Inspiring the future of journalism

Bringing together the past and present of local journalism to inform its future.

Journalist, historian, researcher, advocate, educator

As a local news scholar, I have dedicated my career to understanding the role of journalism in society. My research emphasises the evolution of local journalism and the local newspaper and its significant impact on our communities to provide insights which shape our understanding of media today. It combines the rigor of academic research with practical insights from my experience as a journalist. Through my historical lens, I inform the current landscape for local journalism practice and I educate and inspire future generations of journalists. I hold a PhD in Journalism Studies and am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Senior Fellow of Advance HE. I am also a qualified journalist. I appear regularly in the media as a commentator, author and presenter.

40+

Published books, articles and thought pieces

7

Funded research projects completed

20+

Global conferences attended

Projects

I develop and lead projects which draw on my expertise in local journalism and its history to test and investigate assumptions around its practice. These involve a wide variety of participants and stakeholders drawn from industry, third sector organisations and communities. I secure funding to support my projects and manage them on a day-to day basis.

Safeguarding local newspaper archives

I have instigated and lead the Preserving the Local Newspaper Archive Project, funded by The National Archives. It is creating a toolkit to support people working in this area. More than 100 groups and people have come together to form a network around newspaper archives as a result of our work. You can find out more about the project by following our Linked In page. Alternatively, contact me to be added to our project mailing list.

Documenting the news makers

I am working to capture the experiences of news workers in the pre and post-digital local news industry. Oral history is one tool which I am using; together with colleagues at Coventry University to create one collection held by Coventry archives and am working with a team to contribute a collection to the British Library. You can watch a film of the Coventry project below.

Experimenting with news values

CovLife brought a diverse group of people together to test assumptions around what makes local news. Rather than relying on tried and tested news values, this project focussed on enabling non-professional reporters to develop their own content. It included training sessions to equip participants with journalism production skills. They then developed their own stories. Not only were there some great stories, which may never have seen the light in mainstream local media, but the project also saw some great partnerships take root between our different community groups.

Publications

As a professional writer, with a 15-year long career in journalism, and an academic, I have a wide range of publications under my belt, including books, articles and edited volumes. My work focusses on applying a historical understanding of the development of local journalism to understanding its contemporary context. It deepens understandings of the role of journalism as a process, presence and practice for modern society. I advocate strongly for the value of local journalism as an indicator of healthy communities and for the preservation of both its current presence and its historical vestiges.

Selected academic publications

2025: ‘Assessing the contribution of local journalism; the local newspaper as social infrastructure”. Journal of the British Academy. DOI: 10.5871/jba/013.a14 (open access)

2024: ‘Community as object or action? Reconceptualising the purposes and practices of local media and journalism’. Journalism Education https://journalism-education.org (open access)

2023: Local Journalism: Critical Perspectives on the Provincial Newspaper. Edited volume. Ed with Guy Hodgson. Routledge.

2021: Reappraising Local and Community News in the UK. Media, Practice and Policy. Edited volume. Ed with Dave Harte. Routledge,

2021: ‘Provincial Newspapers – Lessons from History’. Special Issue of Media History, Vol 27. Issue 2. Ed with Guy Hodgson.

2020: ‘The Provincial Press’, chapter in three-volume Edinburgh University Press, History of Newspapers and Periodicals in Britain and Ireland 1650-2011. Conboy, M and Bingham, A (eds) EUP.

2020: ‘Historicising the Afterlife, local newspapers in the United Kingdom and the Art of Prognosis’ chapter in Guylas, A and Baines, D (Eds) Routledge Companion to Local Media and Journalism, Routledge.

2017: Monograph. The Provincial Press in England, Bloomsbury Academic, London and New York.

Selected journalism

I hold a National Certificate in Journalism from the National Council for the training of journalists and have worked across newspaper titles including the Journal Series based in Worcestershire, the Gloucestershire Echo and the Banbury Guardian. I can write, sub edit and design and edit publications.

I continue to use my journalism skills to engage people withe local journalism and its history, contributing to publications like History Today and platforms like The Conversation.

Public engagement and collaboration

My approach is underpinned by collaborations with the public, industry, third sector and policy sectors. I engage with external stakeholders as both participants in and beneficiaries of my research and I work with teams of people to co-create projects which deliver real-world results. I also disseminate my findings across a range of platforms which enable me to impact current thinking and contemporary practice in relation to local journalism research.

Why the local matters

Taking research out into the city

Forecasting the future of news

The local can often be dismissed as parochial. This BBC podcast, featuring me and my work, investigates why the local matters.

The Being Human Festival champions the place of the Humanities in society. In 2021 I led a series of events to celebrate Coventry City of Culture.

I was proud to participate in the News Futures 2035 project, hosted by the Media Innovation Studio at UCLAN. The project set out to 'think through' the future of public interest news.

Teaching

I am an award-winning university teacher who is able to integrate the teaching of practical journalism with critical and creative thinking. I score well in student feedback and work to develop the teaching practice of others.

I have led undergraduate and post graduate Journalism programmes, including those accredited by industry, and allied courses. I have also supervised PhD students. I am a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and have developed curricula and managed professional accreditation processes. I have extensive external examining and consultancy experience.

Leadership and management

My extensive leadership and management experience spans journalism, academic processes and projects. I have edited content for daily news cycles and overseen publications to completion. I have held associate head and director roles in academia, managing people and processes relating to research and research ethics. I am an experienced committee chair.