🚨 THE FULL PROGRAMME IS HERE! 🚨 From tackling corporate monopolies & algorithmic censorship to a People's Assembly, the official schedule for Media Democracy Festival '26 is locked in. Explore the sessions and get your free pass today! 👇 mediademocracyfestival.co.uk/programme/ 🧵

ANNOUNCING: Clive Lewis @labourlewis.bsky.social as a panel speaker at Media Democracy Festival 26! 🗣️🗞️ The Labour MP for Norwich South will join the 'Media Ownership' panel, hosted by the MRC on June 27, to discuss corporate monopolies and public interest journalism. mediademocracyfestival.co.uk

ANNOUNCING: Peter Jukes peterjukes.bsky.social as a panel speaker at Media Democracy Festival 26! 🗣️🗞️ The co-founder & exec director of bylinetimes.bsky.social will join 'Who Pays for Democracy?' - hosted by the Independent Media Association. 27 June FREE >> mediademocracyfestival.co.uk

ANNOUNCING: @rachelmillward.bsky.social - keynote speaker at Media Democracy Festival 26! 🗣️ The Deputy Leader of @greenparty.org.uk will join calls for media fit for the 21st-century. Panels, workshops & people's assembly on The Future of Public Media. 27 June, London. mediademocracyfestival.co.uk

"We need a regulation of press which is compulsory so that victims of the press can receive justice" Tom Chivers of @mediareformuk.bsky.social #ChangeNOW 🤝

The Media Democracy Festival is back! 27th June, London. Tickets now available. mediademocracyfestival.co.uk 👈 Join to hear from experts, join in workshops to discuss, participate and shape 'The Future of Public Media' ⭐ THE ⭐ topic of our time.

How the UK media has wrongly shaped knowledge about some of the UK’s most important Trans+ legal cases 👇 www.wearequeeraf.com/how-the-uk-m...

The new BBC Director-General must serve as a champion for audiences & break with the many failures of his predecessors. This requires a totally different way of thinking from his career as a Google executive. MRC statement on Matt Brittin's appointment: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/matt-br...

Young people deserve a central role in shaping the future of the BBC, but they've being left out of BBC Charter renewal. Join us with the Sir Lenny Henry Centre & Birmingham City Uni for this first event in a UK-wide, student-led conversation on the BBC. Wednesday 2pm: www.bcusu.com/ents/event/8...

Young people deserve a central role in shaping the future of the BBC, but they've being left out of BBC Charter renewal. Join us with the Sir Lenny Henry Centre & Birmingham City Uni for this first event in a UK-wide, student-led conversation on the BBC. Wednesday 2pm: www.bcusu.com/ents/event/8...

A permanent Charter won't end government control over the BBC. The BBC must be run democratically, by the British public What's more, Lisa Nandy's announcement - made to a private corporate media event - violates principles of open & transparent policymaking: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/bbc-cha...

The MRC's Tom Chivers spoke to Radio 4's Feedback about what's next for BBC Charter renewal. The tick-box DCMS consultation closed this week. Now it's up to the BBC & parliament to empower the public in deciding the BBC's future. Listen to the interview from 13:45: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

We're delighted that @weownit.org.uk have joined our campaign demanding a democratic public-led BBC Charter Review The future of the BBC & public media must not be decided behind closed doors. Government must give the public an active and direct role: www.mediareform.org.uk/key-issues/b...

"A cooperative BBC based on membership" Bold proposals from @cooperativesuk.bsky.social in response to Charter Review, calling for a mutual BBC owned & accountable to the public Grateful that they have drawn on the MRC & @cmmonwealth.bsky.social's proposals on mutualisation:

We're delighted that @weownit.org.uk have joined our campaign demanding a democratic public-led BBC Charter Review The future of the BBC & public media must not be decided behind closed doors. Government must give the public an active and direct role: www.mediareform.org.uk/key-issues/b...

Parliament has a vital role in opening BBC Charter Review to the public. Yet 4 months in to the review & with the DMCS consultation finished, parliament's media Committees have not yet announced inquiries. We've written to the Chairs of the Commons and Lords committees requesting more information:

And our Public Lock appears in @mediareformuk.bsky.social’s open collection of policy proposals, the Alternative Green Paper: www.mediareform.org.uk/bbc-alternat...

📢 Upcoming Webinar 📺 #BBC #CharterReview: The Alternative Green Paper 📅 3 March 2026 | 5–6.30pm What should the future of the BBC look like? Join us for expert insights and debate on public service broadcasting in a changing media landscape. 🎟️ Register: lse.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #MediaPolicy

Today @mediareformuk.bsky.social launches its Alternative Green Paper; a compilation of proposals for radical BBC reform from civil society, campaign groups, media experts & members of the public. www.mediareform.org.uk/bbc-alternat...

TONIGHT 5pm: The launch of the Alternative Green Paper, a public collection of radical proposals for reforming the BBC. Join the MRC with @labourlewis.bsky.social, @vlvuk.bsky.social, @demos-uk.bsky.social, @equityuk.bsky.social & more for this crucial debate on the BBC's future. Link in next post:

A few of us were at this event and, well, yes, this just about sums it up.

The TV licence fee is a failed and faltering way to fund the BBC. Yet BBC execs and Government ministers resist exploring a radically new funding model In the latest Whose Beeb?, Dr Tom Chivers looks at why tinkering at the edges won't save the BBC's future finances:

I have put forward a parliamentary motion calling for Parliament and the British public to have an active, direct and democratic role in deciding the BBC’s future. @mediareformuk.bsky.social

The government's official probe into the Daily Mail/Telegraph takeover is a critical test of our democracy. The deal would give Lord Rothermere control over almost *50%* of national print and 1/8th of online news reach - it must be stopped: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/dmgt-tm...

Polling suggests the majority of the public wants the press to be regulated independently. Read More here: zurl.co/UbMza Polling conducted by Opinium of 2050 people

We’re told the BBC belongs to us. The truth is we have no power over how 'our BBC' is run, governed or funded. Subscribe to Whose Beeb? - a newsletter about the politics & policy of BBC Charter review - for the latest news & analysis on how these debates are shaping the future of UK public media:

How do you design public media for a country that does not (yet) exist? A new blog post by Dr Phil Ramsey and Dr Roddy Flynn, about their report on what a new public service media organisation in a United Ireland could look like: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/psm-uni...

Are we settling for the status quo with the Government’s Charter review—or missing an opportunity for real change? Prof Lee Edwards LSE & Media Reform Coalition dissects the green paper in this thought-provoking episode 🎧 Listen podfollow.com/beebwatch #BBC #Podcast #MediaReform #PublicService #LSE

We set out a number of recommendations and propose a new institutional and operational structure to enable: ➡️ Stronger constitutional foundations ➡️ Reformed, more independent governance ➡️ Embedding citizen participation to strengthen resilience

Detailed proposals from @demos-uk.bsky.social for democratic reform of the BBC, preserving & expanding its role as critical "information infrastructure" Its ideas for a citizens' panel, a 'public lock' & independent funding merit serious consideration in the government's ongoing BBC Charter review

"These horrific murders may seem like ancient history. But they are at the centre of astonishing legal claims against [the Daily Mail], which is currently bidding to increase its hold on the British media by buying the Telegraph group." @bylinetimes.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2026/01/19/a...

Handing Lord Rothermere almost 50% of the UK's newspaper market would be a deathblow to media plurality - the Daily Mail/Telegraph takeover must be blocked. We have written to the Culture Secretary, urging the Government to formally intervene in the deal: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/dmgt-tm...

A blueprint for permanent decline - read the MRC's analysis of the Green Paper on BBC Charter renewal: 💷 Adverts & paywalls will destroy BBC's public service mission 🏛️ No serious reform to broken political appointments 🚫 An undemocratic tickbox consultation www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/dcms-bb...

BBC Charter review must not ignore the views of audiences - Gvmt has to give UK public a democratic say on BBC's future @scotnational.bsky.social report on our joint letter to Lisa Nandy with 20 groups incl. @campaignforthearts.org @vlvuk.bsky.social @involveuk.bsky.social @sortitionnow.bsky.social

Unless these historic debates on the BBC give the public real power to decide its future, even well-intentioned reforms will lack the democratic legitimacy the BBC needs from its audiences. Read our vice-chair Tom Chivers in a guest blog for @publicinterestnews.org.uk on BBC Charter renewal:

The BBC Charter review should be a democratic public debate about the BBC's future. But the government's consultation launched this week doesn't give the public a genuine role & is fixated on replacing public funding with advertising or subscription Our vice-chair Dr Tom Chivers spoke to LBC News:

The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has told Newsnight that the BBC's Charter review will begin "within the next few weeks". This is an historic, once-in-a-generation debate. It must not repeat the undemocratic gimmicks of past reviews & instead give the public real power over the BBC's future:

As exposed by the @mediareformuk.bsky.social, not only do just three press barons control 90% of newspaper circulation, but now tech oligarchs are expanding their hold over digital news. This is, to put it mildly, bad. bsky.app/profile/medi...

Thanks to @equalitytrust.bsky.social for featuring our Who Owns The UK Media? research in their landmark report on concentrated elite power. A bad situation getting worse with Mail/Telegraph and Comcast/ITV takeovers. Read Guardian coverage & the full report: equalitytrust.org.uk/evidence-bas...

Are you happy to let aristocrats and tech billionaires speak for you? If so, you'll love our new report in the Guardian on money, the media, and the House of Lords 👇

The BBC belongs to all of us, but the public never get a say in major decisions about the BBC’s future. This has to change if public media is going to survive 5,000 people have signed our @38degrees.bsky.social petition in just a few hours - add your voice & demand a democratic Charter review:

📺 Following resignations over a misleadingly edited Trump speech by the #BBC, there's growing calls for systemic reform as we approach the Charter Review - with @mediareformuk.bsky.social and @psbfuture.bsky.social sharing their ideas 👉 britishbroadcastingchallenge.com?mc_cid=487de...

If Lord Rothermere's DMG Media takes control of the Telegraph, he would own nearly 50% of the UK's national newspaper industry - and a huge share of all online news reach. Britain's media is rapidly being Orbanised: government must act to protect media plurality www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Speaking at an event this afternoon about the state of our media. Who owns our media? A very few corporations, as @mediareformuk.bsky.social regularly charts. And that's a big problem for #democracy www.mediareform.org.uk/media-owners...

Davie's resignation is yet more proof: The BBC is an unaccountable, undemocratic institution - captured by political appointees, cowed by the press & unrepresentative of the public. We need an alternative. Read our @cmmonwealth.bsky.social proposals for a mutualised BBC, controlled directly by us

The BBC has never had a Director-General who so actively and thoroughly degraded the BBC's services & its distinctly public purpose. Tim Davie wrecked local radio, flattened UK news, abandoned the BBC's universality & allowed the licence fee to become venture capital for selling off British content

The final episode of ITV's The Hack aired last night. It promised to give the NOTW hacking scandal the 'Mr Bates' treatment. So what went wrong? Watch @peterjukes.bsky.social @nakedpolitics.bsky.social @femi-oluwole.bsky.social & MRC's Tom Chivers discuss this and more on After The Hack!

We finally have the last edition of the Hack, out now! Thanks for those of you who've gone on the journey with our companion piece to ITV's the Hack. It's been a fun ride, and we know that a better media is possible @hackedoff.bsky.social @mediareformuk.bsky.social youtu.be/KnJNLrJC5Yc

The final episode of ITV's The Hack aired last night. It promised to give the NOTW hacking scandal the 'Mr Bates' treatment. So what went wrong? Watch @peterjukes.bsky.social @nakedpolitics.bsky.social @femi-oluwole.bsky.social & MRC's Tom Chivers discuss this and more on After The Hack!

🚨 Episode 6 Is LIVE! 🚨 Watch our latest instalment of the After The Hack review show, with @bylinetimes.bsky.social & @impressorg.bsky.social! Watch here: youtu.be/pnJ-rBV36Ig @hackedoff.bsky.social @peterjukes.bsky.social @itvx.com @davidtennantdaily.bsky.social @nakedpolitics.bsky.social