Magazine Journalism MA: Who teaches this course

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences teaches this course. Students benefit from a lively study environment, thanks to the wide range of postgraduate courses on offer.

Programmes cover everything from English literature and music to human rights and politics.

The Faculty provides a vibrant and forward-thinking environment for study with:

• courses designed in collaboration with industry professionals – keeping you up to date with the latest developments;
• established connections with the London arts and media scene – with a range of guest speakers, professors and lecturers visiting the University; and
• committed and enthusiastic staff – many of whom are expert practitioners as well as leading academics and researchers.

The Faculty's combination of academics and practitioners makes it a unique environment in which to further your studies and your career.

Where is the Faculty based? Most students are based at the University's Penrhyn Road campus, with our music courses taught at the Kingston Hill campus.

Our staff

All our tutors are practising journalists with a wide range of experience in newspapers, magazines and online.

Beth Brewster

Beth Brewster (director of studies: Journalism and Publishing) has been a features and deputy editor on both magazines and newspapers. She has had features published in national and international magazines, including The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times, Traveller, World, Expressions, Vanity Fair and The Arts Review. She is also the author of Victorian Paintings: A British Gallery Guide (Channel 4 publications) and has had a play, The Timekeeper, produced by BBC Television. 

Brian Cathcart

Brian Cathcart (Professor in Journalism) was foreign editor then deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday and, later, assistant editor of the New Statesman. He contributes articles to the Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Mail and Private Eye, and also writes the New Statesman's weekly media column. He is the author of The Case of Stephen Lawrence (Viking); Jill Dando, Her Life and Death (Penguin); and The Fly in the Cathedral: How the Atom Was Split, among other titles. 

Michelle Hather

Michelle Hather (leader of the Hands-On Journalism module) is an acclaimed magazine editor who began her career as a local newspaper reporter, with stints on the Blackpool Evening Gazette and Liverpool Daily Post leading to sub-editing shifts on the Observer, Independent, and Sunday People. She later rose through the ranks at National Magazine Company to become editor of Best - in which capacity she has twice been nominated as Editor of the Year and once as Editor's Editor by the British Society of Magazine Editors.

Sara McConnell

Sara McConnell (course director for the MA Journalism) is a former personal finance correspondent and deputy personal finance editor of The Times. She is now an award-winning freelance journalist writing for a range of newspapers and websites, including The Evening Standard, The Sunday Telegraph, The Observer, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, Times Online and Guardian Unlimited. She has also worked for Times Online editing the site's student and education pages. 

James Morrison

James Morrison (senior lecturer in Journalism) is a former arts and media correspondent of The Independent on Sunday. He previously worked for The Daily Mail and The Press Association, and has written for The Guardian, Telegraph Magazine, The Independent, The Times Educational Supplement, The Literary Review, and a range of magazines, including Museums Journal, The Art Newspaper and Current Archaeology. He is the author of the new textbook for the National Council for the Training of Journalists' Public Affairs module.

Dan Townend

Dan Townend (module leader, Journalism and the Law) knows the sharp end of tabloid journalism, as a veteran of the Daily Mail and Daily Express news-desks. He has been involved in covering some of the biggest stories of the past decade, including major crimes and trials. He was also associate editor of The Sportsman and has worked as news editor for two of the country's biggest news agencies. Like many on the department's staff, Dan still freelances for a range of newspapers, magazines, and websites.

Martin Tullett

Martin Tullett (module leader for Design and Production in Periodical Publishing) is group art director for Haymarket Publishing, managing a 17-strong staff across some 20 contract titles, ranging from Manchester United magazine to Britain's most widely circulated consumer mag: BSkyB. He has worked as a designer on numerous other publications - including 442, Autocar, and What Hi-fi? - and, during a stint as creative director for British Army Recruiting, was responsible for devising the brand image for its latest recruitment campaign.

Sophie Wybrew-Bond

Sophie Wybrew-Bond (who runs the Business of Magazines module) is deputy managing director of Heat and Closer magazines. She started her career as marketing executive on Haymarket Publishing's Automotive titles, progressing first to Nursing Times then to the post of head of marketing at Emap. She was the launch publisher of both Empire and Closer, andcontinues to oversee both the Closer and Heat brands, across all their platforms, including their international editions, radio stations, and online businesses.