Çï¿ûÊÓƵ

Simon Hardeman

Simon Hardeman BA, NCTJ, FHEA

Senior Lecturer

Simon is a highly experienced journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He has written for a wide range of national newspapers, magazines and websites. He is a specialist arts journalist, having spent many years on the arts desk of The Independent. He created and co-wrote the Beginners' Guide column in The Times. He has edited several magazines.

On television he has been a science journalist for Channel 5 News, a regular panel member on The Wright Stuff, and appeared on Sky News and other current affairs programmes and channels. 

On radio he devised and presented the Today's Tomorrow science and technology slot for Talk Radio and then BBC Radio London, and has guested on a variety of radio shows for the BBC and commercial broadcasters.

In the digital world he pioneered online radio by co-founding London Unlimited, which became Big Broadband plc. Earlier he developed content for mobile phones, and before that edited a substantial portion of ITV Oracle. He trained as a news journalist with Reed Midland newspapers, and qualified with the National Council for the Training of Journalists after gaining a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts from Birmingham University.

Simon has considerable experience in the creative arts. He has written comedy for radio and TV, including Rory Bremner's long-running series, and under commission for the BBC. He was for many years a stand-up comedian, improvised comedy performer, and workshop leader. He wrote the play Death of a Comedian, which was performed as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and transferred to London for a run. He is a singer-songwriter and has written songs for the West End stage. His debut solo album, Tell the Truth, was released in 2009, and his most recent group, Mercury Heart, released Heart Attack in 2015.

Simon's personal website is at . His music is at .

Responsibilities within the university

Simon is Course Leader for the two Journalism courses offered by the Çï¿ûÊÓƵ: Writing Journalism (level five) and Journalism in Practice (level six). He is also course leader for Writing for the Media (level four), on which he teaches Creative, and Comedy, Writing.

Simon was Programme Leader for the Journalism degree at Greenwich University.

Recognition

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

National Council for the Training of Journalists

Research / Scholarly interests

Simon has an ongoing professional and academic interest in the future of journalism in a post-payment media world, and the problems for media plurality and independence in a low-budget future.

He has a continuing professional practice as a journalist and writer, as well as a musician, composer, and lyricist.

Media activity

TV and radio appearances as commentator (selected):

  • Sky News Breakfast
  • Channel 5 News
  • The Wright Stuff
  • The Richard Littlejohn Show
  • Late Night Live with Nicky Campbell
  • The Simon Fanshawe Show

TV journalism/presenting (selected):

  • The Wright Stuff (Anglia for ITV)
  • First on Five (Channel 5)
  • Stand Up Live (Live TV)

Radio journalism/presenting (selected):

  • Today's Tomorrow (regular science strand in The Lorraine Kelly Show)
  • Something for the Weekend (Talk Radio)
  • BBC London Radio

Publications/internet (selected):

  • The Independent
  • i
  • The Times & The Times Magazine
  • The Mirror
  • The Guardian
  • Time Out

Presentations

Hardeman, SJ, with Ackroyd A. (2016). SID - an exciting and interactive in-class, web-based, multi-platform system for live sharing of writing and other responses, designed to enhance and facilitate new forms of feedback, assessment, and student engagement. In SHIFT. Greenwich, January 8.