(image from L-R: (Front) Dr Reetika Revathy Subramanian, Ashleigh Percival-Borley, Dr Stephanie Brown (Back) Dr Beth Malory, Dr Sarah Louise Smyth, and Dr Laura Minor (Image: Chris Lacey))
Two members of WFTHN’s Steering Group have been selected as this year’s BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinkers: Dr Laura Minor, our TV Blog Editor, and Dr Sarah Louise Smyth, our Web and Social Media Editor.
New Generation Thinkers is a scheme supported by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the BBC. It aims to identify outstanding early career academics and helps them bring their research ideas to a broader audience on BBC radio. This year, the New Generation Thinkers will collaborate with Radio 4.
Dr Minor and Dr Smyth have both been selected out of hundreds of applicants to be researchers-in-residence for Radio 4’s arts and culture programme, Front Row. The other New Generation Thinkers will work on Free Thinking, Thinking Allowed, weekly science programmes and Woman’s Hour.
Dr Minor is a Lecturer in Television Studies at the University of Salford, UK. Her research primarily focuses on women’s contributions to television—both behind the camera and on screen—along with representations of social class in British popular culture. Edinburgh University Press published her first book, Reclaiming Female Authorship in Contemporary UK Television Comedy, in 2024.
Dr Smyth is a Lecturer in Film at the University of Essex, UK. Her research women’s representation and authorship in contemporary film and television. She is currently writing a book about Nora Ephron, due for publication in 2026.
Dr Minor and Dr Smyth will bring their research expertise in women’s contributions to television and film to Front Row. A unique opportunity to bring their research to a wide audience, this promises to be an exciting moment for feminist media studies and the work of WFTHN.
Dr Minor and Dr Smyth both appeared on Front Row for the announcement of the scheme on Monday 16th June 2025. You can listen to that show here.
To read the full press release, click here.
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