Richard Wallis

Dr Richard Wallis

  • Principal Academic
  • Weymouth House W212, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB
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Biography

I have taught film and television at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels here in Bournemouth since 2012, and led the undergraduate programme in Media Production between 2013 and 2017. Since that time I have continued to teach across the Faculty's media production programmes, and during the period 2019-2023 I was also External Examiner for Northumbria University. I was previously Head of Twofour Learning, the education division of the Twofour Group, and served on the Board of Twofour Communications (2008-2010). Prior to that I was one of the company’s Executive Producers, working for clients ranging from broadcasters like the BBC and Channel 4 to a wide range of major brands. Recognition of my work has included awards from the Royal Television Society, the International Visual Communications Association, the New York Festivals, and the British Universities Film & Video Council. My primary research interests focus on various aspects of work within the media industries (see below), and I am part of the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP)...

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Research

My research is primarily focused on the experience of media work in the fast-changing context in which this labour market operates. I am interested in the nature of a media career; career support and interventions; systemic retention issues and skills shortages; the development of effective Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and training; and the role of media education and pedagogy in the preparation of young people aspiring to work within these industries. Recent funded projects in this field include the Career Narratives Project (2017-20); State of Play (2020) for Bectu; Disability by Design (2021) for Equity and Deaf and Disabled People in TV; Mid-career support for people working in TV (2021-22) supported by BFI; and Understanding the Production Management skills gap in UK TV supported by British Academy/Leverhulme Trust. I currently hold a British Academy Innovation Fellowship (2024-25) for my project Supportive offboarding: Developing new practices to support sustainable freelance careers in TV. I am also interested in the role of media in education more broadly, and media in the public understanding of religion. My PhD (IoE/UCL & Loughborough) examined media literacy as government policy during the New Labour years. I welcome PhD proposals and peer collaborative initiatives in any of these areas.

Favourites

Journal Articles

Chapters

Conferences

  • Wallis, R., 2024. Supportive offboarding: Developing new practices to support sustainable freelance careers in TV. In: European Media Management Association (EMMA) Conference 5-7 June 2024 NHL Stenden Hogeschool, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
  • van Raalte, C. and Wallis, R., 2024. The Good Manager in TV: Tales for the Twenty-first Century. In: EMMA 6-8 June 2024 Leeuwarden.
  • Wallis, R., 2024. Talent retention: The overlooked challenge to a sustainable film and TV sector in the UK. In: Media Industries Conference 2024 16-19 April 2024 Kings College London.
  • van Raalte, C., Sanson, K., Saha, A., O'Brien, A., Jones-Lee, R. and Wallis, R., 2024. Proper jobs: Challenges of career sustainability in the media industries. In: Media Industries Conference 2024 16-19 April 2024 Kings College London.
  • Wallis, R., 2023. New mechanisms to support a freelance workforce: Expanding human resource management practices in the TV industry. In: European Media Management Association Conference 2023 7 June-9 September 2023 University of Navarra, Pamplona.
  • Van Raalte, C. and Wallis, R., 2023. More than just a few bad apples: The need for a risk management approach to the problem of workplace bullying in the UK’s television industry. In: Critical Studies in Television 5-7 July 2023 Edgehill University.
  • Wallis, R., Aust, R. and Van Raalte, C., 2023. Where have all the PMs gone? Early conclusions from the Production Managers Survey and (historic and gendered) patterns of devalued work. In: BAFTSS 3-5 April 2023 Lincoln University.
  • Wallis, R., 2023. The talent problem: The policy-framing of media education and skills training for television production in the UK. In: Global Media Education Summit 2023 2-4 March 2023 Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
  • Wallis, R., 2021. The ‘employability’ dilemma: In search of an instrumental and critical approach to career readiness (Presentation to ViEWS). In: Shifting balances - First in series of Quality Conversations: A ViEWS event 22 September 2021 Online.
  • Wallis, R., 2021. What do we mean (and what don’t we mean) when we talk about ‘employability’? In: NAHEMI’s Talking Shop 2021: ‘Looking Forward’ 15 July 2021 Online.
  • Van Raalte, C. and Wallis, R., 2021. The value and purpose of a Media Production degree from the perspective of mid-career graduates. In: Media Education Summit 31 March-1 April 2021 Leeds/ online.
  • Woodfall, A., Van Raalte, C., Wallis, R. and Dent, T., 2016. Is Higher Education unfit for purpose in the preparation of young people work in media industries? In: Media Education Summit 4-5 November 2016 Rome.
  • Wallis, R., 2016. ‘Keeping alive the rumour of God’? The changing purpose of religious broadcasting in the UK. In: The International Society for Media, Religion and Culture 1-4 August 2016 Seoul, Republic of Korea.
  • Wallis, R., 2015. Industry knows best? Career narratives of Media Production students and graduates. In: International Media Education Summit 2015 20-21 November 2015 Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Wallis, R., 2015. ‘Opponents of godliness’: The declining influence of organized religion in the UK, and the arrival of Channel 4. In: Conference of the International Association for Media and History. 17-20 June 2015 Indiana University (Bloomington, IN, USA).
  • Wallis, R., 2014. Media Literacy: New Labour Policies in the United Kingdom, 1997-2010. In: Film and Media 2014: The Fourth Annual London Film and Media Conference 26-28 June 2014 Institute of Education, University of London.
  • Wallis, R., 2014. Disputed task and doubtful force? A review of the Media Literacy Taskforce and the industry’s response to New Labour’s media literacy policy. In: MeCCSA 2014 8-10 January 2014 Bournemouth.
  • Wallis, R., 2013. Media literacy - yesterday's 'really important idea'. In: Media Education Summit 2013 19-20 September 2013 Sheffield.
  • Wallis, R.. “’Where did you come from? Where did you go?’: Media literacy as UK government policy. In: 7th Plymouth Enhanced Learning Conference (PELeCON0 April 2012 UK.
  • Wallis, R.. Regulator and educator: Ofcom and the origins of “media literacy” within UK cultural policy. In: Paper for MeCCSA-PGN 2012 Conference 17-18 September 2012, 17-18 September 2012 Loughborough University.

Reports

Internet Publications

Films

Grants

  • Careers Toolkit Project (March – July 2022) (British Film Institute, 01 Mar 2022). Completed
  • Online Safety – Media Literacy Strategy – Mapping Exercise and Literature Review (DCMS, 08 Oct 2019). Awarded

Internal Responsibilities

  • Programme Leader, BA (Hons) Media Production undergraduate programme

Public Engagement & Outreach Activities

  • The co-creation of unit assessments based on the principles of ‘backward design (10 Jun 2017)

Qualifications

  • PG Certificate in Education Practice in Teaching & Learning (Bournemouth University, 2014)
  • PhD in Media literacy policy (Loughborough University, 2014)
  • MPhil in Sociology & media (Exeter University, 1987)
  • BA (Hons) in Communication Studies (Sunderland University, 1983)

Memberships

  • Higher Education Academy, Senior Fellow (2016-),
  • International Society for Media, Religion, and Culture, Member (2016-),
  • International Association for Media and History, Member (2015-),
  • EVCOM, Member (2012-),
  • Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA), Member (2012-),
  • National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image, Member (2012-),