This week saw the publication of two significant reports that shine a spotlight on the state of the UK’s media landscape. Ofcom released its Annual Report on the BBC for 2023-2024, assessing how well the BBC is fulfilling its Mission and Public Purposes, its impact on competition, and adherence to content standards. Meanwhile, the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published its report, The Future of News, which examines the challenges facing the UK’s news media, including financial sustainability, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the growing problem of misinformation.
These reports underscore the critical role of a vibrant and accountable media in sustaining our democratic society. Ofcom’s report highlights the pressures facing the BBC, including reaching younger audiences, adapting to digital consumption, and maintaining trust amidst financial challenges. The House of Lords report calls for decisive action to protect local journalism, regulate AI’s role in the media, and address the decline in public trust.
What both reports make clear is that decisions about the future of media and news provision cannot remain confined to institutions, regulators, and policymakers. These issues affect us all, and citizens must have a stronger voice in shaping how our media system evolves. Whether it’s the BBC adapting to a digital-first world or safeguarding the diversity and reliability of news across the UK, the public’s involvement is essential to ensuring these changes serve the common good.
If we truly value a media system that informs, engages, and represents the needs of our communities, then we must find ways to make these processes more open and inclusive. The future of media is too important to be left to experts alone; it is a matter that demands the active participation of all citizens.
In an era where media consumption is increasingly fragmented, globalised, and shaped by powerful digital platforms, the question of trust has become central to the future of news and information. How do we ensure that people can rely on the media they consume? This challenge is particularly urgent in the UK, where a mixed media economy combines public service broadcasters like the BBC, commercial outlets, independent journalism, and community media. These diverse voices play a critical role in fostering democratic debate, but they now face significant hurdles in adapting to a rapidly shifting landscape.
The BBC, as the UK’s flagship Public Service Broadcaster, is at the heart of this debate. Its mission to inform, educate, and entertain is under pressure from younger audiences turning away from traditional broadcast services in favour of digital platforms. This shift raises questions about how the BBC can remain relevant and continue to fulfil its public purposes while innovating in the digital space. The financial model underpinning the BBC, primarily funded by the licence fee, is also under scrutiny. With fewer households paying the fee and increasing competition from streaming services, there is an urgent need to explore sustainable funding options that ensure the BBC’s independence and ability to serve diverse audiences.
Beyond the BBC, the wider media ecosystem faces its own set of challenges. Traditional commercial outlets, particularly at the local level, are struggling with declining advertising revenues, leading to a reduction in the availability of quality journalism. This decline has contributed to the emergence of so-called ‘news deserts’—areas where access to reliable and locally relevant news is minimal. Meanwhile, the growth of generative artificial intelligence presents a new challenge, as AI systems increasingly create and distribute news content, often using journalism without proper licensing or credit. How should regulators respond to these disruptions in a way that balances innovation with fairness and transparency?
At the same time, public trust in news is in decline, fuelled by misinformation and polarised online discourse. Many people now actively avoid mainstream news, perceiving it as biased or irrelevant. Addressing this requires not only greater investment in media literacy to help audiences critically assess what they read and watch but also robust regulation to prevent the spread of falsehoods without stifling free speech. Here, community media and independent journalism can play an important role, offering locally grounded perspectives and helping rebuild trust through engagement and accountability.
Another critical issue is the protection of investigative journalism, which is increasingly under threat from legal actions designed to intimidate and silence reporters. Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) have become a weapon to discourage scrutiny of powerful individuals and organisations. Strengthening legal protections for journalists and ensuring regulators hold to account those who misuse legal processes will be vital in safeguarding the public’s right to know.
Finally, as more audiences migrate to online platforms, the transition away from terrestrial television raises further questions about access and plurality. How can regulators ensure that public service media remain available and visible in a digital-first environment dominated by a few large tech companies? Updating media plurality rules to reflect these new realities will be essential to maintaining diverse and independent voices in the UK’s media landscape.
These challenges are deeply interconnected, but they all circle back to the fundamental question of trust. To navigate this uncertain future, the UK must reimagine its regulatory frameworks, ensuring they adapt to technological change while protecting the values of accuracy, impartiality, and inclusivity. Public service broadcasters, commercial media, independent outlets, and community platforms each have a role to play in sustaining a vibrant and accountable media culture. The stakes could not be higher; without decisive action, the very fabric of democratic discourse risks being undermined.
It is time to call for greater involvement of citizens in assessing the role and purpose of our national and local media. While reports like Ofcom’s Annual Review of the BBC and the House of Lords’ Future of News offer valuable insights, they also reveal a significant gap in the process: the voices of ordinary people are not being sufficiently heard. Decisions about the priorities and purpose of our media system—whether public service, commercial, independent, or community-based—are too often shaped by industry insiders who risk operating within an echo chamber, marking their own work without meaningful input from the audiences they serve.
Media plays a vital role in shaping our understanding of the world, supporting democratic debate, and fostering local identities. Yet, the priorities driving media and news provision are largely decided by those entrenched in the industry. While expertise is valuable, it cannot replace the perspectives of citizens whose everyday lives are impacted by the media landscape. What do people want from their media? What issues should be prioritised? How can news provision better reflect the diversity of communities across the UK?
Without direct and structured input from the public, we risk reinforcing a system that serves the interests of the industry more than the needs of society. National and local media must not only be accountable to citizens but actively shaped by their experiences, concerns, and aspirations. To achieve this, we need more open and inclusive consultation processes, innovative mechanisms for public engagement, and a fundamental rethinking of how media policy reflects the voices of the many, not just the few.
The future of media is too important to leave in the hands of a select group of insiders. It is time for citizens to have a seat at the table and help decide what priorities our media should champion and what purposes it should serve. Only then can we create a truly democratic and representative media landscape that works for everyone.
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