2011
December
Restrict children's advertising on the grounds of their health not their understanding/literacy
On 1st December, Sonia Livingstone| addressed the Public Hearing of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the topic of "Advertising for young people and children", with a focus on evidence regarding health, especially obesity, as this may inform evidence-based policy. The EESC is considering possible actions, in the context of a forthcoming Communication on the Rights of the Child .
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ECREA Symposium at LSE, "The Mediation of Scandal and Moral Outrage|" 16-17 December 2011.
Scandals and the moral outrage they provoke are not new, but the networked synoptic viewer society that we have become makes scandalitis more permanent, more global and a profitable business for media organisations. We aim to bring a critical perspective to the way scandals are mediated, produced, consumed, and how they increasingly feed a polyoptic society whereby everybody is watching and watched by everybody.
Symposium Programme|
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November
Congratulations to our 2010-11 MSc Prizewinners, Mark Holden and Saskia Scheibel
|We are pleased to be able to make awards to students of such high calibre.
It is with great sadness that we learn of the death on 6 November 2011 of Lord Philip Gould, Visiting Professor and friend of the Department.
"He jumped at the chance when I invited him to give some guest lectures on my Political Communication course. But it was nowhere near enough for him. He became visiting professor at the LSE and ran a series of lectures bringing in such as Alastair Campbell, Peter Mandelson and Stanley Greenberg (Bill Clinton's pollster) and then he set up his own MSc course, Modern Campaigning Politics." writes Maggie Scammell|.
October
Disadvantaged children more at risk online
Disadvantaged children get less help and support to protect them from the dangers of being online, researchers from the EU Kids Online project found.
|Disadvantaged children get less help and support to protect them from the dangers of being online, researchers from the EU Kids Online project found.
Prof. Terhi Rantanen is a member of the 'After the Crisis. Towards a New Economic Culture' group led by Prof Manuel Castells and sponsored by the Science Service of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation http://www.lini-research.org/np4/onf | in Lisbon. Watch the video Aftermath of a Crisis. |
September
Announcing a new research project
As part of the MacArthur Foundation's| Digital Media Learning initiative, Prof. Sonia Livingstone| has been awarded a grant of $332,000 (from 2011-2014) to participate in the Connected Learning Research Network directed by Mimi Ito (University of California, Irvine). Interested queries to email Prof. Sonia Livingstone|.
EU Kids Online Project: Final Report September 2011 To coincide with the current EU Kids Online Conference| being held on 22-23 Sept 2011 a Final Report| and press release| has been published.
Take a look at miaow| The Independent, 19/09/2011, p.10, Jean Hannah
A look at the topic of internet 'memes' the focus of study for Kate Miltner, who has just finished her dissertation completing the requirements for her MSc from the LSE's Department of Media and Communications.
Should ISPs Enforce Copyright?|
An Interview with Prof. Robin Mansell on the UK Case.
Media and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe: 2011 Country Reports
|We are pleased to announce that the first outcomes of the ERC-funded project Media and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe have just been published on the project's website.
The Department of Media & Communications Research Newsletter 2011
|In the pages of this newsletter, we offer a snapshot of new findings, just published books, research developments, doctoral student news and more.
2008 PhD alumnus Dr Michael Skey| currently teaches sociology at the University of East London. His forthcoming book, National Belonging and Everyday Life: The Significance of Nationhood in an Uncertain World| , focuses on ethnic majorities in Western settings and argues that their largely taken-for-granted status is used to underpin claims to key material and ontological benefits.
August
Dr Bingchun Meng| will be teaching CSS - MC201 Global Media Industries| at the LSE-Peking University Summer School in Beijing in August 2011.
July
International Journal of Cultural Studies
|A special issue of the International Journal of Cultural Studies, out in July 2011, honours the legacy of Roger Silverstone, the founding father of the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. The volume, edited by Lilie Chouliaraki| and Shani Orgad|, brings a collection of essays by leading scholars in the field who engage with Silverstone's concept of 'proper distance'.
EU Kids Online New Report, 5 July 2011
|Who bullies and who is bullied online? Survey discovers girls as likely as boys to be among the few who bully other children online. Press Release|
European Communications Research and Education Association (ECREA)| Symposium, "The Mediation of Scandal and Moral Outrage" to be held at LSE 16-17 December 2011. The deadline for submission of abstracts: 26 July 2011.
June
European Award for Best Children's Online Content
|On 17/6/11, Sonia Livingstone announced the winners of the European Award for Best Children's Online Content, having served as Chair of the European Jury. The prizes were presented at the Digital Agenda Assembly in Brussels by Vice President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes.
The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy|, Edited by Robin Mansell (LSE) and Marc Raboy (McGill University), Blackwell-Wiley, 2011.
This Handbook offers new insights into this key field of study, assesses why it is important, who it affects, and with what political, economic, social and cultural consequences. Order at Wiley code VB144 when you check out (for 20% discount offer available till 31 July 2011)
PhD student Sally Broughton-Micova| wins Graduate Teaching Award.
The panel were particularly impressed that Sally made students feel like more confident learners, as the school survey shows that students in her class rated their own performance as notably better than most.
Dr Banaji| is one of five Academics who have won the 2011 LSE & LSESU Teaching Excellence Award
|The award acknowledges the effort and enthusiasm invested in teaching and the support of learning by staff.
May
Nominet Annual .UK Policy Forum Protection & Trust|
Dr Damian Tambini| will be speaking at the Nominet Annual .UK Policy Forum on Tuesday 17 May 2011, see website for more details.
Professor Philip Schlesinger|
Visiting Professor in the Department and Professor in Cultural Policy at the University of Glasgow has been re-appointed as Chairman of UK communications regulator Ofcom's Advisory Committee for Scotland (2011-2014). He has also been appointed to a visiting professorship at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome (in Autumn 2011).
Article by PhD student Marco Scalvini
|"For France, acting in a 'humanitarian' manner means intervening in Libya's civil war but does not extend to freely accepting refugees from Libya or Tunisia within its borders. "
3rd LSE Teaching Day 2011 - Tuesday 24 May - LSE Staff Only
Professor Terhi Rantanen| will be holding a session between 15:00-15:45 - Strand 2 (b): Use of mobile devices in the classroom for student participation & feedback.
April
EU Kids Online: New Report 18 April 2011
|Social networking age and privacy report |finds age restrictions on social networking sites are not effective. View press release|.
March
Dr Anstead on Twitter's 5th Birthday
|Dr Nick Anstead appeared on the BBC News Channel on 22 March 2011 to talk about Twitter's 5th anniversary.
LSE Media Policy Project: New report released 21 March 2011
|Creative Destruction and Copyright Protection by Dr Cammaerts| and Dr Meng|
EU Kids Online: New Report Released 18 March 2011
|Younger children still need to develop key online skills finds Europe-wide study. Read the full report| and press release|.
Alumni News
|MSc Global Media & Comms graduate George Villanueva acquires $380k community planning grant.
LSE Photography Prize 2011|
Xiaoyue Zhao, MSc Global Media (USC), has won First Prize in the LSE competition.
Summer School: Media and Communications Course
|What role do media play in individual and collective processes of cultural change? Global Communications, Citizens and Cultural Politics (IR140) explores this question in relation to identity, urbanisation, culture and politics.
Media@LSE Photography Contest Winners|
Thanks to the generous support of the LSE Annual Fund, we are proud to announce the winners of the Annual Media & Communications Photography Contest. Our sincerest congratulations to Marco, Chi and Davide and to all participants for their commitment, ideas and visual creativity.
February
The Making of Bestsellers: Department of Media and Communications Literary Festival Discussion:|
Listen to John Thompson and Andrew Franklin being interviewed on the Today| programme.
Charlie Beckett|
Director of POLIS has been listed at number 60 in a list of the UK's most elite Twitter users by The Independent Twitter 100 list|.
PhD Symposium 2011: Call for Papers 'Media and Identity'|
Deadline Tuesday 15 February, 2011
New EU Kids Online| report released Tuesday 8 February:
Risky communication online| and press release|
Dr Shani Orgad|
On the expert panel for a Media Symposium hosted by Plan UK|: 'Unnatural disasters: Compassion versus complexity in the media's reporting of humanitarian emergencies' on Tuesday 8 February 2011.
Click here to see her report from the Symposium|.
Professor Lilie Chouliaraki|
Has been awarded a 'Top Faculty Paper' Award from ICA's Journalism Studies Division for her paper entitled:
'Post-television news and disaster reporting: Towards a new moral imagination'|.
January
New Project Launch: Dr Shani Orgad, January 2011
Mediated humanitarian knowledge: audiences' responses and moral actions Data
|The project will explore public understanding and reactions to humanitarian communications, including campaigns about international development issues and humanitarian appeals. The project team is interested in how people make sense of the images and narratives of distant suffering that agencies generate and how ideologies, emotions and biographical experiences shape those responses. We will also study how agencies plan and think about their communications.
PhD Studentship in International Journalism funded by the LSE Hellenic Alumni Association|
Research into international journalism, with emphasis on the ethical and political implications of the practice of journalism in the age of globalisation and digital media. This scholarship is for Greek nationals, who must apply for a place on the PhD programme in Media and Communications by 15 January 2011
New EU Kids Online report: Thursday 13 January 2011|
Children need more help to block online threats says European internet study. Professor Sonia Livingstone, 'Parents and the online industry have taken some good first steps to make the internet a safer place for children but they could both do much more.' For more details, and a full copy of the report see EU Kids Online|.
Department of Media and Communications Alumnus, Dr Indrek Ibrus
|Awarded first prize for the best PhD thesis in social sciences and humanities in the national competition for student research organised by Estonia's ministry of education and research|.
2010
December 2010
MSc Prize Winners 2010
We would like to congratulate our Department of Media & Communications MSc prize-winners this year:
Best MSc Dissertation – Olina Banerji
Silverstone MSc Dissertation – Michelle Anna Ruesch
Best Overall MSc Performance – Michelle Anna Ruesch
Prof Sonia Livingstone presented the prizes to the students at our gradation ceremony on 16th December 2010.
POLIS director Charlie Beckett| has written a paper commissioned as part of JRF's programme on Globalisation, which explores and promotes awareness of the impacts of globalisation on the UK and focuses on communities and people in poverty.
It examines how global media has changed and its impact on low-income groups in the UK; explains how communities in the UK benefit from and influence their global news consumption; and discusses the potential widening of the digital divide. You can view the paper here|.
November 2010
Summer School
We are delighted to announce the Department's bid bid for a new Summer School has been accepted will begin running July 25 - 12 August in 2011: 'Via lively lectures and debates, IR140 Global Communications, Citizens and Cultural Politics will explore the role of media and communications in relation to contemporary issues of identity, citizenship, culture and conflict.' More information to follow in the new year.
UK Findings| for the EU Kids Online| survey published 15/11/10. The report| finds that overuse of the internet is very high among UK children, but also that children in the UK are among the most web-savvy.
October 2010
Evangelia Berdou's PhD thesis in the Department of Media and Communications, winner of the LSE's Robert McKenzie Prize 2008, has just been published in October 2010 by Routledge as 'Organization in Open Source Communities: At the Crossroads of the Gift and Market Economies'|.
One in eight children still have upsetting experiences online, a new Europe-wide study shows. The report published 21 October 2010 by EU Kids Online| is based on interviews with 23,000 children - see eukidsonline.net for information.
Philip Schlesinger| - visiting professor in the department - was visiting professor at CELSA, the specialised communications school at the Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne in the second half of October. He gave a seminar there to staff and researchers on 'Expertise and the public sphere' and lectured on the UK media scene to a range of Masters courses.
Read articles by two of our academics in LSE Research|
Everything old is new again by Robin Mansell page 30
The media world, like life, is complicated. New and old media don't always fight each other; they often work in parallel. Oh, and who says new media are an unequivocal blessing for developing societies?
Losing the plot by Mina Al-Lami page 34
In the global war on terror, the 'battle for hearts and minds' was a made-in-America strategy to win over Muslims. It hasn't worked on the internet, where clumsy crackdowns have been heavy handed and counter-productive.
The Guardian|, 18/10/2010, Damian Tambini|, writes that the government's proposal for the reform of Ofcom is one of the gravest assaults on broadcasting freedom he has seen. The basic organising principle of Ofcom is independence from government."
Evangelia Berdou's PhD thesis in the Department of Media and Communications, winner of the LSE's Robert McKenzie Prize 2008, has just been published by Routledge as 'Organization in Open Source Communities: At the Crossroads of the Gift and Market Economies'|. The book makes a significant contribution to the expanding literature on free/open source (F/OS) software community studies, revealing the diversity and evolution of existing F/OS communities and suggesting new directions for future research in the design and implementation of F/OS efforts.
The ECREA conference in Hamburg| is taking place this weekend, 12-15th, this years theme is Transcultural communication and intercultural comparisons. A number of our Academic staff and students will be presenting; including: Dr Bart Cammaerts, Dr Ellen Helsper, Professor Sonia Livingstone, Dr Linje Manyozo, Yinhan Wang.
Professor Sonia Livingstone will be giving a keynote at the pre-conference.
September 2010
As the final event of the EULAKS FP7 EU project|, on 23-24 September 2010 the Department hosted a policy workshop titled
"Informing the Knowledge Society - Feeding SSH Research into Policy Design in Latin America and Europe"
Understanding the relationship between social science and humanities (SSH) knowledge and policy formulation entails a paradox: The SSH research community produces a wealth of evidence-based information, but in general policymaking communities underutilise this knowledge. The question why, when, how and which information decision makers use in the formulation, design, implementation and monitoring of policies provided the backdrop for the discussions during this workshop. The primary focus was on the exploration of the differences between the Latin American and European context as regards the processes behind and conditions for successful SSH research – policy connections. The target audience of this workshop are SSH research communities as well as governmental and non-governmental stakeholders interested in the role of the SSH for policy-learning in a European-Latin American perspective.
July 2010
Robin Mansell| is interviewed by Laureano Ralon for FigureGround Communication|, This website also hosts interviews with Andrew Feenburg and Eric McLuhan and others working in the media and communication field.
Philip Schlesinger appointed visiting professor in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. Professor in Cultural Policy at the University of Glasgow, Philip Schlesinger has been appointed to a visiting professorship at the London School of Economics. Read more here|
June 2010
Media@LSE| Summer Symposium
The local and the global, the institutional and the everyday Read the intellectual work of the third Media@LSE Summer Symposium held at the London School of Economics and Political Science, on 7th June 2010
LSE Fellow in Media & Communications
We have a vacancy for an LSE Fellow in Media & Communications for one year from September 2010, the application deadline 16th June, interviews will take place on 14th July - more information here|
LSE Hellenic Studentship in International Journalism
The LSE Hellenic Alumni Association founds a PhD studentship in international journalism - closing date for application: 11 June 2010. Further information |
Glamorizing sick bodies: how commercial advertising has changed the representation of HIV/AIDS by
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Marco Scalvini|
This article traces the shift in AIDS/HIV representations in commercial advertising from the early 1990s, when images of decay and disease represented AIDS, to nowadays, when the wider availability of antiretroviral medications and their ability to prolong life produced new representations of HIV-afflicted bodies. This article traces the shift in AIDS/HIV representations in commercial advertising from the early 1990s, when images of decay and disease represented AIDS, to nowadays, when the wider availability of antiretroviral medications and their ability to prolong life produced new representations of HIV-afflicted bodies.
May 2010
Dr Damian Tambini| writes for House magazine on Quality in an age of access.
Dr Linje Manyozo |has been awarded a research grant by the Centre for Media and Transitional Societies at Carleton University and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to investigate the impact of ICTs on community and rural radio broadcasters in Mozambique, Uganda and Mali.
Family Platform
Family Platform interactive website goes online encouraging dialogue between stakeholders on family wellbeing across Europe. To register as a stakeholder and get involved visit http://www.familyplatform.eu|.
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Max Hanska-Ahy has won this year's departmental Graduate Teaching Assistant prize, "Max is not just a great teacher, but also a thoughtful and mature one".
April 2010
Media, Organizations and Identity Lilie Chouliaraki |'s new co-edited book critically examines the relationship between mediation and organisational identity.
More information
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February 2010
Help Robinson Crusoe Island In 2006, Gillian Bolsover, one of our MSc Global Media & Communications| students, was involved in a documentary project on the remote Chilean island of Robinson Crusoe. Gillian and the rest of the Chasing Crusoe Team created a website, www.rcrusoe.org|, about the life and history of the island.
In the days following the earthquake that shook the Chilean mainland, the team learnt that a giant tsunami had hit Robinson Crusoe Island, covering nearly two miles of the island and reaching 300 metres up from the natural coastline. When the ocean retreated, it took with it nearly all of San Juan Bautista, the coastal settlement that the island's 650 residents call home.
The Chasing Crusoe Team are now trying to raise funds to help the islanders rebuild their lives. To donate money, visit www.rcrusoe.org/|
January 2010
2008-09 MSc dissertation prizes
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2008-09 MSc dissertation prizes. This is the first year that the Department has funded such prizes and we are delighted to be able to award them for work of such high calibre.
The first ever MSc Dissertation: Silverstone Prize which is offered in the name of the late Professor Roger Silverstone, founder of the Department of Media & Communications is awarded to Brooks Decillia for his eloquently written case study of the reporting of the war in Afghanistan by Canadian mainstream media.
The first ever Best MSc Dissertation Prize is awarded to Michael Spiess for his study of media in the Central African Republic.
Brooks and Michael each received a cheque for £100, which we hope will be put to good use in furthering their studies or academic research.