The Guardian published this letter on 11 November. Digital intermediaries such as Google and Facebook are not only amassing eye-watering profits and paying minimal tax in the UK, they are also bleeding the newspaper industry dry by sucking up advertising revenue. As national and local newspapers try to cut their way out of trouble by slashing editorial budgets and shedding … [Read more...]
Scottish Statement on Media Reform
Media Ownership, Plurality and Democracy To sustain a flourishing democracy in Scotland we will need diverse and independent voices in the media. Yet media concentration remains at worrying levels and a handful of corporations and individuals have considerable power over our news, cultural life and access to information. Instead of holding a mirror to society, they are a … [Read more...]
A new media plurality law should be in all parties’ 2015 election manifestos
Letter to the Guardian, 4 March 2015 If democracy is to flourish, we will need diverse and independent voices in the media. Yet media concentration in Britain remains at worrying levels and, despite what we have learned over the last few years, a handful of media corporations and individuals continue to have considerable power over our news, cultural life and access to … [Read more...]
‘Press freedom canard’ – Professor James Curran’s letter to the Guardian
Chris Huhne (Comment, 4 November) cites the Express's claim that "freedom of the press is cast aside after 300 years" without questioning its historical veracity. This absurd claim implies that we had a free press in 1790 when criticism of the social system was a criminal offence, and guilt or innocence could be determined solely by a judge. It suggests that we had a free press … [Read more...]