Research and Scholarly Activity

Academic research is central to academic life at Durham University and it is embedded in the life of South College. Our Principal is a former BBC News and newspaper editor and now writes about newspaper history. His latest book, Reporting the Second World War – The Press and the People 1939-1945 (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) describes how British newspapers spoke truth to power during the Second World War. Professor Luckhurst argues that the decisive role of Britain's wartime newspaper journalism in shaping public opinion and government policy has been overlooked. Many historians have treated Britain's newspapers as mouthpieces for state propaganda that conformed to the wishes of the wartime coalition. Tim Luckhurst challenges this through an analysis of forgotten controversies which underscore the function the press held as guardians of democracy and propagators of dissenting opinion in British politics - from the overseas evacuation of children to the Allies' carpet bombing of German cities. Reporting the Second World War recognises the role newspapers played in scrutinising and challenging government in a democracy at war. Professor Luckhurst began his career as a journalist on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, for which he reported from Washington DC, Texas, California, Jerusalem, Kuwait and Romania. He is also the author of This is Today – A Biography of the Today Programme (Aurum Press, 2000) and Responsibility without Power – Lord Justice Leveson’s Constitutional Dilemma (Abramis Academic, 2012). In academic year 2024/25 Professor Luckhurst will host seminars about news and current affairs for students and staff in South College. On these occasions he will describe journalism’s role in a democratic society and examine the challenges facing newspapers and broadcasters in the post-truth world. The growth of social media has reduced audiences for authoritative journalism. The consequences for democratic engagement and political understanding are already apparent and potentially serious. South College will host visits by leading journalists from the BBC, The Economist and other leading titles. .