The 2020 Media Democracy Festival was cancelled because of the pandemic. Instead, in June 2020, we hosted a series of short lunchtime sessions on key themes concerning media democracy and social justice in the light of Covid-19 and beyond. All sessions are now available to view on our YouTube channel. Our … Continue Reading
Report: Who Owns the UK Media?
We produced our first comprehensive report on media ownership in the UK back in 2015 when we argued concentrated ownership was a significant … Continue Reading
Decriminalising TV licence fee evasion will cut BBC funding without helping the poorest
by Leo Watkins On 9 December last year, mere days before the General Election, Boris Johnson was having a bad news day. He was televised in … Continue Reading
The silence around Assange
by Jacob Ecclestone and Bernie Corbett There is a scandal and a crisis in British journalism. For the past three weeks or so a crucial … Continue Reading
TV Craft Awards: lifting the lid on structural racism
By a member of BECTU “Did no-one look around and stop and ask: ‘why are we so white?’” In part of David Olusoga’s welcome and powerful MacTaggart Lecture he referred to the stark division between the … Continue Reading
Covid-19 and the ownership and control of the media
A new article by the chair of the Media Reform Coalition, Professor Natalie Fenton, for the Culture Matters blog, argues that coronavirus has exposed the need for a radically different structural orientation in our … Continue Reading
A FREE & REGULATED PRESS: THE CASE FOR COMPULSORY PRESS REGULATION
by Paul Wragg, School of Law, University of Leeds and co-host of @medialawpodcast In a newly published book, A Free and Regulated Press, I ask: why are newspapers not regulated on a compulsory basis, as … Continue Reading
MRC submission to ‘Future of Public Service Broadcasting’ inquiry
Immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic, the Culture Select Committee launched an inquiry into the funding, regulation and remit of public service broadcasting. Given recent attacks on the BBC in particular … Continue Reading
Media, Race and Religion: Silences and Scapegoats
Watch the video of a crucial discussion with Maya Goodfellow, Omega Douglas, Rizwana Hamid and Narzanin Massoumi … Continue Reading
Zombie economics, post Covid-19 and the media video
You can watch a full recording of our first Media Democracy Festival lunchtime debate involving Grace Blakeley, Noni Makuyana and Mike Berry on our YouTube channel here. The event was first streamed on Wednesday 3 … Continue Reading
Media in Lockdown debate
Media Reform Coalition partnered with Liverpool's Writing on the Wall Festival to host a debate on Tuesday 19 May to discuss the role of the media in the Covid-19 pandemic. Speakers were Kerry-Anne Mendoza (editor … Continue Reading
MRC submission to inquiry on the future of journalism
The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications recently called for submissions to its inquiry on the future of journalism. In the context of the Covid-19 crisis - in which we have seen a huge decline in … Continue Reading