PhD with postgraduate diploma and disappointing MA

Hello!

I've intended for the last few years to apply to research media and communications at PhD or MPhil level, but have just received a disappointing MA grade (58%) in a subject that was a poor choice for me. Having studied modern languages at university, I felt like it was a natural progression to work in translation, but promptly spent the year building contacts in journalism. I now work part-time at the publication that employed me throughout my MA, alongside a full-time administrative position. Having given it a lot of thought, I made an application to study another MA part-time, and expect to be accepted... however, this is where it gets tricky.

I am a third-culture kid. My parents are Canadian-born UK passport holders, and all of my grandparents were from the UK. However, following the change of regulations in the 90s, my parents were not quick enough to the gun to have my passport application accepted. As such, we were always very limited in European places that I could live visa-free, but never lived in Canada, either. I lived in Switzerland for over 15 years, and studied in the UK on a Tier 4 visa on both my BA and MA, receiving home fees for my second course. That said, I have since changed visa categories, graduating from a T4 to an ancestry visa, to allow for full-time employment. I've obviously taken a short break from education, but would like very much to rectify my disappointing results at MA level, in order to be able to progress to a higher level of study. However, I've just read that I may not qualify for home fees at this stage in my new visa, unfortunately. There is, however, a similar course, albeit perhaps more prestigious in the industry, at an institution that is unable to award full Masters degrees, instead offering a postgraduate diploma in journalism at a set price.

The course would certainly get my foot in the door to work in my chosen industry, but without my original MA, I doubt would qualify me to apply for a PhD. I'd quite like to study at PhD level over a period of time, while gaining hands-on experience in the media... maybe you can't have it all, but do you guys think that studying an additional postgraduate diploma would essentially rectify the situation with my MA, qualifying me for PhD study?

I'm a bit at a loss here... I want to keep my options open, but I certainly won't be able to afford overseas fees, even on a part-time course. I suppose that if I can't get the funds together, I will apply for the second course and close the door to PhD study... I just want to know what I'm getting into.

Thanks in advance for any help offered!