News release from
Worshipful Company of Marketors
May 2009
Research shows impact of new technology on news production.
A research project entitled 'Money and News' which studied the impact of the digital revolution on the economics of news publishing in the UK, has won an award for excellence from the City livery company for marketing professionals.
The bursary of £1000 from the Worshipful Company of Marketors was made jointly to Harriet Cullinan and Kirsten Westlake, for their report which was part of their MBA programme at London Business School. The research, commissioned by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), based at Oxford University, explores the main forces that have changed news production in the UK in the last ten years, how these changes impact spend in news production, and the consequences for society. The work, which specifically shows the impact on business models and the vital need for industries to remain innovative if they are to stay commercially viable (see Executive Summary), contributed to a wider report, entitled 'What's Happening to Our News', published by RISJ in Jan. 2009. The funding for the final report was made available by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and David Ure, a former executive director of Reuters.
Harriet Cullinan, has worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group in Global Strategy, Mobile Financial Services and Innovation since July 2008. Before her MBA, she graduated from University College London with a BSc in Biological Sciences and worked as a Management Consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton and at PayPal Mobile.
Fascinated by the effect of innovation in transforming industries, her immediate plans are to apply her research work to the financial sector. 'My long-term ambition,' she said, 'is to apply the insight learnt to help developing countries grow financial and economic infrastructures.' In thanking the Marketors for their generosity, she added that the research would not have been possible without the support of the RISJ project team, and the London Business School Marketing faculty. Tim Ambler, Senior Fellow, on behalf of his colleagues, expressed gratitude to the Worshipful Company not only for this particular bursary but also for their wide support for developing the understanding of marketing.
Co-author Kirsten Westlake has worked at the BBC in Change Management and corporate communication. Prior to this, she worked at communications consultancies Weber Shandwick and Firefly. She holds a first class degree in Modern Languages from Oxford University . She is currently on maternity leave after the birth of her daughter. Commenting on the Marketors' grant, Kirsten said 'I am thrilled to have been awarded this generous prize and am particularly gratified that our work has received recognition from such a prestigious body. Researching the trends in news production was an extremely rewarding process, and allowed me to build on a long-standing passion for the media industry. As I gave up work to return to study, the financial reward was very welcome.'
Harriet lives in West London and Kirsten lives with her husband and baby in Hampstead, London.
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