Dr James Blake

James joined the Open University in April 2024 as the first head of the new School of Creative Industries.    He has a professional background as a TV reporter and producer based primarily at ITN in London and working as a Home Affairs specialist for Channel 4 News.  He started his career at the BBC and has also worked at ITV News and for STV as both a reporter and programme producer.  From ITN, he joined Edinburgh Napier University in 2010, where he has had been department leader in Screen, Media and Humanities.  At Napier James led modules in TV and radio News, documenary production, social media, and multimedia content creation.  He also helped develop new UG and PG programmes in Film, Mass Communications, and Journalism. His research brings together his industry and academic expertise and has focused on the intersection of TV news, unscripted production and social media storytelling.  He is currently working on a book commission on video-based disinformation and the impact of synthetic media.  James is also a documentary film maker and has produced content for C4 Dispatches, the Scottish Parliament, and the Edinburgh International Festival. He has been a regular judge for the UK Press Awards and is a member of the RSE Arts and Humanities committee