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 at large of The Canary), Tom Mills (author of The BBC: Myth of a Public Service and vice-chair of MRC), and Victor Pickard (author of Democracy without Journalism: … [Read more...]
Event: Media in Lockdown
6pm, Tuesday 19 May 2020, register here MRC is joining with Liverpool's Writing on the Wall Festival to bring three leading media reform activists together to discuss media failures and successes in covering the pandemic. Kerry-Anne Mendoza is Editor-in-Chief of The Canary. She is known for creating one of the UK’s top independent political blogs Scriptonite Daily, for … [Read more...]
Burning Questions in the Lap of Power
by Gary Merrill Every afternoon, Downing Street hosts a briefing for journalists to update them - and their audiences - on latest developments concerning the Covid-19 crisis. In this special post for MRC, Gary Merrill of the University of Roehampton, argues that the briefings are generating very little heat and certainly no light, mostly because of the reluctance of … [Read more...]
Why are conservative papers leaning left on corona?
by Elizabeth Mizon, @elizmizon MRC supporters may have noticed some robust headlines around Covid-19 in news titles more commonly associated with supporting the government. Elizabeth Mizon reflects on the motivations for a potential shift in approach but warns against thinking that this signals a fundamental transformation of their priorities. ‘The FT View’, The … [Read more...]
Community media and Covid-19
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...]
Coronavirus has strengthened the case for the BBC
Our second article on the impact of Coronavirus on media policy debate features a contribution from Professor Jonathan Hardy who argues that the need for the "collective provision of information and creative communications as a public service" - as epitomised by the BBC - has been strengthened by Covid-19. His article comes days before the deadline for the government's … [Read more...]
What will the coronavirus pandemic mean for the business of news?
At a time when we need trusted information and analysis more than ever, Covid-19 threatens the very fabric of our news environment. With an announcement today by JPIMedia that it is suspending 12 of its local print titles because of a collapse in advertising and huge problems with home delivery, and the recent decision by Newsquest to put a 'significant number' of its staff on … [Read more...]