Dr Dinesh Balliah

Director

Dinesh Balliah is the Director of the Wits Centre for Journalism. She is the former deputy public advocate of the Press Council of South Africa, and until very recently, chaired the board of the Health-e News Service. She also served as a member of the advisory committee member of the South African Media Innovation Project (SAMIP), run by the New York- based MDIF (Media Development Investment Fund), and of the editorial advisory committee at Newzroom Afrika.

In 2017, Dinesh was awarded the Faculty of Humanities Teaching and Learning Award for excellence in postgraduate teaching at Wits University. She previously represented the Faculty of Humanities on the Wits Senate Committees on Information and Communication Technologies, and the Library.

Over the last few years, Dinesh has participated as a judge for the Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards for Journalism Excellence, the Forum for Community Journalists Awards and Diageo Responsible Drinking Media Awards.

Dinesh previously taught Media Studies for seven years at Wits University, Media and Communications at the University of Johannesburg, and Media Law and Online Journalism at Boston Media House in Sandton.

From 2001-2003 Dinesh was the Head of the Department of IT for Humanities at Wits University and was instrumental in conceptualising and developing a new three-year degree in Media Studies/IT for Humanities.

Dinesh is an amateur photographer tweets about the media, journalism and other matters using the handle @DineshBalliah

Education
PhD (Journalism and Media Studies), Wits University, 2021
Study of the United States Institute Fellowship (Media and Journalism), Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Arizona State University, 2019
Master of Arts (Historical Studies), University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2003
Certificate in Globalization and the Information Society, University of Michigan, 2004
Bachelor of Arts Honours (Historical Studies), University of KwaZulu-Natal, 1999
Bachelor of Arts, (majoring in Law and History), University of Natal, Durban, 1998

Contact
Email: dinesh.balliah@wits.ac.za
Twitter: @DineshBalliah
Facebook: Dinesh Balliah