At one level this course is local. It looks at the ‘media in Britain’, the specific dynamics and cultural peculiarities of British media production and consumption. It uses a range of media and cultural theoretical tools to look at the changing industries in the UK. At another level this course is global. It looks at how those industries, their products and practices are deeply woven into global economic and power relations within the Global Media and Cultural Industry. At still another level it is virtual. It looks at how the new Live Web of social media is changing the local and global media industries, practices and texts and how those shifts and struggles are being played out in the UK. The course is designed to use specific media examples to discuss those complex power relations and economic, ideological and cultural struggles. We will develop a series of theortical tools that we can use to analyse specific texts, practices and industries as a way of trying to map the unique ‘Media Moment’ we are living (and working) through. The course concludes with a practical exercise where we will try to make sense of this complex world and look for ways in which media industries could seek to create new media products, services, platforms, spaces in the UK and beyond.
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