Sobre arenas movedizas: la BBC en la era del post-consenso

This article reflects on the BBC’s role in (re)shaping a hegemonic agenda consensus and offers a radical appraisal of its public service performance at a time of unprecedented political upheaval in the UK. It draws on a recent case study to suggest that the BBC’s overarching lean towards an elite and ideological worldview is increasingly exposed, and can no longer be defended with recourse to notions of due impartiality.Este artículo propone una reflexión acerca del rol de la BBC a propósito de la reconfiguración de la agenda de consenso hegemónico, al tiempo que ofrece una evaluación radical de la actuación de su servicio público en un tiempo de convulsión política sin precedentes en Reino Unido. Se parte de un reciente caso de estudio para sugerir que la supremacía de la BBC en torno a una élite y a una visión ideológica del mundo, está cada vez más cuestionada, de modo que ya no puede ser defendida en relación a nociones de debida imparcialidad

Ofcom’s Plurality Framework: Protecting the Status Quo?

Justin Schlosberg, from Birkbeck, University of London, responds to this week’s publication of Ofcom’s measurement framework for media plurality, arguing that the choice of metrics and the lack of ‘clear bright lines’ in the framework hamper a proper review of media concentration, and instead simply preserve the status quo. He has previously written a policy brief on Modelling Media Ownership Limits for the Media Policy Project

The mission of media in an age of monopoly

Launched on 26th May on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, ResPublica’s latest report, The Mission of Media in an Age of Monopoly, argues that the trend for media outlets to be increasingly owned and controlled in an oligopolistic, non-transparent fashion is damaging to the health of our democracy. The report recommends a series of steps to both raise the public profile of this issue and to regulate concentrations of media power where these are found. Using case studies drawn from countries across Europe, the Essay examines instances of excessive media concentration and the power which individuals can accrue by this means. It argues that the response to this threat must come through encouraging transparency and plurality from the bottom up. The report discusses important contemporary issues including the future of the BBC, and the role of large scale news intermediaries such as Google and Facebook in supporting both established and emergent journalistic outlets. Its recommendations build on the findings of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards, and while many are particular to the UK context they also have strong resonance for broader policy debates at the EU level and in many parts of the world. We aim to create more virtuous media markets, which serve to inform, defend and represent citizens across the UK and Europe. We believe that progressive reform towards this end is both necessary and possible, and our proposals will see a redistribution of media power to promote a more democratic, plural and transparent media landscape

Half empty or full? The politics of measuring media plurality

Justin Schlosberg of Birkbeck, University of London looks at why the media ownership and plurality debates are stuck on the issue of measurement and argues that better assessment is needed before the right metrics can be chosen