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Radio Reactive? Top media scholars hold public debate on how radio makes us cry, laugh and confide

Tuesday 16 June 2009

The nation’s leading media research network, Roehampton University and the University of East London’s, Media and the Inner World, will hold a public debate titled The Reparative Spaces of Radio to explore how radio triggers emotion, 6-8pm, Friday 19th June, The Base, Michael Maynard Associates, Victoria House, 64 Paul Street, London, EC2.

The latest live debate will attract media scholars and practitioners. Other speakers at the debate will include Dr Anita Biressi and Dr Heather Nunn, academics based at Roehampton University and authors of Reality TV: Realism and Revelation, along with psychoanalyst, Sally Weintrobe, Fellow of the British Psycho-analytical Society.

Both practitioners will join academics and interested members of the public in exploring the role radio plays in providing therapeutic space for listeners to explore their emotions in today’s society.

The event is the third in a two-year project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which is tasked with bringing together academics, psychoanalysts and media workers for the first time, to debate the themes of emotion and therapy in today’s popular culture at public forums around the capital.

Dr Candida Yates, Senior Lecturer in Psychosocial Studies at the University of East London said:
“We are interested in the therapeutic possibilities of radio, for example, how do programmes open up spaces for us to think about our own emotional lives and why do they do this? Our network brings together academic critics, media figures and psychoanalysts to think about this in more depth.

"Radio is an incredibly evocative medium and the sound of programmes such as The Archers, others from our youth such ‘Listen with Mother’ or the ‘Radio 1 Chart Show’ and the forbidden pleasures of listening to ‘Radio Luxembourg’ late at night, build up a store house of treasured memories and play a key role in shaping who we are. Radio talk shows such as that chaired by Vanessa Feltz on Radio London are also hugely popular and important in creating a sense of an imagined community and identity in an increasingly fragmented world."

Tickets are free but limited seats are available so to book tickets email miwevents@googlemail.com. For more information on the research network visit www.miwnet.org.

Those unable to attend can participate in the ongoing virtual forum at www.miwnet.org.

Ends.

UEL Press office contact: 0208 223 6239 or 07595 056245

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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