Heroes & Villains: Journalists in Film
Tuesday 7 July 2009
10:00am to 12:00pm
A330 Kelvin Grove
Abstract
Journalists and journalism have been the subject of some of the most highly regarded films ever made. From Citizen Kane to Frost/Nixon via Sweet Smell of Success and All The President's Men journalists have inspired writers, directors and actors to produce their best work, and to engage with contemporary issues around the role of journalism in democratic societies. These films - more than 2,000 since the 1920s - provide a valuable resource for thinking about and understanding that role, and how it is changing. In this presentation Brian McNair explores the cinematic representation of journalism from the perspectives of a sociologist of culture, an educator of journalists, and a lover of film. Drawing on a forthcoming book for Edinburgh University Press, he will focus on new research covering the period 1997-2008. Illustrated with slides and clips, the presentation will identify the key trends in films about journalism over this period, and assess them in the context of change in, and challenge to the profession.
Attendees are invited to consider in advance which are their three favourite films about journalism.
Speakers
Brian McNair (M.A. [Hons] Sociology; M.Phil, Comparative Communist Studies; Ph.D Sociology, Glasgow) joined Strathclyde as Professor of Journalism & Communication in 2005, having previously occupied posts at the universities of Ulster (1986-89) and Stirling (1990-2004). He is founding director of the Strathclyde School of Journalism and Communication.
He is the author of ten books and more than forty scholarly essays on a wide range of media and culture-related topics including journalism, political communication, sexuality and the media, and journalism in the former Soviet Union and Russia. His books have been widely translated, with editions in Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Polish and Czech among others. Two of his books are in their 4th and 5th revised editions respectively, and have become standard texts on media studies courses throughout the world.
He has held grants from the Economic and Social Research Council, the Australian Research Council, the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Carnegie Trust, and acted as a Media Adviser to the UK government's Know How Fund. He is a regular contributor to the press, broadcast and online media in the UK, including the Guardian, the Sunday Herald, Scotland On Sunday, BBC TV and radio, and allmediascotland.
