In Their Own Image: Voluntary Filmmaking at a Non-Profit Community Media Organisation A Collaborative Doctoral Project with Kirklees Local TV Ryan Josiah Bramley A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences School of Education April 2021 Acknowledgements Without Professor Kate Pahl, I would have never done a PhD, never mind this one. When I applied to be the candidate for this 1+3 ESRC-funded project – then named ‘Filmmaking as a Community- Building Practice’ – it was my third attempt at securing a PhD studentship. I told myself if it didn’t work out this time, a PhD clearly wasn’t for me. Third time lucky. Although Kate was unable to supervise the final three years of the studentship due to her new role at Manchester Metropolitan (who are ever so lucky to have her), she has continued to be invested in this project and my progress. Her support and guidance has been felt from the moment I signed the studentship form, right until the final submission. Dr Andrey Rosowsky took on the unenviable job of replacing Kate as my PhD supervisor – and what a job he has done. Andrey has that rare gift as a supervisor of knowing when to encourage a student to kick on, and when to leave them to their own devices. The value he has added to this research – and, by extension, my professional development – cannot be overstated. He has been nothing short of phenomenal. 2021 marks my ninth year of consecutive study at The University of Sheffield. Dr Richard Steadman- Jones has been a constant in my academic journey since 2012. He was my personal tutor during my first English Language & Literature degree, and then my second supervisor for this doctoral studentship from 2016 onwards. He has seen me at both my best and my worst; nonetheless his door has always been open. My student experience has been better for his mentorship. The White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership not only funded this project, but also provided me with a great deal of valuable training and guidance. Special thanks go to Professor Ruth Blakeley, who understood our need to find a new collaborative partner one year into the 1+3 studentship, assisting with this necessary transition during her time as Director of the WRDTP. Collaborative research is anything but straightforward; the WRDTP have been both supportive and compassionate whenever this project has hit a bump in the road. If I could thank every person who has influenced this research in a meaningful way, these acknowledgements would be half as long as the thesis itself. I’ve done my best to mention the most significant contributions here: • Aunam Quyoum – fellow collaborative PhD-er in crime! You’ve taught me more than you’ll ever know. Looking forward to that post-submission pint together (when the pubs are open again!) • Marion Oveson – if it wasn’t for your advice, this thesis would be even messier than it is! • Coco Neal – dear friend, true companion; the first to believe that I could actually do this(!) • Saffron Rain – you make me proud to be Northern. • Chad Bentley – basically me, but funnier (and with nicer cheekbones). When life gave me dodgy lemons, you brought me ready meals and beer. • Tia Spanos and Terry Bowditch – your hospitality truly knows no bounds. Until we meet in Melbourne again…(P.S. go The Dogs!) • Sophie Hodgkiss – easily the coolest person I know. Thanks for putting up with me over the toughest of years, listening to me at every turn, and introducing me to The Infinite Monkey Cage podcast. • And not forgetting Dr David Forrest and Professor Brendan Stone – where it all began. If I ever become a ‘proper academic’, it’ll be your fault… Finally, my deepest thanks go to everyone at Kirklees Local TV who has given me and my project the time of day – from the students who came in for a couple of weeks, right up to the founder of the company himself. Me and Milton Brown had our differences during the fieldwork placement – as this thesis will attest to – but it was our ability to debate, disagree, and collaborate which has made this the richest of experiences. This thesis is dedicated to the late, great Robert K. Britton: a brilliant academic; vivid cartoonist; and one of the most fervent champions of their local community I have ever seen. Bob – I still haven’t read Don Quixote, but I will one day. Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................. 1 Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 7 Preamble .......................................................................................................................... 8 Telling Others’ Stories...................................................................................................... 8 A Tale of Three Filmmakers: Barclay, Brown and Bramley ......................................... 11 Part One: Introduction ................................................................................................ 18 Time in the Field............................................................................................................. 18 Co-Production or Exploitation? ...................................................................................... 20 Co-Produced Research Design ....................................................................................... 22 The Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 23 The Research Question ..................................................................................................................... 28 The Literature ................................................................................................................................... 29 Data Before Theory: The Generic Inductive Qualitative Model (GIQM) ...................... 31 Inductive > Deductive ...................................................................................................................... 31 Following a Generic Inductive Qualitative Model (GIQM) ........................................... 34 (1) Designing questions that ask ‘how’ (process-based) rather than ‘whether or not’, or ‘how much’ (variance-based) ................................................................................................................................ 37 (2) Moving back and forth flexibly (between data collection, data, analysis, study design and focus, and theory (both existing and emerging)) ......................................................................................... 39 (3) Purposeful sampling that allows theoretical (cross population) generalizations ......................... 40 (4) Analysis of data begins with the first observation ....................................................................... 41 (5) Writing copious memos from the start of the project .................................................................. 42 (6) Coding focuses on themes and sometimes theoretical categories ............................................... 43 (7) Data collection stops when additional cases no longer add new information ............................. 43 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 46 Part Two: Literary Contexts ........................................................................................ 47 Literary Context 1: Brexit, Social Media and The Cultural Politics of Emotion: How Communicative Technologies Shape Public Perception in a Digital World ............ 47 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 47 In the Public Interest vs. Of Interest to the Public .......................................................... 51 Social Media and Regulation .......................................................................................... 56 Cambridge Analytica: How The Referendum Vote Was (Unethically) Won .................. 59 A Note on Emotions and Research ................................................................................................... 63 Writing About Media in a Digital Age: a Brexit/Vote Leave case study ........................ 64 The Cultural Politics of Emotion and the 2016 EU Referendum ..................................................... 64 Facebook Dark Ad 1: Fear - ‘Take Back Control of Immigration Policy’ ....................................... 71 Facebook Dark Ad 2: Hate - ‘If we stay YOU will be paying the bills’ .......................................... 77 Facebook Dark Ad 3: Love – ‘Let’s Spend Our Money on the NHS Instead’ ................................. 80 Summary: ‘the ‘truths’ of this world are dependent on emotions’ (Ahmed 2004b, 170)83 Literary Context 2: Kirklees Local TV ‘as a Learning Organisation’: Cultural Literacy, Critical Race Theory and Communities of Practice ................................................................ 87 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 87 Case Study 2: KLTV as a Learning Organisation – Three Excerpts on Education ........ 90 Excerpt 1: Critical Race Theory ......................................................................................................