This job posting is for a researcher position working on a project studying British broadcasting and public services under Margaret Thatcher's governments from 1979 to 1990. The main responsibilities of the role include conducting a literature review on politics and broadcasting during the 1980s, identifying relevant television and radio programs to create an inventory database, contributing to textual analysis of programs, and writing papers to disseminate the research findings. The researcher will report to the principal investigator and work with a project team conducting an empirical study of how broadcasting portrayed public services during Thatcher's governments.

1. Job Description
Post/Job Title: Researcher: “There’s no such thing as society?” a study of
broadcasting and the public services under the three Thatcher
governments 1979-1990
Postholder:
Ref: 2588/MED254
Location including building: Talbot Campus Weymouth House
School/Professional Service: The Media School
Group/Section: Centre for Broadcasting History Research
Duration if temporary: Fixed term contract 14/01/08 – 13/01/10
Normal hours per week: 0.4 FTE
(Some flexibility will be required in order to ensure that key time scales and deadlines are met).
Accountable to: Principal Investigator
Job Purpose
To undertake the primary research for the AHRC funded project “‘There’s no such thing as society?’ a
study of broadcasting and the public services under the three Thatcher governments, 1979-1990”. This
will include conducting an audit/inventory of the national radio and terrestrial television output
between 1979 and 1990; selecting and entering into a database a representative sample of relevant
material focusing on social policy and the public services; contributing to the textual analysis of the
material in relation to political developments in the 1980s.
Main Responsibilities
• Will be responsible for undertaking a relevant literature review on the politics and the broadcasting
history of the 1980s, with specific knowledge especially in relation to the public services.
• Will identify of the sources of information on television and radio programming during the 1980s, and
access archives and databases
• Co-ordination using his or her own expert knowledge of the field to create an inventory of
programmes relevant to the project, focusing on ‘the public’ and ‘public services’.
• Will co-ordinate the development of a suitable database, with input from the Project Team and a
specialised web designer, and manage a systematic process to input a selection of relevant
programmes.
• Will contribute to the textual analysis of the material in relation to political developments in the
1980s.
• Will help to focus on a selected case study.
• Will be responsible for writing seminar and conference papers in relation to this project for a wider
dissemination.
• Will be one of the major contributors, along with the Project Team, to the project report and other
published outputs.
• Will write seminar and conference papers
• Will be responsible for ensuring the co-investigators are updated with project developments.
Organisation Chart
The Project Team consists of:
Professor Sean Street, Chair of the Centre for Broadcasting History Research
Professor Barry Richards, Deputy Dean of Research.
The Principal Investigator, Patricia Holland, Senior Lecturer.
The Co-investigator, Dr Hugh Chignell, Reader in Radio.
The Researcher will be responsible to all members of the Project Team with specific line management
to Patricia Holland.

2. Dimensions
No budgetary responsibilities, however the researcher should be aware of the project budget and the
scope within which they can operate.
The researcher must complete an extensive programme of empirical and analytical work within the
two year duration of the post.
Contacts
Internal:
• The Project Team
• Centre for Broadcasting History Research
• The University’s Media Librarian, Matt Holland
• The researcher will also be liaising with an inputter, a student researcher and a web designer.
These are short term posts and yet to be appointed.
External:
• Dr Sherryl Wilson, Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of England, who is a co-investigator
on the project.
• Externally based archives and archivists, such as the British Universities Film and Video Council
(BUFVC) and the British Film Institute (BFI).
• The Southern Universities Broadcasting History Group, a cross-University group of prominent
researchers, including representatives from Bournemouth Media School, who will be acting as a
supervisory committee for the project.
Challenges
The biggest challenge of this job is for the researcher to apply knowledge s/he already has –which
may be within political history, social policy, or media history- to the selection and analysis of
broadcast material during the 1980s. The researcher will need to be sensitive to the relationship
between political, economic and social policy, and the broadcast output in a wide range of genres.
S/he will need to balance the rigorous collection of empirical evidence with the ability to interpret and
analyse the texts.
The researcher may bring specialised knowledge in a particular field, for example health policy and
public health issues, which will contribute to a specific case study.
NB: The post holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities with due regard to the
University’s Dignity, Diversity and Equality Policy Statement.
The purpose of the job description is to indicate the general level of responsibility and location of the
position. The duties may vary from time to time without changing their general character or level of
responsibility.
Bournemouth University is a No-Smoking Environment.
October 2007

3. Person Specification
Post / Job Title: Researcher Post No: 2588/MED254
School / Service : Media School Date: October 2007
SELECTION CRITERIA Essential
/ Desirable
Knowledge (including experience & qualifications)
Either a Doctorate in a relevant subject area or be of post-doctoral standing E
Postgraduate training in or substantial experience of academic research E
Familiarity with the demands of academic research E
Familiarity with broadcasting history E
Experience in studying and analysing broadcasting genres E
Familiarity with the political and economic history of the Thatcher era E
Knowledge and understanding of debates about public service provision and wider D
debates on the nature of ‘the public’
Knowledge of a particular area of public service provision, e.g. the National Health D
Service
Skills
Experience of archive research skills E
Proven ability of data management skills, including setting up and working with a E
database
Ability to discriminate between broadcast genres and identify approaches relevant E
to the project
Ability to understand and make use of a broad range of literature in both media and E
political disciplines
Ability to analyse broadcast programming E
Excellent writing skills including reports, and papers for publications. E
Workload planning competence E
Attributes
Shows a deep and questioning interest in the relationship between media and E
politics
Is widely read in the relevant areas D
A good teamworker with ability to bring together different aspects. E
Proven ability to work under limited direction due to the nature of the research. E
Adaptable and ready to meet practical requirements of project, e.g. travel E