A senior journalism lecturer at Cardiff School of Journalism has died, aged 60.

Geoff Mungham

Geoff Mungham, a war reporting specialist, died in his sleep in Utrecht, where he had been teaching, and had enjoyed a party with his students the evening before.

He had been at the university since 1971
and also specialised in political communications. He taught information gathering and analysis, as well as supervising PhD and Masters students.

He was the first co-ordinator of the University’s Masters in International Journalism, which has been running for two years, and was previously co-ordinator of the Masters in Journalism Studies.

The school has opened a book of condolences in his memory, which has attracted entries from around the world.

Head of School Terry Threadgold said: “The website and the condolence book it sets up are here for all of us to use to remember him by, to remind one another about his life, to celebrate that life and to be grateful for having shared parts of it.”

This year’s International Journalism MA class has left the message: ‘His impact over the past two months has been tremendous’.

From Cansu Caml, Turkey: ‘Now I know he will keep watching us from above… He has been my inspiration and always will be.’

From Svetlana: ‘The most amazing person I have ever met. …but also a good Comrade – I will always remember him.’

From James Lewis: ‘A great man who’ll not be forgotten’.

And from the staff at China Central Television: ‘Geoff will live forever in our hearts.’

Geoff’s main research and teaching interests covered war reporting and war propaganda, political propaganda and political communications, and issues in international journalism.

He was co-author of The Fog of War, the Media on the Battlefield (Heinemann, 1987) and Re-designing Democracy; the Making of the Welsh Assembly (Seren Press, 2000).

He also contributed to numerous British and international journals, magazines and newspapers on political communications, the role of propaganda in the modern state and on the war reporting.

Geoff was also a regular contributor to the weekly newspaper Tribune and to Planet, a bi-monthly journal on Welsh affairs.

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