Media Reform Coalition

The Elephant In The Room: New report on UK media ownership

The Media Reform Coalition has today published its newest report ‘The Elephant In The Room: a survey of media ownership…..

From the Financial Times – “The power of the US cable barons must be challenged”

With much of the UK press still opposed to any progressive measures to combat concentration of media ownership, journalists and…..

Media Pluralism Early Day Motion

Following the Parliamentary launch of Reclaim The Media, Tom Watson MP has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House…..

Maria Miller had to go. How will her replacement handle the big decisions?

by Tom Chivers Corrupt? Perhaps. Foolish? Certainly. Maria Miller did herself no favours in handling the row over her expenses…..

30 years after the miners’ strike, the state’s agendas still dominate the press

by Granville Williams It is always educative to get out and about a bit. I’ve certainly been doing that this…..

Islamophobia, press bias and the need for reform

by Ghazal Tipu Muslim faith leaders, media professionals, activists and students gathered in an event last week, in a bid…..

Decriminalising non-payment of licence fee a barely disguised attack on BBC

by Des Freedman After a campaign involving over 150 MPs to add an amendment to the Deregulation Bill, the government…..

Australia swims against the tide of democratic media reform

As debates on media plurality continue in the UK, the Australian government is very quickly taking dangerous action in the…..

A War on the Young? The Closure of BBC Three

by Des Freedman The BBC’s decision to close its sole youth-focused TV channel, BBC Three, is both depressing and divisive……

When are we going to do something about media power?

by Des Freedman Media moguls are losing their power. At least that is what Rupert Murdoch thinks. As he tweeted…..

Crisis management for dummies part one: Set up a public inquiry

by Justin Schlosberg This week we learned lessons in crisis management given by Tony Blair to former News of the World…..

Tony Blair ‘privately advised’ Rebekah Brooks on phone hacking scandal, court hears

By Martin Hickman Tony Blair was privately advising Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers on the phone hacking scandal days after learning its…..

UK high court dismisses David Miranda’s legal challenge to Heathrow detention

by Amy O’Donoghue David Miranda’s claim that his detention by UK authorities under the Terrorism Act was unlawful has been…..

UK falls to #33 in global press freedom rankings

by Amy O’Donoghue Following government harassment of journalists and editors, the UK has fallen from number 29 to 33 on…..

Why Are We So Frightened of Breaking Up ‘Big Media’?

The House of Lords Communications Committee has just published its report into media plurality and few media moguls will be…..

Murdoch and Media Power – Déjà Vu All Over Again?

Thursday sees the announcement of half-year results from BSkyB. There may be a slight dent in its relentless profitability following…..

Distorting the debate on media reform

A delegation from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) arrived in the UK this week to investigate “The British Government’s actions relating to newspaper regulation and the handling of state surveillance.” At a briefing session organised by the LSE on Wednesday, it swiftly became clear that the delegates had been badly misinformed about the debate, both by press reports and by their earlier meeting with Lords Hunt and Black of IPSO.

What Miliband’s Next Pledge Should Be

What follows is an amended version of the lead story in the Guardian, 16 January 2014.

Not a Local Drama

The drama in the ERT case is that the many domestic and international voices against its forced closure are met with the total absence of dialogue by the Greek government, the silence of the mainstream media in the country and the silent tolerance of certain Euro-elites. But this is not a local, Greek drama. It is a case that concerns the future of the rule of law in Greece and in Europe, social cohesion and public interest, and the quality of life for future generations.

John Pilger: ‘Is the media now just another word for control?’

A recent poll asked people in Britain how many Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The answers they gave were shocking. A majority said that fewer than 10,000 had been killed. Scientific studies report that up to a million Iraqi men, women and children died in an inferno lit by the British government and its ally in Washington. That’s the equivalent of the genocide in Rwanda. And the carnage goes on. Relentlessly. What this reveals is how we in Britain have been misled by those whose job is to keep the record straight. …

Press Freedom: A Brief Guide

Recent debates on press ethics and behaviour have focused on the reporting of the mass surveillance programmes of the US National Security Agency and British intelligence agency, GCHQ; and the all-party Royal Charter on press regulation, and its rejection by parts of the press. In light of these developments, our guide outlines the difference between what is and what is not an attack on press freedom.