Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (CPBF)
for diverse, democratic and accountable media
If we want peace, justice and sustainability we need land, money and media reform. Land and banking reform are the big ones, but we need media reform first; without it we'll never have the quality of public discourse needed to bring about wider systems change. As activist and author David Korten once put it: The key to changing the course of the human future, is to change the … [Read more...]
by Julian Petley What has resolutely united such unlikely bedfellows as the Guardian and the Telegraph, the Mail and the Mirror? It’s the Cliff Richard judgement, and their objections to it are as wrong-headed and ill-informed as they are unanimous. Briefly, they are concerned that Mr Justice Mann “has decided that article 8 [of the European Convention on Human Rights], … [Read more...]
Liis Saar CPBF's submission to the Cairncross review call for evidence: … [Read more...]
The International Federation of Journalists has warmly welcomed ideas put forward by UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to raise funds to support investigative and public service media by forcing big technology firms to pay their fair share of tax. Plans to democratise the BBC, give tax breaks to not-for-profit public interest journalistic outfits and to build an … [Read more...]
Garry KnightThe Media Reform Coalition writes: Jeremy Corbyn’s proposals for major reforms to our ‘failing’ media system, outlined in a speech to the Edinburgh Television Festival on 23 August, are much-needed and long overdue. They lay out the basis for a more accountable and representative media that promotes new sources of independent journalism, demands that the biggest tech … [Read more...]
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “The NUJ welcomes bold proposals that seek to protect and bolster public service broadcasting, and aim to carve a future for the BBC that is free from the ceaseless political pot-shots lobbed its way in the last two licence-fee settlements that have undermined its resources and threatened its ability to deliver quality content … [Read more...]
Plans to tax leading media-technology firms, as outlined by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today (Thursday 23 August), would finance much needed greater diversity in the media, Unite, the country’s largest union, said. Unite said that the Labour leader is ‘definitely on the right track’ with his proposals for a ‘digital license fee’ to help BBC funding and diversity, paid for … [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...]
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...]
IAB UKThe Media Reform Coalition have written about why the Leveson Inquiry must be allowed to finish its work. They conclude that: If we never get to the bottom of the webs of institutional corruption that have persisted for decades between elements of the press, police and politicians, then the real problem is a systemic failure of justice and accountability. That is why the … [Read more...]