Critical Research and The Media: the Case of Mr Bates v Post Office and Others.

Griffiths, Marie; McLean, Rachel; Eneman, Marie

Abstract

Critical research centres on emancipation, empowerment and social change. This aligns with the drive for academic research to have “impact”, to influence policy, and to facilitate action that brings about change. A state of permacrisis would suggest a need for critical research that questions the hegemonic state and promotes activism. However, there are very few empirical critical studies for researchers to draw upon for guidance (Myers and Klein 2011; Alvesson and Skoldberg, 2000; Howcroft and Trauth, 2004). Further, research in progress which builds on Richardson and Robinson (2007) suggests there are few studies from the critical perspective.
At the same time, we have seen high profile media (documentaries, TV dramas, celebrity campaigns) that have challenged power structures and brought injustices to public attention. The recent UK ITV drama Mr Bates V The Post Office brought the scandal of a 20-year long battle with subpostmasters and Fujitsu Horizon system failure to the fore. It took a TV drama to effect the legal and political action and highlight the injustices.
We will present a number of case studies where we use Alvesson and Deetz's (2020) three elements, insights, critique and transformative redefinition as a framework for our analysis, the three elements are central to conducting critical research. We will demonstrate how, without being explicitly linked to critical theory, high profile media such as documentaries or TV dramas, show elements of critical research and are able to challenge taken for granted assumptions about the status quo. Finally, we will ask what critical researchers can learn from this.

Citation

Griffiths, M., McLean, R., & Eneman, M. (2024, September). Critical Research and The Media: the Case of Mr Bates v Post Office and Others. Presented at Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association 2024, Manchester

• Presentation Conference Type: Speech
• Conference Name: Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association 2024
• Conference Location: Manchester
• Start Date: Sep 3, 2024
• End Date: Sep 6, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 27, 2024