Dr Anna Zoellner
- Position: Associate Professor in Media Industries
- Areas of expertise: media production, cultural and media labour, television and film, documentary, ethnographic production research
- Email: A.Zoellner@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 5813
- Location: 2.26 Clothworkers' Building North
Profile
After working in independent documentary production in Germany television for several years, I joined the School of Media and Communication as a Lecturer in 2011. My research interests are informed by my professional experience and lie at the intersection of cultural/media industries, media production research, television studies, and critical cultural labour studies.
In my PhD research I carried out an extensive ethnographic production study of the development process of documentary programmes for television in the UK and Germany that investigates the way in which production structures and their economic imperatives impact independent production and the resulting media texts.
Later research includes an international comparative study that examined the conditions and responses of local radio and television in a digital environment in the UK, US and Germany, an investigation of producers' perceptions of professionalism in television production and publications about media production studies methodology. Currently, I am working on a project on skills and multiskilling in screen production and an edited book about cross-sector media production.
Responsibilities
- Director for International Activities (since 2021)
- Academic Integrity Lead (2017-2020)
- Programme Lead MA Media Industries (2011-2018)
Research interests
- media production analysis
- critical cultural labour studies
- screen industries
- film and television
Qualifications
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- PhD Creativity and Commerce in Independent Television Production
- MA Media and Communication, Cultural Science and Theatre Studies
Professional memberships
- European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA)
- International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)
- Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Assoication (MeCCSA)
Student education
I teach across undergraduate and postgraduate modules at the School of Media and Communication with a focus on media industries, media production analysis, critical labour research and academic skills. As Director of International Activities at the School I initiate student exchange programmes and encourage international learning opportunities.
Research groups and institutes
- Media Industries and Cultural Production