Media, Journalism and Public Relations
Media, journalism and public relations is a dynamic subject area and at Newcastle we can support you if you want to pursue academic research or develop professional skills for a career in journalism (online, print, radio or TV) or public relations.
We supervise PhD students in any of our interdisciplinary research themes. These include: media and cultural theory; cultural studies; discourse studies; sociology of the media; gender, the body and culture; feminist theory, media, journalism and popular culture; intimacy, sexuality, masculinity, family, childhood and education; affect and emotion; globalisation, nationalism and ethnicity; critical race studies; hyperlocal journalism; media ethics and public relations; political communication. We play a leading role in both University and regional research groups such as the Research Centre in Film and Digital Media, the Newcastle and Northumbria Critical Discourse Group, the Postcolonial Research Network, and the Gender Research Group. Our PhD students can use these networks and opportunities to meet other researchers and academics and gain experience of presenting their work.
Our taught postgraduate programmes cover current professional practice in media, journalism and public relations, digital filmmaking, including the role of digital technology and online journalism, and critically analyse the social, political, cultural and ethical dimensions of these industries. Depending on the programme you choose, your studies will be a mix of lectures, case-based workshops, interactive seminars, individual tutorials, group projects, field trips and practical work. Our facilities are designed to support multimedia journalism training. The computer-editing suite is equipped to industry standards, including newspaper-editing software, and we have voice recorders, audio and video-editing software and a mobile studio. More specialist equipment, used for individual student projects, is available in the University’s Culture Lab, a multimedia research facility.
We have a teaching partnership with the Press Association so that as well as being taught by academic experts, you can learn from media professionals with direct links to the industry. Our Visiting Professor in Media and Journalism is award-winning producer and investigative journalist, Dianne Nelmes. The MA in International Multimedia Journalism is fully accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and combines university study with vocational training in a real-world commercial publishing environment, with Press Association professionals sharing the teaching alongside University staff. The MA in Media and Public Relations is in the process of achieving accreditation with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
