Alex Symons has had a busy year.
The associate professor of Communication and Media Studies’ third book, BBC Television Comedy Since the 2000s: Corporate Innovation and Changing National Identity was recently published by Routledge. The work explores the pioneering and risk-taking way BBC Television embraced new executives, technological change, independent production companies, and new creators. Through interviews with leading BBC figures, Symons explains how these initiatives transformed BBC television aesthetically and culturally, reaching a new generation.
Additionally, earlier this year, Symons authored a chapter on recent trends in Hollywood film satire, published in the collection Armed Farces: Essays on War-Themed Film and Television Comedy.
Symons also presented on a range of topics at several media conferences. At the Critical Studies in Television Conference, organized by Edge Hill University, and the Popular Culture Association Conference in Atlanta he discussed aspects of his research on BBC television. He shared his examination of South African YouTube at the International Communication Association and his study of YouTube’s homelessness documentaries at the Fan Studies Network North America Conference. Most recently, Symons presented his research on independent slasher filmmaking at the Cine-Excess International Film Festival and Conference.
