[1] Henningham graduated from the University of Sydney and worked as a journalist with newspapers the Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Australian and the ABC before entering journalism education.
[4] Henningham has written and edited books, journals, chapters and articles on journalism and the news media, including Looking at Television News, Issues in Australian Journalism, and Institutions in Australian Society, and has been a media commentator in the press and on radio.
His best-known research is based on national surveys of journalists in Australia,[5] He has also been a strong advocate of journalism education, arguing the case for its distinct purpose and the need to separate it from other forms of communication.
[7] He has been a visiting fellow and researcher at the East-West Center, the Reuter Foundation at Green College, Oxford University, and the London College of Printing, as well as visiting professor of journalism at Deakin University, Victoria.
He is adjunct professor at University of the Sunshine Coast and a director of the Asia Pacific Journalism Centre.