VISITORS
On March 14 Film & Media graduate Malcolm Campbell spoke to students on FMS9C8 about his career as a television scriptwriter and his experience of writing on Shameless (two episodes recently transmitted). He also gave a script clinic for each of the production groups. Another graduate, Bafta award-winning producer Carolynne Sinclair-Kydd, lectured on the same module about the producer’s role in film and television (28th March).
Katie Meech gave a talk on Corporate Responsibility to Public Relations and Media Management students on the Marketing Communications module on March 27.
Peter Hounam, a former investigative journalist with the Sunday Times Insight team, gave a lecture on March 17 to students taking Writing and Research for Journalists, co-ordinated by Jenny McKay.
Media II: Representations (FMS9X2) co-ordinated by Jane Sillars and Sarah Neely received guest lectures from scriptwriter, Sergio Casci (American Cousins, River City) and Robbie Fraser, a writer/director who has just released his first feature-film, GamerZ.
Phil Drake, Graham Meikle and Jacquie L’Etang made presentations about the department’s postgraduate degrees to prospective students from three Japanese universities on the MSc degrees in Media Management and Public Relations, and on the new M.Litt. degree in Media and Culture.
Dr Elke Weissmann, University of Reading, presented a paper on March 19 at an SMRI seminar titled ‘Travelling Cultures: The Rise and Fall of the American Mini Serial’.
OUTSIDE VISITS
Matthew Hibberd visited India and Vietnam between March 24 and April 2. On 25th he met British Council staff in Delhi to discuss their research programmes, especially UK-India Education and Research Initiative. He then went to Bangalore to attend an afternoon conference on Breaking News on March 26. In the evening he was awarded Best Business Communications Trainer (International) at the Public Relations Council of India annual Chanakya Awards – 2008. The ceremony took place at the Grand Ashok Hotel and chief guests were Shri N Santosh Hegde, Chief Justice, Karnataka State and Shri Rameshwar Thakur, Governor, State of Karnataka. Fellow awardees included Chandan Mitra, Editor and Managing Director, The Pioneer and Suhas Gopinath, CEO and President, Globus Inc. On March 27 Matthew visited the Bangalore campus of the Institute of Business Management and Research (IBMR) as member of their international advisory panel. The IBMR recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Stirling and proposes sending MBA students to study at Stirling annually. He met academic staff and students from the Institute before having lunch with the Dean and Managing Director. Between 29th and 31st March Matthew visited the University of Economics, Danang, Vietnam, to discuss a Prime Minister’s Initiative 2, organised through the British Council-funded proposal to start the MSc in Media Management in Vietnam from September 2008. He met the University’s Rector, Professor Dr Truong B Thanh and Mr Tuan Dang, Director of Research, Postgraduates and International Cooperation. Plans include Stirling staff delivering concentrated blocks of lecturing in September and January annually backed up by online notes and support. The British Council has announced that it will provide £43,000 funding over three years for the project and a 0.5 teaching fellow post will be created to cover Vietnam-related duties and teaching. Danang University of Economics has subsequently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Stirling and proposes sending 12 students to study Management and Film, Media and Journalism postgraduate courses utilising funds awarded from the World Bank.
PUBLICATIONS
Philip Drake (2008), ‘Distribution and Marketing in contemporary Hollywood’ in Janet Wasko and Paul McDonald (eds) The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry, Oxford: Blackwell. The book was launched at the Society for Cinema & Media Studies conference, Philadelphia in March 2008.
The Byron Review on Children and New Technologies ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’ was published on March 27. Matthew Hibberd took part in the review as a member of the academic panel.
Jacquie L’Etang (2008), ‘More strategic thinking?’ Communication Director 01: 10.
Jenny McKay. March 2008, review in Media, Culture and Society 2008, 30: 262-264, of Sammye Johnson and Patricia Prijatel (2007) The Magazine from Cover to Cover, 2nd edn. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press; and Steve Taylor (2007) 100 Years of Magazine Covers, London: Black Dog Publishing,
Graham Meikle edited the February 2008 issue of Australia’s number one journal ‘Media international Australia’ with my former colleague Sherman Young, on the theme of ‘Beyond Broadcasting: TV for the 21st Century’.
Sarah Neely (2008), ‘”People, not issues”: Adapting Bernard MacLaverty’s Cal’ in Allen, R. and Regan, S. (eds) Irelands of the Mind: Memory and Identity in Modern Irish Culture. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press.
WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, LECTURES
John Izod jointly led (with Scott Feaster) a three-week on-line seminar on analytical psychology and film for the International Association of Jungian Studies on March 17.
Jacquie L’Etang presented a paper entitled ‘Public relations and promotion of adventure sports’ at ‘On the edge: leisure, consumption and the representation of adventures sports’, Manchester Metropolitan University March 18.
The department’s Lindsay Anderson team – John Izod, Karl Magee, Kathryn Mackenzie and Isabelle Gourdin – attended a day workshop ‘Across the Divide: Interdisciplinary dialogues on the archive’ at the University of Dundee on March 15.
John Izod presented a one-day workshop on Kieslowski’s Three Colours trilogy for the London Jung Club on March 8.
Philip Drake attended the RTS Campbell Swinton Lecture given by The First Minister, The Rt. Hon. Alex Salmond MSP on February 27.
MEETINGS, CONFERENCES & COMMITTEES
Philip Drake presented a paper titled ‘The Art of the Deal: Analysing Contracts in Contemporary Hollywood’ at the Society of Cinema and Media Studies Conference, Philadelphia, March 6-9.
Matthew Hibberd attended a number of Voice of the Viewer and Listener (VLV)-related meetings in Edinburgh in preparation of their 17th Scottish Conference to be held on 1st May. Co-sponsors of the conference include the Scottish Broadcasting Commission and the Hansard Society.
Matthew Hibberd attended an executive committee board meeting of ASMI -Association for the Study of Modern Italy in London on March 7. He is currently organizing the Association’s 2008 conference ‘The Media in Italy: Historical Perspectives and Future Challenges’ to be held in November, the first time ASMI has dedicated a conference to media issues.
RESEARCH/GRANTS
In March, as part of his research into the history of sports commentary Richard Haynes interviewed motor-racing commentator Murray Walker, darts commentator Sid Waddell, football commentator Mike Ingham, cricket commentator and producer of the BBC’s Test Match Special for 35 years Peter Baxter and snooker commentator and journalist Clive Everton.
OTHER
Congratulations to Julia Jahansoozi who made an excellent defence of her thesis on Friday March 21. Julia’s thesis was entitled ‘When interests collide: the story of an industry communication relationship.’
Mikey Murray, a graduate of the department (2001), won the BAFTA New Talent award for Screenwriting for his film Breaking (produced by another Stirling graduate, Alan Jones).
