All about me
Dr Donald Johannessen completed his PhD at QUT. This was by Creative Practice and delivered as a documentary titled: “Exhausted Voices” Past Present Future” - Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP): Improving the legal management of media content about/with Indigenous Australians.
I am an Aboriginal (Gooreng Gooreng and Kabi Kabi) man who has worked for over 28 years as a journalist and producer. I understand both journalistic procedures and pressures and the cultural contexts in which these pressures may negatively impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. I have extensive experience with interviewing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants in a studio format and on Country and use cultural sensitivity and respect which has always been at the forefront when I deliver my work.
Knowledge (PhD)
My contribution to knowledge is made in two parts: (i) the creative work, a documentary titled “Exhausted Voices: Past, Present, Future”. and (ii) this exegesis titled: Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP): Improving the legal management of media content about/with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Creative Work: Documentary titled “Exhausted Voices: Past, Present, Future”.
Journalist/Producer
ABC television and radio, Fox Sports, National Indigenous Television and SBS. I was instrumental in securing the radio broadcast for NIRS of the Indigenous NRL All Stars matches. I have been involved in many LIVE Sporting events, Olympics - Goodwill Games - Commonwealth Games - ASIAN GAMES.
PhD - ICIP/InDSov & InDGov
PhD graduated at QUT Business & Law Faculty | School of Law - Research area - Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP) and Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) | Journalist and Producer.
I'm a Gooreng Gooreng and Kabi Kabi journalist and producer based in Brisbane. My research highlighted the problem Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders face with mainstream media’s interaction with Mob. My tenet is to give something back to Mob and harness the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sovereignty at all levels with data, stories and knowledge.
University
QUT - PhD Doctor of Philosophy
UQ - Graduate Certificate Writing, Editing and Publishing
Griffith University - Bachelor Communications major in Journalism and Screen Production
Publications
Beyond Interaction Networks: Using Practice Mapping to Detect the Symptoms of Destructive Polarisation in Social Networks. Network Science.
Bruns, A., Esau, K., Kasianenko, K., Dehghan, E., Choucair, T., Suresh, V. P., & Johannessen, D. W. (in press). Beyond Interaction Networks: Practice Mapping as a Step towards the Detection of Destructive Polarisation in Social Networks. Network Science.
"Documentary Film, Copyright and the Colonial Record" - AlterNative
"Documentary film, copyright and the colonial record" has been successfully submitted online and is presently being given full consideration for publication in AlterNative.
Pappalardo, Kylie ; Heart, River; Johannessen, Donald (2025)
