Professor Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications, was invited to give the prestigious Shirley Williams lecture about why the BBC matters and the threats it is currently facing on Thursday 2 December.
Named after the former Secretary of State for Education and Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Shirley Williams of Crosby, The Shirley Williams Lectures is an exclusive lecture series that offers a platform for some of the most progressive thinkers across the UK and beyond. It provides an opportunity for members to listen and exchange ideas with specialists from a range of fields, including politics, business, sport, arts, and culture.
Professor Barnett’s lecture, titled ‘100 years of the BBC: Britain’s extraordinary gift to the world, but for how much longer?’, made the case for why the BBC remains such an important institution ahead of its centenary next year, noting its contribution to the UK’s creative economy, UK soft power, and global democratic welfare in an age of disinformation and increasing authoritarianism.
It also outlined what Professor Barnett sees as the threats to the BBC’s future, including hostile newspaper publishers and accusations of left-wing bias from the government.
Speaking directly to the government in his closing remarks, Professor Barnett said: “Be inspired by this extraordinary gift that our country has given to the world; appreciate that the need for a strong, vibrant, and independent BBC is greater now than ever before; and give it the respect, resources and freedom it needs to do that job for the whole country.”
Professor Barnett is an established writer and broadcaster who has been involved in policy analysis at the highest levels, both nationally and internationally, for the last 35 years. He specialises in media policy, regulation, the theory and practice of journalism, political communication and press ethics, and has directed over 30 research projects on the structure, funding, regulation, and business of communications in the UK and around the world.
Read the full text of Professor Barnett’s lecture on the Communication and Media Research Institute’s website.
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