Paul Lashmar University of Sussex Just occasionally a cliché does the job, and as John Pilger said of the late Gavin MacFadyen, at the memorial to Gavin in December: “They don’t make them like that anymore”. Gavin was in every way larger than life and the obituaries which have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian and …Continue Reading

Julian Petley Brunel University In its referendum coverage, the BBC stood widely accused of misinterpreting its statutory requirement to treat news and current affairs with “due impartiality” as an obligation to be “balanced”. As a result, as David Cox puts it, “viewers and listeners seeking information were instead bombarded with contradictory and impenetrable claims and counter-claims” and …Continue Reading

Des Freedman Goldsmiths, University of London  Academics like to talk of ‘critical junctures’: moments of great instability when different pressures and crises come together to produce the possibility of dramatic change. I don’t think it would be too controversial to argue that we are facing a such a juncture in relation to the public service media …Continue Reading

John Jewell Cardiff University It is clear that for regional and local journalism these are troubled times – with many titles facing crises which threaten their existence. Morale amongst journalists is demonstrably low – as editor of the Press Gazette Dominic Ponsford has pointed out, at least half the jobs in local newspapers have disappeared in the past decade and …Continue Reading

Peter Jukes The Untold; the Daniel Morgan Murder team The second part the Leveson Inquiry in the culture, ethics and practices of the press was designed to follow on from the first part once all the related criminal cases had concluded to avoid prejudicing any police investigations or court proceedings. All these trials are now …Continue Reading

Máire Messenger Davies Ulster University Member of the Board of Impress On October 25th this year, after months of painstaking preparation and consultation on the part of its staff and Board (of which I am a member), Impress was recognized by the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) as an independent regulator under the terms of the Royal Charter on …Continue Reading