A Media Policy Agenda for 2022
A bitesize look at the challenges for UK media in the coming year.
Campaigners at the Media Reform Coalition (MRC) have produced a useful policy briefing that provides an overview of key issues for progressive development in, and protection of, the media industry.
In 2021, the MRC published several pieces of crucial research: the UK Media Influence Matrix, which evaluated the regulation, governance, funding and ownership of the UK media; the Manifesto for a People’s Media, which outlined a vision for a broadcasting and publishing industry that could meet the challenges of the upcoming decade; and an update to their research on UK media ownership, which has been tracking the growing concentration of media groups in the hands of large multinational companies since 2015.
Since the publication of that latest update in March last year, the concern around ‘Big Media’ has worsened significantly; in 2021, the Tories announced plans to privatise Channel 4, and just this week that they will abolish the BBC license fee.
Today’s policy briefing draws together several key issues that progressive campaigners are tackling, providing a useful bitesize overview for anyone interested, but most crucially for policymakers:
The future of the BBC and the licence fee
Channel 4 privatisation
Government appointments and media independence
Media plurality
Local journalism and press regulation
Check out the report below, and feel free to share far and wide.
Disclaimer: I write the MRC’s weekly blog.
For more media news, and the latest on Power and Pop Culture, subscribe to Chompsky for free OR pay less than £5 ($7) a month to get all my articles and the weekly news/campaigns roundup newsletter 👇👇👇 Thanks!
If you can’t subscribe, you’re still very welcome here. Please share to show your support instead! 👇👇👇 Thank you.