This is the second in our series of invited pieces about the importance of local and community radio. by Rob Watson You would have to be living under a rock not to sense the destructive tension of Brexit in our political debates of recent times. These strains are stretching and distorting our traditional social accords and norms in ways that are intensely polarising and … [Read more...]
Media Democracy Festival 2019
Tickets for our annual Media Democracy Festival are now on sale! The festival brings together media democracy campaigners, journalists, researchers and citizens to take part in discussions on a range of issues from challenging bias to confronting islamophobia and from how we can take on the tech platforms to producing a media manifesto for the next election. It has a fantastic … [Read more...]
BBC Reform Proposals: Parliamentary launch 16 October
Following the publication of the Media Reform Coalition's draft proposals on the future of the BBC, we have organised a public debate on "The Future of the BBC: Public Media in the Age of Google and Facebook" in Committee Room 9, Palace lf Westminster at 6.30pm on Tuesday 16 October. Free tickets are available here. We have also received some tremendous endorsements for the … [Read more...]
A Media Reform Agenda for 2018
A fragile government, an embittered citizenry, an emboldened opposition and a media system that’s not fit for purpose – this is the backdrop to the Media Reform Coalition’s agenda for 2018. It’s just over four months since the broadcaster Jon Snow – enraged by the news media’s failure to pre-empt events like the Grenfell Tower fire – laid out the problems facing the UK media … [Read more...]
A Manifesto for Media Reform
The Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, together with the Media Reform Coalition, have published a manifesto for media reform ahead of the general election on 8 June. Reflecting on who we can turn to to find out the truth about our public affairs, the manifesto tables demands concerning Media ownership Independent and effective self-regulation of the press … [Read more...]
Press Complaints Commission: Daily Mail breached The Editors’ Code
by Jon Danzig The Press Complaints Commission has ruled that the Daily Mail breached The Editors’ Code on accuracy with its story about buses and planes from Romania and Bulgaria to the UK being full-up and sold-out. On New Year’s Eve last year, the Daily Mail published its story headlined, ‘Sold out! Flights and buses full as Romanians and … [Read more...]
A tale of two British summers: phone hacking and a royal baby
This post by Des Freedman was originally published at Open Democracy, and is reprinted with their kind permission. The royal birth is set to be the face of the 2013 summer, but to what extent does this reveal how little the media has changed since the phone hacking scandal in 2011? What happened to media reform? Prepare for an avalanche of wild speculation, idle gossip, … [Read more...]