I am a journalist-turned-academic who researches the significance of local media – particularly the legacy local newspaper – to society.

My research uses an historicised political economic approach to interrogate the way in which the ideological value of ‘serving the good the community’, defined by a discourse of public service, has been used to legitimise a particular financial model for local and regional news, to the detriment of marginalised communities. This enables a critique of current responses to the impact of digital technology on this area, which is explored both theoretically and via practice-based interventions in this landscape, working in partnership with practitioners to explore these areas.

I have a professional background in the legacy local newspaper industry where I worked at a senior editorial level. I hold a qualification from the National Council for Training of Journalists. I continue to influence the contemporary industry via my membership of the Ethics Committee of Impress and additional professional activities; In 2023 I was a judge for the Regional Press Awards so acting as an arbiter of excellence in this field.

My current leadership focus at Coventry University is on the extension of Research Enriched Learning to enhance the student experience. Based in the Institute of Creative Cultures I work with a small team to develop and embed University-wide systems and strategies to strengthen the networks between research and faculty structures in order to maximise the impact of the REL agenda. This builds on my work as Associate Head of School for Research in the School of Media and Performing Arts. Beyond CU, I am founding chair of the Local and Community Media Network of MeCCSA.

The history of the provincial newspaper in England; business models for provincial newspapers, emerging provincial news practice.

The practice of local journalism; the relationship between local news and local communities; the history of the provincial newspaper as a media form and as a business

My mission is to reveal the full impact of local newspapers on the people and places to which they relate. My perspective builds on my own experience working in weekly and daily newspapers. As an academic, I have written the first history to scope the development of the local newspaper as a particular media form and I now apply that to the contemporary context to address the questions above. This leads me to question fundamental assumptions about the local newspaper and to examine questions about their relationship to communities in past, present and future in order to capture their full significance to places and people. In doing so, I challenge industry norms in relation to conception of the role of local newspapers and local journalists and also academic approaches, particularly in relation to the way in which theoretical approaches to community can limit our ability to fully appreciate the benefits of local media to local people.