Contemporary media education : ideas for overcoming the perils of popularity and the theory-practice split

This article addresses the current predicament of Media Studies, which attracts many undergraduate students but is also subject to often-savage criticism, especially in Britain. Mostly focusing on the United Kingdom and Australasia, it argues for more openness about slim Media Studies graduate prospects in ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“glamorousââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ media occupations. However, it also sophisticated media education for many more students in the light of the growing power of the institution of the media. Media education, though, has experienced a debilitating theory-practice schism, and its standing could be improved by a greater commitment to quality research and a more confident assertion of the importance of serious, systematic analysis of the media. The article concludes with a brief reference to some research-in-progress involving journalistsââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ relationships with academics that suggests ways in which Media Studies can deal more effectively with tensions between theory and practice, and can help bypass the rancorous obstructionism of anti-Media Studies polemicists.