RISE May-June 2009 - University of Salford

RISE! Research Innovation and Internationalisation News
MEDIA AND CREATIVE
TECHNOLOGIES/INDUSTRIES
Dr Garry Crawford, Institute for Social, Cultural and Policy
Research, and Professor Ben Light, Director ISOS, School
of Media, Music and Performance
It is clear that the media and creative industries have, and continue
to be, important constituents of our social, cultural,
political and economic landscape. In particular, new developments
in media technologies, such as advances in mobile telephone and video
production technologies, have made media more accessible and
participatory and are profoundly changing patterns of media
consumption and production. However, even in the light of such new
shifts, it is important to recognise that the media and the creative
industries have a long and rich history - and this must be remembered in
the light of the excitement around MediaCityUK. Indeed, the University has
a long and established pedigree in media-related research and
teaching, with the International Media Centre established in 1993 and the
School of Media, Music and Performance in 1999 (with media being
represented in other institutional forms at least as far back
as 1993).
Specifically in terms of the University of Salford’s capacity and
capabilities, we clearly have real strengths in a number of key areas. These
areas include: film scholarship, script-writing, cultural politics,
literature and creative writing, music, art, design, heritage, computing,
video games, social media, information systems and virtual
environments — but this is by no means is this an exhaustive list. In
particular, since writing the original ‘peaks of excellence’ report the
University had significant success in several Research Assessment Exercise
(RAE) submission areas of direct relevance to the media and creative
industries. These include Communication, Culture and Media Studies,
Library and Information Management, English Language and Literature
and Art and Design.
There were also important media-related themes and research evident
in other University RAE submissions made in health, the built
environment, business and management, social work and social policy and
administration, law, and of course, music. Regionally, the North West has
a long tradition in many aspects of the cultural industries, including,
television, radio, newspaper publishing, music, digital games and other
cultural industries such as advertising, design and marketing. Indeed,
although this sector is rapidly growing in the UK, this is
markedly so in the North West, and the North West Development Agency
(NWDA) believes that the North West can become the creative hub of the
UK, if not Europe. It almost goes without saying of course that
MediaCityUK undoubtedly provides one of, if not the, most
important and exciting developments in the North West in recent decades,
and it is evident that the University of Salford will be a key partner in this.
In terms of the University’s wider engaging with the media and creative
industries, it is notable that the Government and funding bodies are
making increasing amounts of monies available to research that is ‘user’
focused. Though, this should not be taken to suggest that all academic
work now needs to be end-user focused, it is important to recognise that
interdisciplinary working to meet the diverse needs of end-users and keys
industry partnerships are significant areas for new research opportunities
and development.
In terms of the way forward, the media and creative industries ‘peaks of
excellence’ scoping-report recommends continued investment in core
areas of media and creative industry/technology teaching and research.
This also suggests the need for an internal refocusing around
interdisciplinary clusters and research focused on the media and creative
industries. This activity needs, we argue, to be pulled together and to
represent the established and impressive capabilities that the University has
in the media and creative industries.
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