University of the West of England

Faculty Member, Arts, Creative Industries and Education (ACIE)

Senior Lecturer (photography & media)

Thesis Title: Motivations, impacts and cultural sustainability of stakeholder's involvment in community media education activity: an ethnographic study

About

I'm a senior lecturer of Photography & Media and an active practitioner in the Community Media sector.  My PhD explored the motivations, impacts and cultural sustainability of community media education activity using ethnographic and autoethnographic qualitative methodologies.

I regularly write about my research interests of media, education and society on my blog:   

http://www.beyondproject.wordpress.com/


External to academia I co-run Firstborn Creatives media production company - www.firstborn-studios.co.uk - We have been running for 10 years and specialise in social interest media production, community media and educational projects. 

TV credits include;

- 'No Change', 1997, ITV (Director)
- 'Footsteps of the Emperor', 1999, ITV (Producer/Director)
- 'Under the Bridge', 2000, ITV (Director)
- 'Unfinished Business', 2007, BBC (Director).

Community Media clients include the National Trust, Bristol City Council, St Pauls Unlimited, Channel 4, BBC Bristol, Real Ideas Organisation, Creative Partnerships, Primary Care Trust, and many other agencies with interests in education, social regeneration and civil society.

I have spoken at various conferences and synposia on the theme of community media, and am increasingly writing papers for journals and publications.  These include;


CONFERENCES / RESEARCH

September 2010
Gave two presentations at the 'Demanding Conversations' conference at Knowle West Media Centre, Bristol.  Themes: "What are the conflicting demands on artists and agencies in relation to quality outcomes when producing socially engaged work?" and "What’s at stake in the current political climate for Socially Engaged Practice & young people – are there new opportunities on the horizon?"

November 2009
Gave paper with Rob Mitchell at the ‘British Country House and Slavery’ conference at LSE, London.  The paper was titled ‘The representation of perspectives on slave trade history using creative digital platforms’.

November 2009
Chapter published in ‘Understanding Community Media’.  Chapter title, ‘Positioning Education within Community Media’. Edited by Kevin Howley. Sage Publications

August 2008
Gave paper at OurMedia7 Conference in Accra, Ghana.  ‘Positioning Education within Community Media’.

January 2008
Co-published and co-wrote: ‘Blueboard: Story of a creative media residency project: 4 companies / 11 schools’.  Publication offers an introduction to some ways in which partnership work, between creative media practitioners and schools, can enhance the learning opportunities of children and young people. 
http://www.cmsw.co.uk/blueboard.html

January 2008
Paper published in Journal of Media Practice, titled, ‘Consequences and Coincidences: A Case Study of Experimental Play in Media Literacy’.  Intellect Books. Vol. 9.1


January 2007
Co-edited ‘Making it Work: An Enquiry into how companies in the Community Media Sector recruit and retain skilled freelancers’ with Steve Gear.  Research by Ella Bissett Johnson.  Funded by University of the West of England, ABI Associates and South West Screen.  Supported by Calling the Shots and Firstborn Creatives
Available for download from:
http://www.cmsw.co.uk/making-it-work.html


November 2006
Paper given at the Narrative/Non-Narrative conference, Arnolfini, Bristol.  Paper titled, ‘Consequences and Coincidences: A Case Study of Experimental Play in Media Literacy’

July 2006
Key Note Speaker at the Diverse 2006 conference in Glasgow, paper titled ‘Community Media in Bristol: Learning from history and joining up the future’. Co-presenters; Hugh Thomas - Bristol LEA, Sandra Mason - KWMC, Junior Saunders - Firstborn/Channel Zer0, Marla Reid - Firstborn/Channel Zer0, Kerry & Davina Frome - KWMC.

July 2006
Paper given at the Diverse 2006 conference in Glasgow, paper titled, ‘Re-Representing rural racism through the use of Community Media’.

April 2006
Paper given at the “What is a university for?” conference run by UWE, on the subject of citizenship in education.

January 2006
Gave a paper at the Politics, Race & Ethnicity Conference, Bristol, titled, ‘Re-Representing rural racism through the use of Community Media’.

December 2005
Paper published in, Implementing Media Literacy: Empowerment, Participation and Responsibility, Westminster Media Forum Seminar Series.

September 2005
Invited to give a paper at the Euricom Colloquium in Slovenia, on ‘Cultural Sustainability of the Community Media sector’, for the MacBride Report 25th anniversary.

July 2005
Gave a paper at the ICT Education West of England Conference in Bristol, titled, ‘Using Digital Media to enhance Creative Writing’.

Contact Information