In order to create a democracy society, we have to first create a democratic media.

16 March 2024, 11:00 – 18:30 GMT

University of Sheffield, The Diamond building

Every year, the Media Democracy Festival brings together activists, independent media organisations, academics and policymakers to understand what’s happening in the media landscape. This year’s MDF, held at the University of Sheffield, brought together media reform campaigners, media workers, researchers and members of the public to debate how we can reshape the media so that it works for people, not profit.

Watch the full recordings on the Media Democracy Festival 2024 YouTube playlist

PROGRAMME:

• 11.00 Opening keynote: Matt Kennard, Declassified UK
  
  
• 12.00 Panel: How to solve a problem like GB News
  With Helen Belcher (Trans Media Watch), Michael Crick, Marcela Pizarro Coloma (Goldsmiths) and Faisal Hanif (Centre for Media Monitoring)
  
• 12.00 Workshop: What is media democracy?
  Debs Grayson
  
  
• 14.00 Panel: The media’s war on Gaza
  With Sara Husseini (British Palestinian Committee), Hani Barghouthi, Liz Fekete (Institute of Race Relations) Rizwana Hamid (Centre for Media Monitoring) and Hamza Yusuf.
  
• 14.00 Workshop: Media Transformed
  Lucinda Guy
  Alice Armstrong
  
  
• 16.00 Panel: General Election 2024: Priorities for media reform
  With Hani Barghouthi (PINF), Tom Chivers (MRC) and Hamish Gibson (IMPRESS)
  
• 16.00 Media workers for change
  Thomas Barlow (IMA), Ann Field (Unite), Tim Gopsill (Yorkshire Bylines), Pablo Navarrete (Alborada), Daniel Ionescu (The Lincolnite)
  
  
• 17.00 Closing keynote: Paul Fleming, General Secretary of Equity
  In conversation with Banseka Kayembe, Naked Politics

Featuring keynote addresses on investigative journalism, alongside debates on ‘alt-news’ channels, the media’s war on Gaza and priorities for media reform ahead of the general election, this year’s Media Democracy Festival was an energising, thought-provoking and urgent gathering.

With economic crises, global conflicts and an upcoming UK general election all exposing the failures of our current media system, strengthening the movement for a transformed democratic media is more vital than ever.

Our media is broken. Be part of the movement to fix it.