One of the key features of the new UK government, led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, is the adoption of a ‘mission-driven‘ approach to social policy, which aims to tackle significant societal challenges through clear, ambitious, and measurable long-term objectives. These missions include boosting economic growth, alleviating poverty, reducing crime, devolving powers from Whitehall, and more. However, the initial government programme, as outlined in the King’s Speech, does not mention media, and there has been little discussion of the role of media in the UK as having a defined public purpose. This raises the question of how media practices and policies can align with and support the government’s mission-driven agenda, and what kind of ‘mission-driven media’ is needed for a democratic and inclusive society.
‘Public Purpose Media’ refers to media practices and policies guided by clear, ambitious, and measurable long-term objectives that address significant societal challenges. This approach emphasises a coherent and strategic orientation towards creating tangible improvements in people’s lives through well-defined missions or purposes. The new UK government is adopting a ‘mission-driven’ approach to social policy, characterised by several key elements:
- Ambitious Long-Term Objectives: The government will set overarching missions that provide a sense of direction for policy development across departments. These missions aim to address major societal challenges, ensuring that all efforts are aligned with achieving these long-term goals.
- Evidence-Based Policymaking: Policy development will be informed by robust evidence and analysis. Policymakers will collaborate with analysts and researchers from the early stages to understand problems, evaluate options, and set measurable objectives.
- Structured Policy Formulation: Government departments will follow a structured framework for policy development, including stages such as defining rationale and objectives, appraising options, decision-making, and implementation planning.
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration: The mission-driven approach will break down silos between different parts of government, encouraging departments to work together towards common goals rather than pursuing narrow departmental objectives.
- Stakeholder Engagement: The government will actively engage with various stakeholders, including businesses, trade unions, civil society organisations, faith groups, and communities, to develop and implement policies collaboratively.
- Continuous Evaluation: Evaluation will be integrated throughout the policy cycle, from initial design to implementation and beyond, to assess effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.
The new government’s mission-driven approach represents a shift from traditional reactive policymaking towards a more strategic and long-term orientation. It aims to create a more coherent and effective approach to governance, focusing on delivering tangible improvements in people’s lives and addressing complex systemic challenges facing the country. This approach seeks to foster inclusive and collaborative efforts, leveraging the expertise and input of diverse stakeholders to achieve shared societal goals.
Given the changing media landscape and the social and civic missions outlined above, what is the public purpose of media in the UK today? How can media serve the public interest and respond to the needs and aspirations of diverse communities? How can media regulation and policy support a vibrant, pluralistic, and democratic media ecosystem that contributes to social cohesion, devolution, and civic engagement? These are some of the questions that need to be addressed in the upcoming debate on the future of the BBC and the wider media sector.
The social and civic missions for media in the UK, in my view, need to be centred on promoting social cohesion, supporting the implementation of devolution, fostering collaboration with the civic-society sector, countering propaganda and misinformation, and addressing the challenges posed by new technologies and information systems. These missions highlight the vital role of independent and community media in shaping a well-informed, inclusive, and resilient society.
- Promoting Social Cohesion: Media plays a crucial role in fostering social cohesion by providing platforms for diverse voices and facilitating constructive dialogue. The mission is to use media to bridge divides, encourage mutual understanding, and strengthen community bonds across different regions and social groups.
- Supporting Devolution: Independent and community media are essential in implementing devolution by giving local communities a voice and ensuring their concerns are heard in policymaking processes. This mission involves empowering regional media to reflect local identities and issues, contributing to more responsive and accountable governance.
- Fostering Collaboration with the Civic-Society Sector: Media must work collaboratively with civic-society organisations to address societal challenges and promote public welfare. This mission emphasises partnerships between media outlets and civil society to amplify advocacy efforts, disseminate important information, and engage citizens in policy discussions and community initiatives.
- Countering Propaganda and Misinformation: In an era of information overload and digital manipulation, the media has a critical mission to counter propaganda and misinformation. This involves promoting media literacy, fact-checking, and providing accurate, reliable information to the public. Independent media must remain vigilant and transparent to maintain public trust and uphold democratic values.
- Addressing Technological and Information System Challenges: The rapid advancement of new technologies and information systems presents both opportunities and challenges for media. This mission requires adapting to technological changes, ensuring equitable access to digital platforms, and safeguarding against the misuse of technology for spreading false information or infringing on privacy rights. Media must innovate and evolve while maintaining ethical standards and prioritising the public good.
Independent and community media should be at the forefront of these missions, playing a pivotal role in creating an informed, engaged, and cohesive society. By embracing these social and civic missions, the UK could build a media landscape that is resilient, inclusive, and capable of addressing the complex challenges of the modern world.
To that effect, I would like to see the new Government establish a dedicated forum for ‘public purpose media’ to serve as a counterweight to the commercial and corporate lobbying power of existing commercial and public service media providers. This forum should draw on the values of social gain that were established by the Labour government in 2005, when it introduced community radio, aiming to foster a media landscape that prioritises public interest and community well-being.
The principles of Social Gain in community radio are:
- Inclusivity: Ensuring diverse voices are represented and heard, reflecting the rich tapestry of communities across the UK.
- Localism: Supporting media that is rooted in and responsive to local communities, addressing local issues and concerns.
- Access and Participation: Facilitating broad public access to media platforms and encouraging active participation in media creation and consumption.
- Education and Literacy: Promoting media literacy and education to empower citizens with the skills to critically engage with media content.
- Transparency and Accountability: Upholding high standards of transparency and accountability within media organisations to build and maintain public trust.
- Democratic Engagement: Strengthening democratic processes by providing platforms for civic dialogue and debate, and ensuring media serves as a watchdog for democratic accountability.
The principles of social gain, moreover, need to be recentred at the heart of the media policy discussions, to ensure that media serves the public good, rather than purely commercial or the states interests. This involves:
- Policy Development: Integrating social gain principles into media regulation and policy development to ensure that media practices align with the broader social and democratic objectives. Is Ofcom fit-for-purpose in this regard, as its regulatory responsibilities do not clearly separate the interests of the citizen from the commercial market.
- Funding and Support: Allocating resources and support to community and independent media initiatives that embody the values of social gain, enabling them to thrive and contribute meaningfully to the media landscape. Shifting to an ‘investment’ principle, means media can be directed towards specific public purpose, such as raising literacy and health awareness levels.
- Public Engagement: Encouraging public engagement and participation in media governance and decision-making processes to ensure media policies reflect the needs and interests of all citizens. The requirement for direct participation in media governance and decision-making is unique to community radio and should be a model for other platforms and development approaches.
- Countering Lobbying Power: Establishing a public purpose media forum that can advocate for the interests of community and independent media, providing a counterbalance to the influence of commercial and corporate media lobbying. Who gets to talk with ministers, their advisors and the Civil Servants is of vital importance. This process needs to be open to scrutiny.
By establishing a forum for public purpose media, the Government can ensure that media in the UK becomes an innovative and creative tool for social cohesion, democratic engagement, and community empowerment. This initiative would build on the legacy of community radio and reaffirm the commitment to media that serves the public interest and promotes social gain.