Dr Amanda Gearing

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Amanda Gearing
PhD (Journalism), MA (Research), B Bus (Com)
Australia
www.amandagearing.com
___________________________________________________________________________
Education
Doctor of Philosophy
Queensland University of Technology
Thesis title: Global investigative journalism in the network society
Supervisors: Associate Professor Leo Bowman
Professor Brian McNair
Professor Folker Hanusch

Master of Arts (Research) with High Distinction
Queensland University of Technology
Supervisors: Associate Professor Angela Romano
Thesis title: Lessons from media reporting of natural disasters: a case study
the 2011 flash floods in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley.

Bachelor of Business (Communication – Journalism)
Queensland Institute of Technology
Phone: +61417733354
Address: Brisbane,
Queensland,
Australia

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Papers by Dr Amanda Gearing

Survivors of inland tsunami ready to rebuild lives and homes

Australian Forestry, Jan 9, 2012

"Bess Fraser knows it is time to move on after the floods that destroyed her home in Grantha... more

UK church orders abuse inquiry

Australian Forestry, May 13, 2013

THE Church of England has ordered a formal independent investigation into the handling of child-s... more THE Church of England has ordered a formal independent investigation into the handling of child-sex allegations against a senior clergyman in Australia and Britain. Archbishop of York John Sentamu at the weekend commissioned the high-level inquiry into the alleged child sex abuse in the 1960s and 80s by the late Reverend Robert Waddington, and the church's response to complaints over the past 15 years. It comes as the head of Australia's Anglican Church, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, flew to north Queensland to meet the region's bishop over the revelations, which centre on Waddington's stint as principal of St Barnabas boarding school at Ravenshoe, west of Cairns, and later as dean of Manchester.

Woman abused as a child by Caldey Island monk waives right to anonymity

The guardian, 2017

Exclusive: Joanna Biggs describes how she and her sister were sexually abused by Thaddeus Kotik a... more

Choirboy haunted by painful memories

Creative Industries Faculty, May 10, 2013

Gearing, Amanda Ann (2013) Choirboy haunted by painful memories. The Times (London), 2013(10).

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Rescuers ignored danger to pluck mother and child from torrent

Australian Forestry, Jan 18, 2011

"Jenny Perry, her husband James and nine-year-old son Ted balanced on the roof of their car ... more

Qld floods inquest : stories of courage, sacrifice in emotional replay

"The last acts of courage and sacrifice by parents desperately trying to save their children... more "The last acts of courage and sacrifice by parents desperately trying to save their children as a deadly flash flood ripped through south-east Queensland in January fell like repeated emotional hammer-blows on survivors in the public gallery of the Brisbane Coroners Court yesterday. The speed with which the disaster tore lives and homes apart on January 10 was replicated by the speed at which police summarised the circumstances of the deaths for the coroner. After months of investigation by hundreds of police, the final desperate minutes of 14 people’s lives were summed up for the court before the morning tea break, in as little as three minutes each."

Amanda Gearing Queensland Flood Collection 2011-2012

A collection of oral history recordings, photographs, hand drawn maps, videos and speech notes re... more A collection of oral history recordings, photographs, hand drawn maps, videos and speech notes relating to the 2011 Queensland floods and the major flood event that occurred in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley region on 10 January 2011: a flash flood (described as an 'inland tsunami') which devastatingly took 21 human lives. The collection, amassed by Toowoomba-based journalist Amanda Gearing for her Master of Arts degree, includes 86 oral history recordings of flood survivors and rescuers in Spring Bluff, Murphys Creek, Toowoomba, Withcott, Postmans Ridge, Helidon, Carpendale and Grantham as well as digital photographs and videos taken by a number of those interviewed including those taken by Amanda Gearing and other locals. The interviews are very personal and powerful recollections of the experience of the flood event. Some recall feelings of fear and despair and tell of trauma and loss which continues well after the flood event. All are stories of resilience and hope, of rebuilding lives, of lessons learnt, and recommendations in order to avoid the same devastating results in future disasters.

Reporter collaboration

Routledge eBooks, Jun 21, 2021

Investigative uses for Web based communications

Routledge eBooks, Jun 21, 2021

Caldey Island abbot apologises over failure to report abuse claims

The guardian, 2017

Daniel van Santvoort acknowledges that allegations against Father Thaddeus Kotik should have been... more

Women who cheated death thank their saviours

Australian Forestry, Jan 17, 2011

"Two women who survived the Murphys Creek flood have thanked the passers-by who hauedl them ... more

Flood victim’s heartbreak : ‘don’t be complacent about the risk’

"No one had higher stakes in the findings of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry tha... more "No one had higher stakes in the findings of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry than Grantham father Matthew Keep, whose mother, mother-in-law and baby daughter, Jessica, died at Grantham that terrible day in January. For seven months he has read every statement, submission, running log, disaster management plan and media article available. As he has comforted his grieving wife, Stacy, helped care for his two young children Madison, 5, and Jacob, 4, who amazingly survived the flood, and welcomed a new baby into the family, Matthew has searched for answers for himself and his community. Why were authorities not able to warn people in seven towns in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley that the worst flash flooding in at least a century was about to strike, killing 22 people? How could such a sudden and catastrophic flood claim three members of his family within minutes?"

Amazing tale of teen's survival in torrent gives hope to families of the missing

Australian Forestry, Jan 19, 2011

Flailing in a maelstrom of muddy water, a teenager being swept along Toowoomba's shopping str... more

How the royal commission can help Toowoomba to heal — again

In 2008 Toowoomba was rocked by a second paedophilia scandal in seven years. Local journalist Ama... more

Coronavirus, a global story

Routledge eBooks, Jun 21, 2021

Post-disaster recovery is a marathon, not a sprint: The need for a state-sponsored recovery scheme

Pacific Journalism Review, Jul 17, 2018

This study explores the recovery experiences of survivors of a flash flood event, five years afte... more This study explores the recovery experiences of survivors of a flash flood event, five years after a natural disaster in South East Queensland. In-depth interviews were conducted with 33 of the original cohort of 120 postdisaster interviewees who experienced sudden traumatic bereavement and/or their own near-death experience. The data reveals that many of the survivors and rescuers were in worse-or far worse-situations than they had been in the weeks and months immediately after the disaster. Interviewees identified the worsening of their situation as being caused by systems failures by civil authorities, health care systems, welfare programmes and the insurance industry. Further research is recommended to assess the needs of people affected by natural disasters and the viability of a state-funded recovery scheme that could expedite personal, family and community recovery. The proposed scheme is based on the Queensland WorkCover scheme that scaffolds recovery and return to work for injured workers.

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Brian McNair (1959–2020)

Australian journalism review, Nov 1, 2020

Reporting Disasters In The Digital Age

Routledge eBooks, Feb 22, 2019

Natural dis asters are events caused by natural forces such as extreme weather events or seismic ... more Natural dis asters are events caused by natural forces such as extreme weather events or seismic events. Extreme weather events include severe storms, droughts, floods, wildfires, tornados, and cyclones. Seismic events include earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and landslides. Natural disasters have a high level of newsworthiness because of their impact and potential impact on large numbers of people. More than 500 million people were affected by natural disasters in 2016 and almost 9,000 people died in 342 natural disasters around the globe (Guha-Sapir et al., 2017). The death toll in 2016 was the second lowest toll since 2006 and much lower than the toll in the Haiti earthquake that resulted in 222,570 deaths in 2010.

Archbishops’ chaplain behind bars at last

The sentencing of a self-confessed child sex offender and senior Brisbane Anglican priest Canon B... more The sentencing of a self-confessed child sex offender and senior Brisbane Anglican priest Canon Barry Greaves in Brisbane District Court last Friday (April 24, 2009) is a significant event for many reasons and for many people. It is a significant event because Greaves was a priest at Boonah in the early 1980s when he committed the offences and because knowledge of his own sex offending against children failed to deter him from seeking and gaining high office in the Anglican Church. He accepted the position of being an Archbishop’s chaplain to Brisbane Archbishop Dr Peter Hollingworth in 1999. He stayed on as an Archbishop’s chaplain to the incoming Archbishop Dr Phillip Aspinall in 2002 and not even the disgrace of the sex scandal in the Brisbane Diocese resulted in a glimmer of guilt that maybe he was not an appropriate person to be providing pastoral care to other victims of sexual assault. Families of victims who were referred to Greaves for pastoral care are now flabbergasted by the double betrayal. “I went looking for comfort and now I discover I was confiding in a f***ing pedophile,” one woman said.

Animal stories : flash flood 2011

Flash flood disasters happen suddenly. The Toowoomba Lockyer Valley flash flood in January 2011 w... more Flash flood disasters happen suddenly. The Toowoomba Lockyer Valley flash flood in January 2011 was not forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology until after it had occurred. Domestic and wild animals gave the first warning of the disaster in the days leading up to the event and large animals gave warnings on the morning of the disaster. Twenty-three people, including 5 children in the disaster zone died. More than 500 people were listed as missing. Some of those who died, perished because they stayed in the disaster zone to look after their animals while other members of their family escaped to safety. Some people who were in danger refused to be rescued because they could not take their pets with them. During a year spent recording accounts of the survivors of the disaster, animals were often mentioned by survivors. Despite the obvious perils, people risked their lives to save their animals; people saw animals try to save each other; animals rescued people; people rescued animals; animals survived where people died; animals were used to find human victims in the weeks after the disaster; and animals died. The stories of the flood present challenges for pet owners, farmers, counter disaster planners, weather forecasters and emergency responders in preparing for disasters, responding to them and recovering after them.