Prof. Paul McDonald

Professor of Media Industries, King’s College London

Paul McDonald is Professor of Media Industries at King’s College London. His most recent publications include editing The Routledge Companion to Media Industries (2022) and co-editing Locating Media Industries: Spaces, Places, Platforms (2026, Routledge), Media Industries and Cities: Perspectives, Geopolitics and Transformations (2026, Routledge), Global Film Policies (2026, Routledge) and Digital Media Distribution: Portals, Platforms, Pipelines (2021, New York University Press). He is the author of George Clooney (2019, British Film Institute), Hollywood Stardom (2013, Wiley-Blackwell), Video and DVD Industries (2007, British Film Institute), and The Star System: Hollywood’s Production of Popular Identities (2000, Wallflower). He is a co-editor of Hollywood and the Law (2015, British Film Institute) and The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry (2008, Blackwell). Aside from his personal research, he’s undertaken a number of initiatives to advance the critical analysis of media industries within the academic research community, including co-editing the International Screen Industries book series (2000-24) from the British Film Institute, founding specialised media industries research networks within the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) and European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS), establishing the Media Industries conferences (2018, 2024), and co-directing the conference Locating Media Industries: Cities, Spaces, Places (2023). Paul is a founding member of the Editorial Collective for the open access journal Media Industries.