Media Studies in the UK has endured a decidedly chequered history. Since the late 1980s the subject has experienced massive and rapid growth in secondary, further and higher educational institutions. This continuing growth in demand for and provision of media courses in the UK has, however, rarely been seen or framed as 'good news' or a success story. In contrast, the public image of the field as embodied in recurrent cycles of press and related media coverage has tended to denigrate, question and contest its legitimacy. While there have been some more encouraging signs in recent coverage, it may be a peculiarity of the current UK cultural and educational configurations that the well established, internationally respected range of media studies courses have to be routinely called to account and ritually 'put in their place '. In what follows, we provide a contextualizing commentary on this state of affairs, first outlining the chief 'angles of attack' and critique that have characterized the public image of the subject. This is then followed by an overview of key curricula formations and associated tensions that have underpinned the field and its growth throughout the past decade. Central to this has been an increasing concentration on vocationalism and the discourses of 'employability'. We present a commentary on these discourses and, in the remainder of the discussion, report on the findings of a three-year, funded UK research project which was designed to investigate the meanings and perceptions of 'employability' held by participants in the media studies curriculum: teachers, students, graduates and employers. The commentary concludes with a reflection on the research outcomes of the project. We welcome responses to the themes and issues broached and outlined in what follows from the full readership of Media, Culture & Society, dispersed across the international academic community.

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The thought of group work, or CLC Groups often strikes fear and loathing in the hearts and minds of both students and instructors. According to Swan, Shen, and Hiltz (2006) collaborative work presents inability of the students to manage the different ideas and opinions while progressing, a decentralization of the objective of the work due to the requirement for increased autonomy and control over the choice of information and its processing, and individual assessment of each group participant. However, the many well worth the effort to gain control of this aspect of the class and position students for a successful and to comply, and anticipating to adapt, that instructors and students can take to help ensure the best chance for successful group work in the classroom. INTRODUCTION Success in group work is largely dependent on providing opportunities for connecting and forming a community in which the shared task is clear, and roles, rules, and responsibilities are understood and complied with. Haythornthwaite (2000) noted several characteristics that indicate the presence of community, including "recognition of members and nonmembers, a shared history, a common meeting place, commitment to a common purpose, adoption of normative standards of behavior, and emergence of hierarchy and roles." Based on these learning communities: "promote initial bonding, monitor and support continued interaction and participation, and provide multiple means of communication for sustaining group interactions." In this article, we will demonstrate how instructors can facilitate the support of collaborative groups in the online classroom.

We know little about the ‘behind the scenes’ of television. While the booming field of production studies has been shining a light on the work processes and the personnel in production spaces, there is still a lot to be learnt about the ‘hidden’ professions of television. This issue of VIEW provides a rich but fairly eclectic series of contributions based on the theme.

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