Professor Steve Barnett, Professor of Communications, was quoted in an article by Wired about the announcement that two ventures are in the process of setting up new partisan TV channels to rival the BBC.
In the article, he said: “Historically, its been suggested that the UK isn’t really going to have the appetite for those kinds of partisan channels. I’m not convinced by that, I don’t think that’s true. It is true that we have a culture of impartiality, but, for instance, that’s never been true in the press, as we have a very dominant right-wing press.”
He said that a marketing promotional campaign on the press could be the catalyst for a change in attitude and added: “It would not only promote a new channel, but it would denigrate the existing channels – and in particular the BBC.”
Read the full article on the Wired website.