Community Radio: Deliberative Media Communities at the Heart of Media Reform

Job done, Lord Puttnam: the “terrible silence” is broken

By Mike Jempson In tabling his contentious amendments to the Defamation Bill, Lord Puttnam made clear that they were “designed…..

Finally, editors are breaking ranks on press reform

By Angela Phillips As cross party talks on press reform enter a critical phase, the editors are, at last, breaking…..

Rupert Murdoch: it’s about wealth and power, not profit

By David McKnight A great many books have been written about Rupert Murdoch. So why write another one? In my…..

Press gobbles up the carrots but runs away from the sticks

Press gobbles up the carrots but runs away from the sticks The Defamation Bill is in danger of being lost……

Left, right or nowhere? Building a broad-based coalition for media reform

Deborah Grayson is the Campaigns Coordinator for the Media Reform Coalition. She delivered the following paper at Media Policy Post-Leveson:…..

Back to Methusalah…with the Black/Hunt gang

Mike Jempson, Director of MediaWise considers the latest developments in press regulation. A free (and pluralist) press is one of…..

The seven capital sins of corporate-owned media: how ownership concentration curtails media freedoms in Europe

By Benedetta Brevini 2 February 2013 For the first time since the adoption of the Charter of Fundamental rights, which…..

Was the EU report on media regulation reported fairly by our press?

by Horatio Mortimer A group of experts convened by the vice president of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, this week…..

The Post-Leveson Quest for The Recogniser

In his Report Lord Justice Leveson recommended statutory underpinning for a replacement to the PCC. Although the Prime Minister adamantly…..

Labour promises to vote on statutory underpinning

By Carolina Are According to the Press Gazette, the Labour Party has promised to vote on the issue of statutory…..

Media ownership battles in Argentina

Media Reform is committed to limits on media ownership to tackle concentrated media power in this country and to establish a foundation for more ethical news media. You may therefore be interested in a debate over the implications of the Audiovisusal Communication Services Act in Argentina, passed in 2009, which aims to diversify the airwaves and introduce tough rules on media ownership. We publish below a response by Argentine academics and activists to a recent post on the LSE Media Policy Blog which criticises the law – and its supporters – for underestimating the threat it poses to media freedom. We look forward to a debate over these issues in the UK!

Lords support limits on ownership

Today, several members of the House of Lords voiced their support for limits on media ownership in the Lords debate on the Leveson Report. The following quotes echo many of the arguments and recommendations put forward by the Media Reform Coalition:

Leveson makes way for PCC Mark II

Mike Jempson, Director of The MediaWise Trust, looks at the prospects of a revamped PCC and asks ‘where is the public in this debate’?

Media corporations: too big to fail?

As with the banking system, Des Freedman argues that Britain needs to shake up the way its media works as…..

Ministers are realising they might need statute after all

Question: when is statutory underpinning not statutory? Answer: when it is proposed by Oliver Letwin. As the Government tie themselves…..

Royal Charters and media independence: past lessons

Media Reform welcomes Hacked Off’s statement that the government’s proposals for a Royal Charter to guide independent press regulation are…..

Leveson’s best cure is to limit the power of media empires

This piece, by Ricken Patel of Avaaz, originally appeared in the Guardian. Like Media Reform, Avaaz wants to see strong…..

Leveson round up: the good and the bad

So the politicians have called upon the editors to find a solution to press reform. The two bodies whose interlinking…..

The spinning of Shami Chakrabarti

Early this week, the Daily Mail appeared to enlist Liberty director Shami Chakrabati as an enemy of Lord Justice Leveson……

Bills and shills: how to make sure Leveson sticks

Amidst all the storm that Leveson has caused, it’s worth noting how similar his proposals are to ones made in…..

The day after Leveson: ethics and the ‘raucous’ press

Do we need a whisteblowing hotline for journalists? How can we protect the idealism of young journalists from the economic…..