School of Media and Communication Awards
Dr Mike Callander won the Emerging Researcher award for the School. Mike’s innovative work that crosses creative and traditional scholarly boundaries is forging new pathways in electronic music.
2025 Open Publication Prize
Winner:Charlotte Markowitsch, “’I Tried To Have A Father But Instead I Had A Dad’: Defining Dad Rock”
The judges said: “This paper, published in Rock Music Studies in 2024, uses the genre of ‘Dad Rock’ – Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, Steely Dan, etc – as a platform to take a feminist lens to the continued popularity of rock music in the 2020s, half a century after the genre’s ‘glory days’. (…) Markowitsch’s paper is an excellent example of the longstanding power of academic pop music studies to find hidden meaning within the ephemera of pop culture.”
RMIT Media Star Awards
Dr Sam Whiting was the 2025 Media Star for the College of Design and Social Context. Sam has covered everything from the line-up at Coachella and the state of live music venues, through to dynamic ticket pricing and the impact of AI on creative professionals. His expert commentary has featured across media outlets including ABC radio and online, The Guardian, 7News and MSN Australia.
IASPM-ANZ Award Success
MIRC postgrads were recognised for the quality of their work at the December IASPM-ANZ 2025 conference in Dunedin.
2025 Best Postgraduate Paper Prize
Winner: Ethan Bryant,for ‘Standing on the Edge of the Industry: Lyrical Metareference by Women Pop Artists in the 2000s Major Label System.’
The judges “lauded the depth and breadth of the research collected for this presentation, and the dedication to engaging with and amplifying an often under-realised period of pop music. The panel commended the passion and joy for the subject area and the reminder of how we all start wanting to research - by being passionate about the things we love. Congratulations.”
