Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (CPBF)
for diverse, democratic and accountable media
The end of CPBF At the 2018 AGM of CPBF the following motion to close down the Campaign, proposed by our National Council (NC) passed: “In view of the continuing decline of the financial situation of our organisation this Annual General Meeting has decided to close down the CPBF and cease all campaigning, administrative and financial processes by no later than 30th November … [Read more...]
Prolific NorthThe Secretary of State, Matt Hancock, has approved Reach’s (formerly Trinity Mirror) takeover of Express Newspapers. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: Continuing to work with staff to improve the reach and commercial success of the titles should now be Simon Fox’s priority. Full and meaningful consultation with the NUJ is vital to address the concerns of … [Read more...]
The Campaign's AGM on Saturday July 14 could well be its last. The National Council has decided to recommend that the CPBF be dissolved, and its officers have prepared a plan for winding down. The decision was, of course, not taken lightly. Many on the NC have been involved with CPBF since the beginning, fighting for media workers’ rights and campaigning for a better … [Read more...]
The Media Reform Coalition cautiously welcomes the Culture Secretary’s statement agreeing with the main finding of the Fox/Sky merger review: that the deal poses a serious risk to the public interest on plurality grounds. We are disappointed that neither he nor the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have expressed similar concerns in regard to Fox’s commitment to … [Read more...]
As we said to the Morning Star: In the run up to this important vote dozens of remarkably similar editorials in the local and national press made very spurious claims about how Leveson 2 and the implementation of Section 40 would somehow gag and bankrupt them. These accounts all fail to mention one very important fact: both the cross-party Department for Cultue Media and Sport … [Read more...]
Liis Saar How we might go about creating and funding a Minimum Viable Platform for Better Media? The Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom would like to invite all individual members of the CPBF and delegates from our affiliated organisations to attend our Annual General Meeting to be held on Saturday 14 July 2018 at the Diskus Centre, Unite HQ, 128 Theobalds Road, … [Read more...]
With Banners Held HighWith Banners Held High is a free full-day community festival celebrating the culture and diversity of the Trade Union movement, and traditions of collective spirit. The event includes: Live Music and Poetry from Matt Hill the Quiet Loner Joe Solo Matt Abbott Jethro Platts Del Scott Miller and MANY more Drama Film Discussion sessions … [Read more...]
Last week Culture Secretary Matt Hancock decided to scrap part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry (whose terms of reference included looking into crime and wrongdoings within the Murdoch empire). This does not bode well for his forthcoming decision about whether or not to give Murdoch even MORE power by allowing his bid for Sky to proceed. And with less than two weeks left of our … [Read more...]
Parliament LiveThe government decisions to ditch the resumption of the Leveson Inquiry, and to repeal the unused law to encourage the media to go to arbitration to settle complaints, are no surprise, but they are based on lies. Culture secretary Matt Hancock said that he took the measures to protect press freedom, on the grounds that both further investigation by Leveson, and the new law … [Read more...]
CNNIn yet another twist in the on-going saga for control of Sky, Comcast have announced a bid for Sky that is higher than that made Murdoch-controlled 21 Century Fox (this after 21CF has itself agreed to sell most of its assets, including its share in Sky to Disney). The Comcast bid raises fewer and different concerns than Fox; CPBF is generally against the ever-greater … [Read more...]