Media Reform Coalition

Media Reform coordinates the work of advocacy groups campaigning to protect the public interest in light of the Leveson Inquiry and Communications Review.

Covid-19 and the ownership and control of the media

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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 media. Coverage of the pandemic has revealed mainstream media to be an explicit channel for government PR spin, further propelling the revolving door between … [Read more...]

Media in Lockdown debate

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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...]

Burning Questions in the Lap of Power

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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?

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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

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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

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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...]