Rate My Professor Mary-Anne Romano

Mary-Anne Romano is a Lecturer in Communication and Academic Chair of Web Communication in the School of Media and Communication at Murdoch University. A Murdoch University alumna, she completed her PhD at Curtin University titled "The Claremont Serial Killings: Journalism as Ritual." Romano brings over 20 years of industry and academic experience in media, journalism, public relations, and communications. She worked as a journalist and producer before shifting to academia, where she teaches in journalism, strategic communication, digital communication, web analytics, and digital storytelling disciplines. She serves as Academic Chair for the Bachelor of Communication (Digital Communication major) and units such as COM302.

Her research specializations encompass journalism studies, media rituals, collective memory, cultural memory, true crime, media accountability, news, podcasts, and intersections of media, law, communication, and crime. Notable publications include the 2025 peer-reviewed article "Ritual in Journalism: Shaping Realities in the Claremont Serial Killings," published in Communication Research and Practice. Drawing on James Carey's ritual model and ethnomethodological analysis, it examines journalistic practices in one of Australia's longest-running criminal investigations. By analyzing 1996-1997 news texts from The West Australian and ABC News Perth, plus interviews with journalists, Romano reveals how framing choices, linguistic patterns, and symbolic narratives reinforce cultural norms, victim hierarchies, gendered discourse, and collective perceptions of crime and justice. The study advocates for ethical, nuanced reporting. In 2024, she co-authored the report "The Culture of Implementing Freedom of Information in Australia" with Associate Professor Johan Lidberg, exploring FOI implementation culture. She has also contributed to research on media accountability and public inquiries.