Would cutting the BBC licence fee benefit the consumer?

Davide Morisi, a PhD researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, compares data on public service media funding and viewership in Europe and discusses the implications for the BBC licence fee

Risk-takers and referendums: what happens when voters are better-informed?

Voting for change in a referendum is the riskier option. People who voted for Brexit were more likely to be risk-takers. But when people have more information at their disposal, are they more or less likely to stick with the status quo? Davide Morisi found that when voters were making up their minds about how to vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the better-informed were more likely to choose Yes. But in a similar study conducted in the run-up to the EU referendum, more information made natural risk-takers slightly less inclined to vote Leave. Depending on their natural inclinations, voters can react very differently to the same arguments

EU’s Recognition of Open Data’s Economic Value is Good Start

DCMS has released its response to the consultation on local TV that ended in September, including the announcement of the first locations to be licenced. The response basically confirms the previously published framework, however it does attempt to address some concerns raised here and by others. Nevertheless, as this process moves to Ofcom now for further consultations, two new twists should be considered carefully. These are the suggestion to revise the role of independent producers in broadcasting, and the proposed obligations on local TV to carry party political broadcasts (PPBs). Licences are to be granted through a ‘beauty contest’, but the numbers of interested parties are low. These new twists therefore raise a serious question: if the one contestant is too ‘ugly’ will Ofcom be able to use its discretion to not grant a licence

Brexit and Scottish independence: does campaign information actually change voters’ minds during a referendum?

Both sides of the UK’s referendum campaign have invested huge resources in trying to convince the electorate to back their viewpoint, but how effective are these efforts in actually changing the minds of voters? Drawing on research in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, Davide Morisi illustrates how information can have an impact on the views of the electorate. He notes that much like the pro-independence side in Scotland, the leave campaign’s success will hinge on whether they can convince voters that the risks associated with changing the status quo are worth taking

Information Can Change Opinions: What that means for Scottish independence

Davide Morisi is a Phd researcher in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute in Florence and an LSE alumnus. His research focuses on public opinion and political behavior. He shares the findings from his latest study on the effect of information on voting intentions at the Scottish independence referendum

Why Revenues are a Poor Indicator of Media Influence – the Italian Case

Davide Morisi, with the European Commission’s Communication Directorate presents evidence from Italy that shows the dangers of basing fixed limits aimed at encouraging media plurality solely on company revenue

Berlusconi in Britain: Beppe Severgnini (guest blog)

“A Berlusconi phenomenon is unlikely to happen in Britain, but never say die”. That’s according to leading Italian journalist Beppe Severgnini speaking at LSE’s Italian Society. Polis intern Davide Morisi report

The challenge of measuring media plurality: Expert workshop at the LSE

If News Corp’s decision to spin-off Sky News – paving the way towards the complete acquisition of BSkyB – had been announced before the expert workshop held at the LSE on 2 March, the key questions of the debate would likely have remained the same. Whether or not the deal will be approved, the problem of defining and measuring media plurality is still extremely challenging. The question of how to define and measure media plurality is far from reaching consensus, especially between experts and policy makers

Briefing dossier on the Newscorp/BSkyBMedia merger

POLIS debates the idea of Media Plurality by looking at the case of the proposed full merger of Newscorp and BSkyB in the UK. Details of the event here. You can read a report of the event here. Here is a briefing giving background articles and documents prepared by POLIS interns Davide Morisi and Diana Osipov

Voter mobilisation in the echo chamber: Broadband internet and the rise of populism in Europe

Can the diffusion of broadband internet help explain the recent success of populist parties in Europe? Populists cultivate an anti-elitist communication style, which, they claim, directly connects them with ordinary people. The internet therefore appears to be the perfect tool for populist leaders. This study shows that this notion holds up to rigorous empirical testing. Drawing on survey data from Italy and Germany, a positive correlation is found between use of the internet as a source of political information and voting for populist parties. By instrumenting internet use with broadband coverage at the municipality level, the study then demonstrates that this relationship is causal. The findings suggest that part of the rise of populism can be attributed to the effect of online tools and communication strategies made possible by the proliferation of broadband access