Author: Einar Thorsen

Written by the Media and Gender group (a collective of academics working and studying in feminist media studies, mostly based in the UK. Please contact: mediaandgendercollective@gmail.com) A full list of signatories, and the chance to add your own name in support, can be found here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0rvytMeEbt0cb_SWPhQGLb-zP5QDuOwOdvs95e_WneE8Ogg/viewform We are writing to ask that MeCCSA members work collectively to …Continue Reading

Julian PetleyBrunel University London On 27 March, the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee announced an inquiry into the future of public service broadcasting in order to examine that future ‘within the wider media and digital ecology, including funding, content and regulation of PSBs and how this compares with alternative subscription, streaming services and Freeview services’. Taken …Continue Reading

Leung Wing-FaiKing’s College London For the UK screen sector, Covid-19 is only one reason why 2020 has been an extraordinary year so far. The referendum of 2016 resulted in the withdrawal of Britain from the European Union on the 31st of January. The screen sector forecasted serious adverse impacts, mostly due to the loss of …Continue Reading

Mélanie DupéréUniversité Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris III The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovi, recently highlighted the need to protect press and media freedom given that “journalism serves a crucial function during a public health emergency” (3rd April 2020). She expressed regret at the introduction of disproportionate restrictions by some governments since …Continue Reading

Josephine ColemanBrunel University, London The last few months under lockdown threw most of the population into a strange new world of working from home imposed from on high. Routines were disrupted, the availability of resources was stretched to the limit, anxiety levels rose. An industry which has played a key role, on the one hand, …Continue Reading

Rachel MatthewsCoventry UniversityDavid BainesNewcastle UniversityAgnes GulyasCanterbury Christ Church University Even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, there was recognition at policy level that local news provision in the UK was under pressure. Most recently the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications and Digital launched an inquiry into the Future of Journalism, which the LCM Network …Continue Reading

Barbara HendersonNewcastle University When the coronavirus situation began and universities moved to replace all face to face teaching with some kind of online equivalent, it felt at first as if the journalism courses were at a particular disadvantage. Our journalism Masters students were just about to embark on a practical project in which they worked …Continue Reading

Judith AstonUniversity of the West of England Stefano OdoricoLeeds Trinity University One result of lockdown, or indeed of moving towards the ‘new normal’, has been the increased cognitive load involved in negotiating our way through evolving terms of engagement with friends, family, colleagues and the wider environment. In the UK at least, there seem to …Continue Reading

Melanie BrownBournemouth University The Covid-19 pandemic has brought many things into focus and shifted priorities, and a focus on health and mental wellbeing has been the most noticeable shift. We are hearing terms such as “pandemic”, “public health emergency” and “health crisis” used in the media and in daily conversations. The Higher Education sector has …Continue Reading

Doug SpechtUniversity of Westminster I just checked – the first email in my inbox about how COVID-19 might impact our school appeared in early February. It was raising concerns for students studying abroad, and for those with families in other parts of the world who might be affected and need support. It only hinted at …Continue Reading