François Nel

Reader and Director - University of Lancashire

Dr. François Nel is Reader in Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Lancashire, where he is Director of the Media Innovation Studio and coordinates the Sustainable Innovation & Leadership Accelerator (SILA). His research explores how news organisations respond to digital, environmental, and economic disruption, with a particular focus on sustainable, public-interest media. A former Visiting Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford, François also co-edits World Press Trends for WAN-IFRA and founded the World News Publishers Outlook study. His work supports media leaders in addressing systemic challenges in the industry, including climate change and digital transformation.