The UK’s media landscape is at a crossroads. Decentered Media has long argued that the erosion of local media institutions has left a void in civic engagement, democratic participation, and cultural representation. Yet, policy discussions led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and Ofcom continue to overlook a vital component: the social and cultural needs that underpin media’s role in a functioning society.
Current government and regulatory frameworks focus on market-driven imperatives—profitability, digital transformation, and commercial viability—while failing to acknowledge media as an essential foundational service. In his book Culture is Not an Industry, Justin O’Connor highlights the detrimental effects of framing cultural production as an economic driver rather than a public good. This perspective aligns with the Foundational Economy framework, which argues for a re-evaluation of essential services—not by their commercial value but by their contribution to collective well-being, social resilience, and civic engagement.
The Hollowing Out of ‘Media-in-the-Middle’
One of the most damaging consequences of the UK’s market-centric media policies is the absence of what we call ‘media-in-the-middle’—those independent, community-rooted platforms that sit between state-backed public service broadcasters and large corporate media conglomerates. This middle ground—local newspapers, community radio stations, civic journalism initiatives—is being hollowed out due to a lack of policy recognition and financial support.
Government strategy remains locked into a false binary: either public service broadcasting (represented by the BBC and Channel 4) or the commercial media sector (dominated by digital giants and corporate conglomerates). What’s missing is a framework that acknowledges the vital role of local, community-led media as a key component of a healthy democratic and cultural ecosystem.
This failure of imagination and policy has had tangible consequences:
- Local news deserts are expanding, with community voices struggling to be heard.
- Commercial consolidation means local stations are replaced by national content with no connection to communities.
- Community radio and independent journalism receive minimal regulatory or financial support, leaving them vulnerable.
- Digital platforms dominate the information landscape, prioritising engagement-driven algorithms over civic value.
The result? A less cohesive society, where citizens have fewer opportunities to engage in media on their own terms, for their own social needs.
Foundational Economy Principles for Media Reform
The Foundational Economy model provides a roadmap for reversing this trend by treating media as an essential infrastructure for democracy and social well-being, not simply a marketplace commodity. Applying this framework to UK media reform would require:
- Media as a Public Good
- Recognising community media as an integral part of the media system, eligible for public investment and structural support.
- Positioning independent journalism and local broadcasting as necessary for democratic participation, not just entertainment or commerce.
- Well-Being Over Profit
- Measuring media success by its ability to inform, empower, and connect communities, rather than by advertising revenue or audience metrics.
- Investing in non-commercial models of media production, such as cooperatives and community trusts.
- Local Resilience & Decentralisation
- Shifting media policy away from London-centric decision-making, ensuring regional and local media initiatives receive equitable funding and support.
- Encouraging cooperative ownership models, where communities control and sustain their own media platforms.
- Collective Responsibility & Civic Investment
- Introducing public funding models that treat community media as vital infrastructure, much like libraries or local transport.
- Establishing community media funds paid for by levies on digital platforms like Google and Meta, ensuring tech companies contribute to the sustainability of civic information ecosystems.
- Sustainability & Long-Term Thinking
- Moving away from short-term grant cycles that lead to boom-and-bust funding.
- Encouraging ‘slow journalism’ and long-form community storytelling over click-driven content churn.
- Equity and Access
- Making foundational media universally accessible, including in rural and underrepresented communities.
- Ensuring diverse voices, including those from marginalised communities, are heard and supported.
- Revaluing Media Workers
- Recognising local journalists, broadcasters, and media producers as essential workers in the democratic process.
- Improving pay and working conditions for community media practitioners, ensuring sustainable careers in the sector.
The UK’s Weakening of Community Media Regulation: A Dangerous Oversight
At precisely the moment when a foundational economy approach could justify greater investment in independent, cooperative, and locally-owned media, the UK government is moving in the opposite direction. Ofcom’s regulatory stance is watering down community media provisions, creating more barriers rather than removing them. Current reviews of media policy fail to integrate a needs-based approach, excluding civic society and public service voices from crucial discussions about the future of media.
If policymakers continue to ignore the role of community-led media, the UK risks further disempowering its citizens, eroding trust in institutions, and deepening the social and democratic crisis caused by an unaccountable, commercially-driven media system.
A New Vision for UK Media
If the government is serious about making media fit for the future, it must embrace the principles of the Foundational Economy and acknowledge that media is a public good, not just an industry. A renewed vision for UK media might include:
- A Community Media Act that guarantees stable funding and infrastructure for local and independent outlets who are focussed on social need and social gain/benefit.
- A ‘Media Commons Fund’ supported by levies on digital giants, reinvesting in local journalism and community storytelling, with participatory governance, media literacies and accountability at its core.
- Stronger regulation to limit media monopolies, ensuring that UK media reflects all communities, not just corporate interests.
- A National Cooperative Media Initiative, creating a network of publicly funded, independently run community media hubs that bring together different community media providers on the basis of collaboration and co-production, with democratic accountability and social pluralism as its safeguard.
Given the anxiety created by the capricious nature of the tech-bros who control much of our media, it is not enough to wring our hands and do nothing. We stand at a defining moment. The choice is clear: continue on the path of media centralisation, commercialisation, and civic disengagement, or adopt a visionary approach that sees media as a foundational pillar of democracy and cultural life. The UK has an opportunity to lead the way in recognising the civic and social value of media, but only if it breaks free from the failed ‘creative industries’ paradigm and embraces a policy framework that puts people and communities first.
Decentered Media is committed to advocating for this shift. The question is—will policymakers have the vision to follow?