The IMPRESS Project: a viable, independent model of press regulation?

Jonathan Heawood is director of the IMPRESS Project, which is building a regulatory body for the UK press. Last week, he spoke with the LSE Media Policy Project and members of the industry, academia and civil society about the project’s progress and goals. Here is an excerpt of his remarks

Summer reading ideas from the LSE Media Policy Project

At the Media Policy Project we are often asked for readings by those wishing to get up to speed on complex policy issues: this is why we produce our policy briefs and topic guides. As many of our readers are likely to be taking summer holidays this month and next, IMPRESS Project Founding Director Jonathan Heawood (writing here in a personal capacity) suggests reflecting on current tensions in journalism through the novels of Raymond Chandler

That Feeling When You Are Held Accountable – IMPRESS CEO

jonathan heawoodEarlier this week the Press Recognition Panel agreed to recognise IMPRESS as an approved press regulator, convinced that it satisfied the 23 criteria set out under the Royal Charter. IMPRESS CEO Jonathan Heawood reflects on the process. See here for background to the decision

Media Wealth Building: The Report of the Local News Plans Project

Between September 2022 and January 2023, the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) worked with local communities in Bangor, Bristol, Folkestone, Glasgow, Manchester and Newry, to create 'Local News Plans' for their areas.                                                                                           We facilitated discussions between local stakeholders, including news providers, businesses, community groups, councillors and others, to find out what they think about the state of local news, what impact this is having on their communities, and what they believe is needed to build a more sustainable local news economy.We're excited to share the full Local News Plans project report, written by Jonathan Heawood and Sameer Padania  in collaboration with NewsNow, the UK's independent news discovery platform. We found that:People believe that local news should be truly local. They don't want 'cookiecutter' local news, but original local news that truly reflects their area. Despite their passion and commitment, local news providers are struggling to meet this need. Commercial providers are chasing page views, whilst independent providers are burning themselves out with long hours and low pay.Local stakeholders are keen to support new funding models for local news. They recognise that old revenue models have been disrupted, but they believe that, in many places, new sources of local funding can be found for local news.The Local News Planning process unlocks collaboration. It brings people together in a powerful spirit of creativity, agency and optimism.These findings confirm the scale of the challenge facing local news, but they also ?contain the seeds of a new approach that we call 'media wealth building'