The Media Reform Coalition is today publishing a Briefing that includes a summary of the historical context and key debates concerning the government’s Online Safety Bill ahead of its second reading in Spring 2022. The analysis draws on the UK Media Influence Matrix report, exploring the impact of shifts in policy, funding and contemporary journalism, that was published in … [Read more...]
“Crucial for the future of UK democracy”: The Media Democracy Festival 2022
By Eliz Mizon #MDF22 was an uplifting, thought-provoking, and urgent gathering of some of the UK’s leading media experts and citizens who understand the need to revitalise the media, a system that underpins our ability to understand all others. We kicked off with five days of international livestreamed panels, all of which are now available in a playlist: For the first … [Read more...]
New briefing on the licence fee settlement
This briefing, produced for the UK Media Influence Matrix, provides a summary of the government’s recent proposals for the licence fee, assesses its motivations and consequences, and identifies some potential action points including: Launching a petition declaring the public’s willingness to pay for public service broadcasting and to introduce funding measures that will … [Read more...]
Manifesto for a People’s Media
The 2020s are set to be a decade of huge challenges, and much of the UK's media is unable to support the transformations we need. We urgently need media which is owned by us, accountable to us, where we all get to play a part in creating it: we need to build a media commons. What this could mean is explored in our Manifesto for a People's Media, published as part of the MRC's … [Read more...]
Funding Journalism – new report by MRC for the Media Influence Matrix
We have just published, in association with the Centre for Media, Data and Society at Central European University, the second part of our major research into the UK media landscape, the UK Media Influence Matrix. This report, written by Leo Watkins, focuses on the funding of journalism and provides a comprehensive account of consumption trends, financial performance, key … [Read more...]
Report: Who Owns the UK Media?
NEW REPORT ON UK MEDIA OWNERSHIP JUST PUBLISHED We produced our first comprehensive report on media ownership in the UK back in 2015 when we argued concentrated ownership was a significant problem for any modern democracy. In 2019, we produced an updated version that suggests that, not only does concentrated ownership persist but that the problem may be getting worse. … [Read more...]
Media, Race and Religion: Silences and Scapegoats
Watch the video of a crucial discussion with Maya Goodfellow, Omega Douglas, Rizwana Hamid and Narzanin Massoumi … [Read more...]