Rob Watson, an experienced community radio practitioner and advocate, reports on how community media can play a key role during the Coronavirus pandemic by providing "a different space for discussion, deliberation and creative expression that is a valuable alternative to the mainstream way of presenting information and engaging with audiences." by Dr Rob Watson According … [Read more...]
Towards a non-profit social media: the digital public library project
A guest post from Breezy Brian Gregg of Canada's Digital Public Library Project There is a need for a nonprofit universal free digital streaming service funded by general taxes, which does not surveil people using the service nor expose them to advertising. This project is about promoting the idea of creating such a service. Your on-line service will be a … [Read more...]
Media Democracy Festival 2020 – now cancelled
Statement We regret to announce that we will be postponing Saturday’s Media Democracy Festival. In the interests of the welfare of all attendees and the wider public, we have decided to follow a policy of social distancing in response to the coronavirus. We always seek to make our events inclusive and accessible to everyone and it is now clear that this would not have … [Read more...]
A model motion for media reform
This meeting/branch/conference/ believes that: our current media suffer from concentration of media ownership, lack of accountability, lack of independence from government and from commercial pressures and do not adequately represent a diverse range of people and views;a flourishing, diverse and accountable media is essential for a healthy, functioning democracy. Media … [Read more...]
Media Manifesto 2019
MRC has pulled together extensive academic research and a number of briefing reports produced by, and in consultation with, a broad range of experts and stakeholders to produce our latest Media Manifesto. It charts a roadmap towards genuine progressive reform that is both practical and radical; replacing legacy frameworks with a media policy fit for the 21st century. It … [Read more...]
MRC submission to Cairncross Review
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport established the Cairncross Review to examinine the sustainability of high-quality journalism in the UK. The Review is particularly concerned with the Press and says that it will give equal weight to the needs of consumers and industry. But many fear its real intention is to justify subsidising corporate news … [Read more...]
Election coverage alert 30 May: Distorted debates, vacuous interviewing techniques and more fake news in the Telegraph
by Justin Schlosberg Last night’s television debates featuring Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May marked the return of the general election to the top of news agendas, and the start of the crucial final ten days of campaigning. But the programme also reflected one of the most consistently proven distortions in mainstream coverage of recent elections. In 2015, a study by … [Read more...]