Judith Neilson Institute dismisses remaining members of advisory board after earlier director walkout

The Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas (JNI) has dismissed the remaining members of its international advisory council ahead of a review of the not-for-profit which has now been stripped of its founding board, expert journalism panel and management.

The billionaire philanthropist funded the institute to the tune of $100m in 2018, but blindsided the organisation earlier this year by announcing she wanted to take it in a different direction.

The executive director, Mark Ryan, formally exited the institute last week saying he was considering legal action.

Sources say Neilson wants to become more personally involved in the activities of the institute and for it to focus more on the consumers of journalism rather than the producers, including non-English speaking communities and those in regional areas.

JNI has funded several projects for large and small media outlets, including Nine newspapers and Guardian Australia. It has also organised events and education.

Until mid-2021, the institute had distributed $2.5m in grants and had a total expenditure of $7.7m, according to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.