Carl Hartley

Profile

I am a full-time lecturer in journalism at the University of Leeds, bringing 25-years of industry experience to the classroom.

I also continue to work in the broadcast industry as a senior journalist and consultant.

TEACHING

I teach broadcast and digital journalism within the School of Media and Communication.

I have a post graduate certificate in Academic Practice from the University of Leeds and I have been awarded a teaching Fellowship in Higher Education from Avance HE after demonstrating how my professional practice met the requirements of the Professional Standards Framework 2023.

As an educator I work to put students at the centre of their own learning, creating an environment with a focus on active learning.
 

• Research, presentations and publications.

- In 2024 I carried out a small scale research project in to ‘flipped learning’ a pedagogical approach (teaching method) that supports my philosophy of ‘student-centred’ and ‘active’ learning. The student perception was positive and I presented my findings through a poster presentation at events within the University of Leeds.

- In November 2024 I introduced a virtual reality crime scene to my first-year journalism teaching. It allows students to get hands on experience of reporting from a crime scene in the safe environment of the classroom. There are plans to build on this project in 2025 exploring the impact of covering ‘trauma stories’ for journalists and contributors. This will feed in to debates around journalism reporting and also using virtual reality within teaching.

INDUSTRY WORK

I still work in industry as a Senior Journalist at the BBC, regularly reading the news for BBC 5-Live and other BBC radio stations.

I am a consultant for the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation reporting to the CEO and board of directors, offering areas of improvement and strategy’s to help achieve this. The role also sees me working with their presenters, producers and journalists through training and coaching sessions.

Before moving into teaching at the University of Leeds, I worked at all levels of the radio industry including managing a network of commercial radio stations.

- 2024: Judge for the prestigious audio industry awards the ARIAS. 

- 2024: Judge for the British Podcast Awards 

- 2024: Senior Fellow at the John Schofield Trust (Mentoring early career journalists)

- 2023: Judge for the Community Radio Awards

 

• Research, presentations and publications.

- In January 2025, I presented at the Association for Journalism Education Winter Conference. My presentation asked ‘Does working across industry and academia come at a cost?’ My presentation looked at some of the challenges facing academics who work in the journalism industry, exploring the benefits for students, universities, and industry, but asking whether it comes at a cost for the individual. I concluded that despite some pressures on the individual, being a “working industry academic” can help “bridge the gap” between the academy and industry. 

PODCASTING

Podcasting is a particular interest of mine and one of my research areas. I produce ‘The Sound of Politics’ podcast hosted by Professor Stephen Coleman. It explores the way politicians speak to the public, how the public speak to politicians, and what the two think of each other.

I am a member of the leadership team for Humanities Podcast Network. We’re a group of instructors, scholars and independent creators who work together to promote and support the transformative impact of audio media.

I am also part of the Education Through Podcasting team who collaborate to organise an annual conference allowing academics, researchers and practitioners to share and disseminate research and experience of teaching, learning and training through podcasts. We also edit and produce a book series focusing on this subject.
 

• Research, presentations and publications.

My chapter ‘Is it time to regulate podcasts?’ in the book titled ‘Podcasting in the future of Journalism’ is due to be published in April 2025.

It includes insights from a piece of reserach I’m carrying out asking the question ‘would the podcasting industry benefit from regulation? I am in the process of research exploring this question with podcast creators.

Panel speaker at the Humanities Podcasting Symposium 2024. Session 8: Best Practices for Podcasting as Political Inquiry and Action (Friday 8^th November 2024).

Article published 26^th July 2024: Political podcasts exploded during the UK election – is it time to regulate them?

Article published 14^th July 2024 (co-written with Professor Stephen Coleman): Is this the first podcast election? - UK Election Analysis

Responsibilities

• School of Media and Communication Academic Integrity Lead

Research interests

Journalism; Podcasts; Radio; Broadcast Media; Journalism Teaching;

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

• MA Broadcast Journalism
• Postgraduate Certificate Academic Practice
• Fellowship of Higher Education Academy - Advance HE

Professional memberships

• MeCCSA (Media, Communication and Cultural Studies)
• The Radio Academy
• Humanities Podcast Network
• Education Through Podcasting
• Association for Journalism Education