by Des Freedman With the resignation of Tony Hall as director general, there is talk of an ‘existential crisis’ at the BBC. The corporation is facing yet more budget cuts and the further centralisation of commissioning. Hall’s departure follows Boris Johnson’s threat to boycott the Today programme and Samira Ahmed’s … [Read more...]
Election campaign reveals a media system that’s not fit for purpose
MRC asked some leading advocates of media reform for their reaction to the result of the general election. Angela Phillips: The media and the polls Outrage about the bias of the media has been a constant over many years of elections but the past four years allow us to make a fairly direct comparison between events. The main thing that has changed is not the … [Read more...]
Where’s the impartiality? #GenElec2019
by Justin Schlosberg Time for a review of impartiality rules during elections? It is frequently said that a free media is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and none more so than during an election period. But democracy is only well served if all political views are given equal prominence and fair interrogation. We know we have a partisan press but during … [Read more...]
BBC Panorama on anti-semitism: a catalogue of reporting failures
The BBC transmitted an edition of Panorama on 10 July called ‘Is Labour Anti-Semitic?’, presented by John Ware. It contained allegations that senior Labour figures close to Jeremy Corbyn had interfered with the internal investigations process and that the Party was insufficiently committed to tackling anti-semitism within its own ranks. In response, the Labour … [Read more...]
BBC delivers government policy as it scraps free licence fee concession for most over-75s
The BBC has today taken a decision that effectively positions it as an outpost of the Department for Work and Pensions. By agreeing to take away free licences for the vast majority of the over- 75s, the Corporation is implementing government cuts instead of standing up to them. While some 1.5 million households may be eligible for free licences if at least one resident … [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...]
BBC consultation on Over-75s licences: Government should fund its own welfare policy
The Media Reform Coalition has published its submission to the ongoing consultation on who should fund free licences for the over-75s. The BBC is set to assume full responsibility for the £750 million cost from 2020. We have no desire to see this "concession" disappear but believe that the government should fully fund it seeing as it was included as a central platform of their … [Read more...]