Alex Kocic, a lecturer and programme leader for BA Journalism at Edinburgh Napier University, is working on a study of local radio in Scotland as he studies for a PhD at the University of Stirling.
The lecturer turned student aims to find out what people make of radio in Scotland, how often they listen to the radio, which stations they like and which ones they avoid, how satisfied they are with the stations’ local news provision and if there is anything people would like to see improved.
Alex said: “Scotland lacks significant regional and local news provision by radio. It finds itself in a peculiar position of not having any local public service radio, neither in major urban areas such as Glasgow or Edinburgh, nor in the rural ones like the Borders or Highlands, except for a few, limited BBC Scotland opt-outs.
“My study aims to establish whether the current local news provision in Scotland – dominated by a network of commercial radio stations and supplemented by a national BBC station and a range of community stations – serves Scottish audiences well or not.
“The study focuses on the characteristics of the current setup and possible ways forward.”
Alex is looking to recruit participants for an online focus group, lasting around 45 minutes, to be held online in July – face-to-face might be possible subject to government lockdown rules.
To express your interest and to find out more, email Alex a.kocic@napier.ac.uk
