Analysing representations of media studies in the UK press
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Transcript Analysing representations of media studies in the UK press
Trial by Media:
The Case For and Against
Media Studies in the UK Press
Dr Dan Laughey
School of Cultural Studies
Leeds Metropolitan University
www.danlaughey.com
[email protected]
Method
Nexus search for UK national newspaper
articles including the terms ‘media studies’
and ‘soft subject’
Current archives go back no further than
the late 1970s (only the late 1990s for
some tabloids)
Approx 50 reports extracted for closer
analysis
Rudimentary content analysis of ‘all results’
Content analysis overview
Media studies and SS – 280 hits
Art and SS – 224
Psychology – 163
Film studies – 102
Sociology – 79
Business studies – 51
PE/sports science – 27
Golf course management – 14
Theatre studies – 13
The Cambridge A-Level blacklist
Business studies
Art and Design
Communication studies
Dance
Drama/Theatre studies
Home economics
Leisure studies
Media studies
Photography
PE
Sports studies
Travel and Tourism
Critics and Defenders
CRITICS
Right-leaning Tory and
Labour politicians
(Hodge, Grayling)
Pressure-groups
(Campaign for Real
Education, Reform)
Some journalists (esp
Daily Mail & Telegraph)
Some union/industry
reps (Bectu, NCTJ)
Some academics/
educators (Woodhead,
QAA, Smithers, Starkey,
Scruton)
DEFENDERS
Media studies
academics/teachers
(Buckingham,
Feldman, Ellis)
Some politicians (Boris
Johnson, Estelle
Morris, Phil Willis)
Some journalists (inc
those with media
degrees)
Think-tanks (Adam
Smith Institute)
Summary of main criticisms (1)
Poor employability record
Too vocational – not academic enough
Too theoretical – not industry-geared
Too easy/soft/Mickey Mouse
Too many courses (approx 2000 UK
media courses at HE) hit recruitment
targets but are often under-funded
HE should only cater for ‘the best’
Main criticisms (2)
Media studies may be anti-elitist but
it is also anti-intellectual
Media graduates not fulfilling wider
economic or public service needs
X-Factor generation – feckless, fickle
and full of drop-outs
Lacks a canon/body of study (Eng Lit
has Shakespeare, Chaucer, etc.)
Politically left-leaning
Main points of defence (1)
Employability is high – and few
degrees guarantee a given job
Media studies just the latest victim
(like Eng Lit and sociology before it)
Mix of theory and vocational elements
are an interdisciplinary strength
Importance of not just teaching about
the media but through the media
Points of defence (2)
Media studies is relevant to (young)
people’s experiences unlike classics, etc.
Media studies helps to foster media
professionalism and ethics – and combat
distortion, misreporting, etc.
Journalists only dislike the subject
because it scrutinises what they do
(hence some ‘become’ self-proclaimed
media experts)
Media studies ideally develops on cusp
of economic change from manufacturing
to communication/creative industries
Some recommendations
Name change? NO, unless you drop ‘studies’
Consistent name? YES, if possible
Avoid petty jibes at journalists/’the media’
Avoid assuming public opinion of media
studies is same as press/political opinion
Academic standards to come before industry
requirements (teachers/scholars decide
what gets studied) – but not to neglect
theory-practice nexus
Defend popular media texts by recourse to
history (Shakespeare was ‘pop’ too)
Compare like with like (maths IS harder)