JUST OUT! The Media Reform Coalition is working with researchers from the Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) at Central European University to investigate the influence of shifts in policy, funding, and technology on contemporary journalism. This is part of the international Media Influence Matrix project, coordinated by CMDS, which has so far produced 19 reports … [Read more...]
Barack Obama takes on Rupert Murdoch, the last media baron
This article originally appeared at the Daily Mirror. President Obama has had enough of Rupert Murdoch. His target is the right-wing media mogul's Fox News - the ultra-conservative TV news channel whose presenters openly compare America's first black president to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. Exasperated by the constant stream of televised attacks, Obama has hit … [Read more...]
Miranda detention, part 1: Why we should be concerned
The detention of a journalist under something called the Terrorism Act should raise eyebrows whatever the situation. It does not matter whether David Miranda was travelling as an ordinary man, a journalist, or a journalist’s ‘data mule’ – not unless you think that journalism is or can ever be ‘terrorism’. His nine hours at Heathrow are evidence of growing government antipathy … [Read more...]
American surveillance raises tough questions for British journalists
By Laurence Dodds Over the last week, revelations about the NSA's mass surveillance programme have burst into the public sphere in a storm of reports, op-eds, comments and interviews. But what hasn't gained quite so much attention is how this programme threatens the press itself. For any journalist who uses the web - and, spoiler, that's all of them - the scale and depth of … [Read more...]