Who we are

Logo of Rural Media featuring a stylized stork with a beige color and the text 'Rural Media' in bold white letters.

Rural Media exists to empower rural young people and underserved communities to find their voice, develop their creative talent, and use digital creativity to drive real social change.

Over three decades, we've built and refined a creative participation model that gives early-career talent, young rural people and underserved groups the skills, confidence and platforms to grow and to change the world around them.

Logo with blocks of pink and black, and the words 'RURAL STUDIOS' in bold white letters.

Rural Studios, our sister commercial production arm making content for broadcasters, brands and the public sector, creating pathways for early-career creatives and finding a platform for the stories that deserve to be heard.

Learn more about Rural Studios
Logo with stylized geometric arrow design and the words 'Story Point' in bold white letters on a black background.

StoryPoint  is Herefordshire's home for digital creativity. A hub with professional podcast and production facilities where creatives come to meet, collaborate and make.

Interested in working with us?

Visit our careers page

Our impact

5

million

Last year, we reached over 5 million online audiences

1364

participants

Our projects worked with 1,364 people

92%

youth driven

92% of our direct participants were aged 14-25

We can and do make a difference. 

Even when our projects are finished, their legacy continues to have a positive and lasting impact.

Through our projects, our participants:

  • Engage with and gain a greater understanding of their communities

  • Improve self-esteem and confidence

  • Learn practical filmmaking and creative digital skills

  • Share and tackle the problems of rural isolation

  • Influence policy and help determine their own future

  • Promote a better understanding of their culture, history and way of life

  • Actively participate in cultural production

A young man with glasses wearing a black Nike hoodie, smiling, in front of a microphone, possibly filming or recording.
Person wearing a virtual reality headset holding a VR controller in an indoor space with rows of chairs and other people in the background.
A woman on a film set, operating a camera with monitoring equipment, in a dimly lit room with a rough wall background.

Meet the team

Black and white portrait of a young woman with curly hair tied back, wearing a turtleneck sweater, smiling slightly.

Elle Adams

Marketing & Communications Manager

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Grant Black

CEO & Creative Director

A smiling young woman with shoulder-length hair in black and white photo.

Lauren Rogers

Head of Youth Programmes

A person wearing a beanie and a jacket taking a selfie in a snowy outdoor landscape with a snow-covered twisted tree in the background.

Buchanan Sigrist

Creative Youth Development Producer

A smiling man with glasses and a beard, wearing a dark polka dot shirt, sitting in front of a brick wall.
Black and white portrait of a woman with shoulder-length dark hair, slight smile, wearing earrings and a cardigan.

Julie Colman

Head of Production

Rich Hankins

Post-Production Manager

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Black-and-white photo of a smiling man with short hair, a beard, wearing a dark top and a headset around his neck, standing near a white wall.

Dan Haworth-Salter

Education Manager & Filmmaker

Rachel Lambert

Director/Producer

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A man with a beard and dark hair sitting cross-legged on a chair in a photography studio, surrounded by equipment, with a backdrop and lighting setup in the background, black and white image.

Rich Matthews

Development Director

Callum Neville

Media & Film Technician

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A woman with shoulder-length wavy hair, wearing a black jacket over a polka dot top, standing against a plain background.

Ewa Olearczyk

Finance Manager

Mel Page

Office Manager

Our Board

A black and white portrait of an elderly man with short hair and a beard, smiling with arms crossed, wearing a denim shirt.

David Holdsworth

Chair

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Ussud Ali

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Jo Davidson

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Matt Hayes

Black and white portrait of a smiling young woman with long wavy hair, wearing a dark sweater and earrings, against a white background.

Georgia Helme

Black and white portrait of a middle-aged man with glasses, wearing a blazer and a collared shirt, smiling, with arms crossed.

Martin Hitchin

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Hannah Jones

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Judith Vickress

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Ross Whelan

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Rachel Carter

Logo with hand making a pointing gesture, and text indicating lottery funding support from Arts Council England.

Our Partners & Supporters

Logo of the Esmé Fairbairn Foundation featuring a pink circle with white lowercase letters 'ef' and the foundation's name in black text next to it.
BBC Arts logo in black and blue text.
Logo of Herefordshire Council featuring a stylized apple and the council's name in black text on a blue background.
Heritage Fund logo featuring a black and white illustrated hand with crossed fingers and the text 'Made possible with' above and 'Heritage Fund' below.
Logo of the Community Fund featuring a cartoon hand making a peace sign with the words 'Community Fund' beside it.
A pink star-shaped sparkle on a black background.
Logo for Herefordshire Museums & Galleries with black text on a transparent background.
Harvard University logo with shield and open book.
BFI Film Academy UK Network logo with light blue circle and black and white text
Black musical notes on a white background.
Logo of the PNH Paul Henty Foundation with the initials PNH and the full name displayed.
The Netflix logo in black and white.
RSC Royal Shakespeare Company logo with large white letters on a red background.
Logo of the Rank Foundation with circular swirl design in blue and green, and the words "Rank Foundation" in blue text.
Logo for The Shelley Foundation featuring stylized text with a flowing ribbon design in teal shades.
Illustration of a collection of geometric and organic shapes in black on a white background.
Text graphic with the words 'Our Place', where 'Our' is in dark blue cursive font and 'Place' is in orange bold font.