This talk describes work-in-progress arising from a multidisciplinary inaugural fellowship at the University of Sydney, which brings together Arts and Social Sciences researchers with multidisciplinary institutes such as the Charles Perkins Centre (medical research institute, clinic and education hub). This fellowship focuses on computer-based analysis of discourses of diabetes in the Australian news media. The talk will report on our approach to bringing in key CPC academic staff at the beginning of the project as well as issues around data construction and design, and results from a pilot study.