ESRC South West Doctoral Training Centre (SWDTC) Studentship: Cornish Community Media: Hyper-Local Participation and Representation

The University of Exeter is pleased to be offering a total of up to 20 ESRC funded 1+3 studentships as part of the South West Doctoral Training Centre for entry in 2015-16. Within the DTC, the College of Life and Environmental Sciences is currently inviting applications for Cornish Community Media: Hyper-Local Participation and Representation. This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding. Studentships will be awarded on the basis of merit and strategic fit with the aims of the DTC.

For eligible UK/EU students the full time studentship will cover fees and an annual Research Council stipend of approximately £13,863 (2014/2015 rate) for four years (1+3 Masters + PhD award).

Supervisors:

Dr Michael Leyshon, Human Geography (University of Exeter)

Professor Catherine Leyshon, Human Geography (University of Exeter)
The supervisors can be contacted on [Email Address Removed] or [Email Address Removed] for further details of the project and for support in completing the research proposal.

Project Description:

This studentship will explore how local identities are supported, challenged and reframed through community media provision within Cornwall. Community media providers across the county are facing both challenges and opportunities related to the downturn in the national economy and subsequent reductions in funding for community radio. These include building audiences in an increasingly competitive market place, as well as issues surrounding their geographical proximity in relation to their target communities. This collaborative research project provides an exciting opportunity for a talented individual to work alongside academics and broadcasters. The partner organisations, five community radio stations, are all located in Cornwall: The Hub, Radio St Austell Bay, CHBN, Penwith Radio and Source FM. The programme of work is intended to lead to the establishment of a network of community broadcasters that represent Cornish issues, local identities and are able to respond to challenges from current social changes. The research is particularly relevant when viewed in the light of the protection afforded to Cornish communities under the 2014 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Through employing an experimental and transdisciplinary range of methods and theory, this research will provide a unique opportunity to examine, from inside multiple locative standpoints, how community radio has developed rapidly into a growing cultural phenomenon that is place specific.

The research project has four specific aims that seek to understand:
1. How Cornish communities access or reject opportunities associated with hyper-local community broadcasting.
2. How responses to community media evolve through the creation and delivery of a Cornwall-wide support network, which centres on the provision of a citizen news network and hyper-local weather service.
3. How Cornish residents’ sense of local identity and belonging is reflected through community media.
4. The extent to which Cornish community media providers need to remodel their business practices and develop a rhizomatic national broadcasting network.

Students applying for this project should be willing and able to travel independently between the University in Exeter, Penryn, and the local broadcasters in Cornwall. Although the studentship will be based at the University of Exeter there is an expectation that the successful applicant will spend up to 6 hours per week in the partner organisations. The partner organisations will also provide access to data, mentoring for the successful candidate and offer help with applying for supplementary funding.

The SWDTC Admissions Statement: http://www.swdtc.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/swdtc/documents/Admissions_Statement_FINAL_(2).pdf gives full details of the selection criteria and entry requirements.

Academic entry requirements: For the 1+3 programme students must have a strong first degree (at least an Upper Second Class Honours or equivalent) in a relevant discipline. Candidates for the +3 programme must, in addition, have (or be about to complete) a research Masters degree in a relevant discipline or have equivalent research training. Personal qualities should include the ability to work independently and the motivation necessary to complete a PhD in three years.

Residency entry requirements: These studentships will be funded by the ESRC and are available to UK nationals and other EU nationals who have resided in the UK for three years prior to commencing the studentship. If you meet the criteria, funding will be provided for tuition fees and stipend. If you are a citizen of an EU member state and don’t meet the residency requirement you will be eligible for a fees-only award. For further guidance about eligibility please refer to Annex 1 of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide