Quin’s Ger Colleran has been appointed to a new position by the University of Limerick.
Former editor and Managing Director of The Irish Daily Star, Ger Colleran will take on a new role as Adjunct Professor of Journalism in the college where he will give master classes to UL’s Journalism and New Media students.
Remarking on his new position, the Clare man stated “The one thing young student journalists need to set aside is the cloud of fear that has hit the media industry over the past 10-15 years because of the massive disruption caused by digital. Technology is merely a delivery vehicle; the basic human demand for stories doesn’t change at all.
“Whether it’s stone tablets from Mount Sinai; gossip at the end of the medieval village; print; telephone; television or digital; it is immaterial. People are still interested in stories about people and the world around them. The delivery vehicles may alter, but there are certain basic standards that need to be upheld: accuracy and integrity; and the need to challenge and question. That sort of rigour needs to be encouraged”.
He added “I would encourage students to be platform agnostic while constantly keeping an eye on the prize and the prize is a more decent, open, democratic living society, unafraid of vested interests, power centres and elites”.
Ger is a graduate of UL where he received an MBA in 1993 and Harvard Business School in Boston. The well-known journalist and television presenter is currently in his second year of law studies at Kings Inns. He co-authored a book on the Kerry babies case and previously worked as editor of The Kerryman newspaper. A TV3 presenter and newspaper columnist Colleran played a central role in the political negotiations on the new Defamation Act.
Professor Tom Lodge, Dean, Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Limerick said the appointment of Mr Colleran will significantly expand the range of experience that UL can offer its journalism students.
“We aim to prepare our students for careers in a field that has been changing more rapidly than almost any other kind of employment. Ger Colleran has been at the forefront of the struggle to maintain basic professional integrity in the industry’s efforts to embrace the changes that have been the consequence of new kinds of communication technology and we are delighted to welcome him to the faculty,” he said.
Mary Dundon, senior lecturer in Journalism at UL, has also welcomed the arrival of Colleran. “We are delighted that Mr Colleran has been appointed Adjunct Professor of Journalism at UL. He is one of Ireland’s most experienced national newspaper editors and he will bring a wealth of journalistic experience to the master classes he will deliver to our students,” she stated.
RTÉ’s Bryan Dobson is a current Adjunct Professor of Broadcast Journalism at UL. Previous Adjunct Professors of Journalism include former Irish Times Editor Geraldine Kennedy and Sunday Times journalist Justine McCarthy.