining to specific training modules; syllabi drafting; programme design; and project management in countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe BBC Media Action, London (UK) 09/2014 – Present Media Consultant, Trainer and Project Manager • Work on a wide range of contracts pertaining to specific training modules; syllabi drafting; programme design; and project management in countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe • Specialties include: mobile journalism (‘MoJo’); emergency response (natural disaster, conflict, post-conflict, public health crises/epidemics); media training in multimedia, radio and TV; interviewing skills; and news writing • Deployments include: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Ethiopia, Gambia, North Macedonia, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Zambia Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), London (UK) 10/2010 – 11/2012 Journalism Trainer • Delivered a series of courses aimed at enabling journalists in Mauritania to cover the political sphere more robustly • Designed and delivered a series of trainings to eight newsrooms across Tunisia within weeks of the fall of former president Ben Ali in early 2011. Trainings focused on creating stories via multiple platforms • Designed and delivered a comprehensive syllabus on multimedia reporting for Syrian journalists working undercover in pre-war Syria Global English, Hong Kong 06/2002 – 09/2002 SILC International, Poitou-Charentes (France) 02/2002 – 04/2002 English Summer SA, Tarragona (Spain) 06/2001 – 09/2001 English Teacher to Chinese, French and Spanish adolescents, respectively Choson Exchange (Singapore) & Pyongyang (North Korea) 05/2018 – 06/2018 Business Communications Trainer • Provided training on various aspects of business communication to people starting communally owned businesses in Pyongyang, North Korea. Choson Exchange is a Singapore-based NGO that works to build business skills in North Korea Daniel Pearl Reporting Project, New York (USA) 01/2007 – 07/2008 Syllabus Writer/Tutor • Helped build a multimedia syllabus for online use by secondary school students around the world. Also served as a tutor on the project |
| JOURNALISM & MEDIA PRACTICE EXPERIENCE |
Freelance Reporter and Producer (all platforms incl. social media/digital formats) Island of ireland, Middle east, Europe, Asia and Africa 06/2002 – Present • File print, video and radio coverage of breaking news and political, economic, cultural, and development features from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Currently focused on the island of Ireland • File social media and online content, including SEO-effective articles and online “embed” texts in which my video and audio work is couched • Specialise as a one-man-band multimedia reporter and as a member of a crew • Report in the Irish language in addition to English-language reporting • Was Based in Beirut, Lebanon from 2009 to 2012 as a freelance foreign correspondent. Regional coverage included: the Egyptian, Libyan and Tunisian revolutions and the uprising and war in Syria. Extensive use of UGC and associated verification strategies during the Syrian uprising and war, from early 2011 onward Editorial clients: Agence France Presse (AFPTV), BBC, CBC, The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, The Irish Times, Le Monde Diplomatique, The LA Times, National Geographic, The New York Times, NPR, PBS, RTÉ, TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and others Documentary Maker (audio, video and mixed-media formats) Island of ireland, Middle east, Europe, Asia and Africa 05/2009 – Present • 2019: “All That Is Solid Melts Into Air”; a mixed-media experimental documentary using pre-recorded sound; live, performed spoken word; and stage work, exploring childhood and social change in modern Ireland. Performed at HearSay International Audio Art Festival and Symposium (Limerick, Ireland) and at Liú Lúnasa Arts Festival (Belfast) • 2012: “Democracy Derailed: Egypt’s Unraveled Revolution”; produced this video documentary for The Wall Street Journal • 2008: “A Journey Home: Afghanistan Through the Eyes of a Returning Refugee”, produced this documentary for The New York Times and the television section of the AFP • 2008: “A Refuge in Ruins: Returning to Nahr al Bared”; produced this radio documentary on the politics of reconstruction surrounding a Palestinian refugee camp destroyed in a conflict with the Lebanese state • 2007: “To Stay or To Go”; produced this three-part radio documentary on the plight of undocumented Irish people in America. Broadcast on Newstalk radio (Ireland) Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter and Editor 05/2006 – Present • Wrote, directed, produced & edited three short films, shot respectively in Brussels (“Un Signe, Un Geste”, 2012), Beirut (2011) and Paris (2006) • “Un Signe, Un Geste”, a French-language short fiction film, screened at over 30 festivals worldwide; won eight prizes. Broadcast nationally on RTÉ in Sept. 2016 |
| RESEARCH PROJECTS | “ULSTER GAELIC: IT’S YOURS TOO!” Sept. 2018 – Present In collaboration with East Belfast Irish language activist Linda Ervine, this project researches how social media and factual animation can help Protestants and Unionists develop a sense of ownership of Irish “CIVIL RIGHTS, CLIMATE WRONGS” Feb. 2020 – Present Exploring how civil rights are affected by climate change in the 16 to 24-year-old age bracket in Northern Ireland. The project, which is run with students, results in factual animations and explores which media platforms are most effective to disseminate these animations through “PUBLIC COLAB” Oct. 2019 – Present An annual collaboration between the Broadcast and Architecture departments at Queen’s University Belfast. “Public CoLab” explores how an ecological crisis in Belfast might affect the city and its residents. Each year’s iteration results in a live performance/exhibition and a publication “PRODUCING AND TEACHING MEDIA DURING COVID-19: A COMPARATIVE PROJECT (Ireland and South Africa)” July 2020 – August 2021 Based on mutual visits to each other’s universities and departments, Dr. Franz Krüger (of the University of Witswatersrand, South Africa) and myself are doing a comparative study of how new media and online solutions are changing the practice and teaching of journalism “RADIO TALK SHOP” Jan. 2020 – Present Run with University College Cork and the University of Sunderland (UK), this IRC-funded project seeks to explore the role that community media can play in welcoming asylum communities and changing mainstream media narratives around asylum seekers “NATAKALLAM: REFUGEE CONNECTIONS” June 2020 – Present This project explores effective ways in which to continue telling the refugee story now that it has fallen down the news agenda. With NGO NaTakallam, we connect Syrian refugees (living in exile in Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon) with groups of students at Queen’s University Belfast |
| CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS | Duncan, D., 2020, “Remote Supervision of Practice-Based Group Work Under Lockdown,” Digital Technology, Lockdown and the Post-Pandemic University Conference, Society for Research into Higher Education’s Digital University Network, London (UK); [online conference in Aug. 2020] Duncan, D., 2020, “Sound Excavations: exploring audio's unique power to excavate and reconstruct erased, lost and hidden LGBT pasts,” OUTing the Past Conference. Belfast, Northern Ireland Duncan, D., 2017, “Alternative History as an Apt Cinematic Narrative Form for the Expression of Irish Postcolonial Identity,” Irish Screen Studies Seminar (ISSS). Dublin, Ireland |
| PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS | Duncan, D. 2020, “Social Media as a Teaching Tool in the Post-Pandemic University,” Building the Post-Pandemic University, [Chapter accepted June 2020; currently under peer review; book to be published in late 2020] Duncan, D. 2020, “Remote Supervision of Group Practice Projects During a Lockdown: a pedagogical and experiential perspective,” Journalism & Mass Communication Educator [accepted May 2020] Duncan, D. 2020, “Finding and Excavating Forgotten Pasts with Sound,” The Conversation [due to be published August 2020] |
| OTHER PUBLICATIONS & EVENTS | 2020 Duncan, D. & Flood, N., 2020, Public CoLab 2020: Exploring the Impact of the Ecological Crisis in Belfast [monograph] 2012 “Voluntary Exile” group exhibition. Ashkal Alwan Gallery, Beirut (Lebanon). Contributed a series of photojournalistic prints examining the daily lives of Syrian refugee men, newly arrived to Beirut 2012 Beirut Irish Film Festival (Lebanon): Director/curator of this festival showcasing fifteen features and over twenty shorts 2005 – 2006 Æ Magazine (Paris, France): Founder and editor of this global quarterly arts magazine, distributed to specialist stores in twenty countries |
| INVITED LECTURES/ESTEEM | 2020 Masterclass Lecture: “Strategies for better online teaching of practice modules.” Delivered at the invitation of the Faculty of Arts Humanities & Social Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast 2020 Masterclass Lecture: “Using social media and online strategies for better online teaching.” Delivered at the invitation of the School of Arts, English and Languages, Queen’s University Belfast 2019 Workshop: Guest lectured a production workshop for the Widening Participation Unit of Queen’s University Belfast 2018/19 Lecture: “Getting Started in the Media” Discussion Moderation: live, public discussion with documentary director Sinéad O’Shea Lecture and moderation occurred at Still Voices Film Festival (Ireland) |
| EDUCATION COURSES |
University of East Anglia, Norwich (UK), PhD 2022 Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, PGCHET Grade: Pass (pass/fail system) Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching (PGCHET), INSAS [National Film School of Belgium], Brussels, MA Cinema & Filmmaking 2012 – 2014, GRADE: 16/20 (equivalent of a 1st) Specialisation: directing, screenwriting, producing Columbia University, New York, MA Journalism & Politics 2007 – 2008, GRADE: PASS (PASS/FAIL SYSTEM) Specialisation: Middle East politics Columbia University, New York, MS Journalism 2006 – 2007, GRADE: PASS (PASS/FAIL SYSTEM) Specialisation: multimedia journalism Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, BA English Studies 1998 – 2002, GRADE: II.1 Included one year on Erasmus exchange to Université de Paris VII, France Rutgers University, New Jersey (USA), TEFL Certificate 2000, GRADE: PASS (PASS/FAIL SYSTEM) Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) The Podcast Studios/Headstuff, Dublin (Ireland) – June & July 2020 Podcasting course lasting two months covering: ideation, production, post-production, distribution and marketing National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ), London (UK) – OCT. 2019 Specialised, applied course on media law, ethics and regulation TG4/Gréasán na Meán, Galway (Ireland) – APRIL 2018 Intensive training course on Mobile Journalism (‘MoJo’) production; led by Glen Mulcahy and Seán Mac an tSíthigh BBC/TOR International, London (UK) – JAN. 2016 Hostile Environments and First Aid Training (HEFAT) Middlebury College, Vermont (USA) – SUMMER 2012 Intensive summer residential course in classical Arabic. Grade: A |
| PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS | National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Online News Association International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Frontline Freelance Register (FFR) |
| FUNDING & AWARDS ACADEMIC FUNDING & AWARDS NON-ACADEMIC |
QUB Engaged Research Seed Fund – July 2020 Awarded GBP£2,500 as PI for the “Ulster Gaelic, It’s Yours Too!” project Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) – March 2020 Awarded GBP£10,000 as PI on a funding bid to the NIHRC for the “Civil Rights, Climate Wrongs” project AEL Staff Research Fund – March 2020 Awarded GBP£480 for the purposes of specialised training for research QUB, NI Executive, Esmé MitchelL, Enkalon Foundations – Feb. 2020 As PI on the “Ulster Gaelic: It’s Yours too!” project, I’ve raised a combined total £14,000 in bids to funds from Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland Executive, Esmé Mitchell Trust and the Enkalon Foundation QUB Green Fund – Jan. 2020 Awarded GBP£1,500 as PI for the “Listen. Amplify.” project QUB Teaching Excellence – Dec. 2019 Nominated by students & shortlisted by School for this prestigious award Academic Staff Conference Fund (ASCF) – Feb. 2019 Awarded GBP£400 to undertake practice as research (PaR) and present the outcome at the HearSay International Audio Festival and Symposium Middlebury College Kathryn Davis Peace Fellowship– July 2012 Full Scholarship to study Arabic at Middlebury College’s immersive residential language programme on its campus in Vermont (USA) Columbia University’s Bollinger Presidential Fellowship – 2007/08 Fellowship covering full tuition and maintenance while attending Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism Columbia University’s Arthur Harris Award for best MA thesis – 2007/08 In recognition of my thesis on the politics of reconstructing a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon Einhorn Family Trust research fund – 2007 Awarded funding to travel to Lebanon to do thesis field research Columbia University’s Henry N. Taylor Scholarship – 2006/07 Scholarship to cover tuition at Columbia University’s Journalism School Various filmmaking awards for the short film “Un Signe, Un Geste” – 2014 to 2018 Best Script (Mumbai Shorts Film Festival, India); Outstanding Excellence in Direction (Depth of Field International Film Festival, USA); Best Student Film (Asolo Art Film Festival, Italy) Rory Peck Trust bursary – 2010 Recipient of funding to travel and attend a HEFAT training in England National Press Foundation Fellowship (US) – 2010 Funding to travel to and report on the AIDS Vaccine Summit in Atlanta National Press Foundation Fellowship (US) – 2010 Funding to travel to and report on the World AIDS Summit in Vienna The Investigative Fund, The Nation Institute (New York, US) – 2009 Funding to travel to and investigate Maoist insurgency movements in Bhutan and Nepal News21 multimedia fellowship, Carnegie & Knight Foundations (US) – 2008 A fellow on this digital-first, multimedia storytelling project that centred around immigration prior to the 2008 presidential elections in the US The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (travel grant) – 2008 Funding to travel to and report on disability in Afghanistan The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (travel grant) – 2007 Funding to travel to and report on Palestinian issues in Lebanon |
