Joseph Kelly

Having read for French and Italian at the University of Oxford (BA 1st-class Hons, 2019), I subsequently trained to become a journalist at the University of Salford (MA Distinction, 2020), working predominantly in radio and focusing mostly on politics and current affairs. I have returned to my alma mater to complete a doctoral research project on the Italian Fascist regime’s use of radio broadcasting as a tool for spreading its cultural and political ideology internationally. By researching radio broadcasts to different countries, I hope to better understand how the regime adapted its propaganda approach to varying political and cultural contexts and, more widely, the role it aimed to play on the global stage. Of particular interest to me are the representation of foreign cultures and foreign affairs in domestic broadcasts, the clandestine Radio Verdad programmes aimed to support Franco’s cause in the Spanish Civil War, and Italian-language programmes in Europe and the USA designed to convince first-and-second-generation Italian migrants to promote Fascist ideology in their host countries. Beyond academia my interests include a passion for local radio, having presented on both my local BBC station as well as on community radio, and a love of non-league football.