Media Manifesto Archives - Media Reform Coalition

Election 2019 manifesto pledges on media reform: what’s in and what’s not

December 3, 2019 By Media Reform Coalition

by Natalie Fenton The media have been central actors in this General Election campaign. Research by Loughborough University has shown the dominance of pro-Conservative party and anti-Labour Party coverage in the national press and others have claimed forcefully that the BBC has failed in its duty of impartial reporting. Cries of misrepresentation, under-representation, … [Read more...]

Media Manifesto 2019

March 21, 2019 By Media Reform Coalition

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...]

Britain has one of the most concentrated media environments in the world. Just three companies dominate 83% of national newspaper circulation; five companies account for 80% of national newspaper newsbrand reach; five companies command 80% of local newspaper titles; and two companies own nearly half of all commercial analogue radio stations..

The phone hacking scandal and its aftermath demonstrated how that power has been used nationally, whilst at the local level community after community is losing the means to publicly hold power to account.

Urgent reform is needed to reclaim the media in the interest of the public.