The Media@LSE Long Reads series aims to gain an insight into the world-leading expertise of the LSE’s Department of Media and Communications by asking thought provoking questions about the world in which we live.
The Long Reads series engages with issues at the forfront of society, which include; data colonialism, fake news, 5G mobile services and diversity within the communication industires.
In the first of the Media@LSE Long Reads series, Silas Scott talks to Professor Nick Couldry about Tierra Común. As a project, "Tierra Común brings together activists, citizens and scholars who want data to be decolonized."
In this wide-ranging interview, Professor Couldry discusses his motivations behind founding the Tierra Común project. He explains his real concerns about the way in which data is appropriated worldwide, with a specific focus on Latin America. The interview covers a number of key topics relating to data, from social media platforms to the Chinese state, big tech, data within developing countries, and Professor Couldry's hopes and fears for the future of data.
Read the full interview here.
In the second installment of the series, Dr Lee Edwards talks to Silas Scott about the PR and Strategic Communications industry, and diversity within the profession. In this interview, Dr Edwards discusses her thoughts on where the communications industry has made progress, and crucially what it needs to do to improve. This in depth discussion reflects on the turbilence of the last year and how it impacted the communications industry.
Read the full interview here.
In the third installment of the series, Professor Robin Mansell talks to Silas Scott about the impact of 5G mobile communication technologies on urban life, and her research report with Dr Jean-Christophe Plantin, ‘Urban futures with 5G: British press reporting’, which presents a content analysis of UK media coverage of 5G just before the eruption of 5G conspiracy theories. The interview explores some of the multiple controversies around 5G mobile technology, the way in which it's been reported, and the role of the media in assessing the future of 5G.
Read the full interview here.