Analysing representations of media studies in the UK press: some preliminary observations

1. Analysing representations of media studies in the UK press: some preliminary observations Dr Dan Laughey School of Cultural Studies Leeds Metropolitan University d.laughey@leedsmet.ac.uk

2. 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’

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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) Critics and Defenders

6. 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’

7. 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

8. Main points of defence (1) • Employability is high – and no degree guarantees 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

9. Points of defence (2) • Media studies is relevant to contemporary world and (young) people’s everyday experiences – unlike classics, algebra, 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

10. 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)