Cardiff University offers funded PhD on local news provision

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Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies (JOMEC) and the Media Standards Trust are seeking journalists in Wales to take part in extensive new research into local news.

The university is looking for a working journalist or student to take on a three-year PhD starting this October and focused on developing a new model for local news provision.

The programme, which is funded to £13,688 per year, will also look at the "democratic deficit in the digital economy" and arguments that an increase in online news and decline in local media is having a negative impact on coverage of local democracy. Similar studies have been conducted by the Press Association as part of its proposals for a public service reporting pilot .

This project will use Welsh county Neath Port Talbot as a case study and research new business models for local digital news, as well as assessing the extent to which local news provision has declined in this area.

"This research is important because it's not just about diagnosing the problem, but trying to find a way out," Andy Williams, a research fellow from JOMEC, who recently sparked debate with his research into the state of local news media in Wales , told Journalism.co.uk.

Fees, travel, and work placements will be covered by the scholarship funding. The PhD is funded by the European Social Fund (as a Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship), non-academic companies in Wales, and Cardiff University.

Full details of the eligibility criteria and how to apply are available in this pdf document , but applicants must have an address within a Convergence area of Wales, covering West Wales and the Valleys. The deadline for applications is 26 August.