Media Cymru’s Director, Professor Justin Lewis, awarded a prestigious British Academy fellowship

Professor Justin Lewis, an academic from Cardiff University’s Centre for Creative Economy has been elected British Academy Fellow in recognition of his contribution to journalism, communication and the creative industries.

Justin is currently Director of Media Cymru, a £50 million, 22 partner consortium, funded by UKRI, Cardiff Capital Region and Welsh Government, designed to boost inclusive and sustainable media sector innovation in Wales.

Founded in 1902, the British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. It is a Fellowship of over 1600 of the leading minds in these subjects from the UK and overseas, as well as being a funding body for research and a forum for debate and engagement.

Each year, the British Academy elects to its Fellowship up to 38 outstanding UK-based scholars who have achieved distinction in any branch of the humanities and social sciences. Election is a mark of distinction, as only a very small number of scholars in any field are elected.

Speaking of his election as British Academy Fellow, Professor Justin Lewis said:

“I’m delighted and honoured to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy: they do excellent work engaging with policy makers on the importance of the arts, humanities and social sciences to social and economic life in the UK, and I look forward to being part of that effort…”

About Justin

Justin Lewis is Professor of Communication and Creative Industries at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, and Co-Director of the Centre for the Creative Economy.

Professor Lewis was Director of Clwstwr, (2018 – 2024) an AHRC and Welsh Government funded R&D innovation programme for the Screen and News sectors, which curated 120 innovation projects with Welsh creative companies, and which had a significant positive impact on the Welsh Creative Economy. He is currently Director of Media Cymru a £50 million, 22 partner consortium, funded by UKRI, Cardiff Capital Region and Welsh Government, designed to boost inclusive and sustainable media sector innovation in Wales.

During his time as Head of School and College Dean of Research he established the Centre for Community Journalism and Creative Cardiff. From 2019 to 2022, he Chaired the UK Research Excellence Framework Panel on Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management.

He has written over 120 books, book chapters and refereed journal articles about media, culture and politics. He is Chief Field Editor for Frontiers in Communication, one of the world’s leading Open Access publishers.