The work of Professor Steven Barnett and Professor Maria Michalis, from Westminster’s Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), promotes trusted journalism and media plurality in the public interest.
In a world where long-standing democratic values are under threat from populist leaders, polarised communities and widespread disinformation, easy access to accurate news and information from a variety of trusted impartial sources has become vital for helping an informed citizenry to resist conspiracy theorists and partisan news outlets. Through their research and engagement activities, Professor Barnett and Professor Michalis are laying out the groundwork for promoting the public interest as a counterweight to the deluge of hyper partisan and politically motivated information now available.
Protecting public service broadcasting
Professor Barnett has engaged policymakers in emphasising the need for mechanisms that will strengthen the independence, reach and funding of public service broadcasting. Barnett was among the top 5 most cited witnesses (out of 49) in the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Select Committee’s Future of the BBC report (2015). The report highlighted Barnett’s arguments about the dangers of allowing the BBC to be funded privately, and the Committee adopted his recommendation that licence fee revenue should be ringfenced in its conclusions. Barnett’s argument against “top-slicing” also featured in a 2014 House of Lords Select Committee report on Media Plurality. Such policy recommendations were influential in the UK government’s 2015 agreement to stop using licence fees to fund broadband rollout and to restore the annual £150m in licence fee revenue that had been withheld from the BBC.
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In March 2019, Barnett was appointed as specialist adviser to The House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee for its inquiry into Public Service Broadcasting. He was chosen, the Committee’s Clerk explained, because of “his deep understanding of the history of public service broadcasting and the regulatory structures that underpin it”. Barnett “helped inform the direction of the inquiry”, the Clerk confirms, through his advice “on setting its parameters and appropriate questions to explore”. He also made a further “invaluable contribution” by recommending witnesses, preparing oral questions and providing technical support. Barnett’s considerable input during amendments ensured that “the committee’s final report is rigorous and stands up to scrutiny”. The final report, Public Service Broadcasting: As Vital as Ever, was published in November 2019 and received a formal Government response in February 2020.
Ensuring plurality in communication networks
Professor Michalis has highlighted the question of not just what but how media is distributed online. As private commercial players increasingly control the transmission, exchange, and termination of digital content, issues like paywalls or powerful players pushing biased news agendas threaten democracy of information.
Michalis’ research champions media diversity by bringing recognition to community Internet networks, which significantly contribute to economic and social sustainability, the self-determination of communities, and social integration.
Michalis, drawing on her contributions to the EU Horizon 2020 research project Network Infrastructure as Commons, has facilitated the recognition and adoption of such community networks on an international – and practical – level by positioning them within both the EU and UNESCO’s existent telecommunications policy frameworks.
Successes includes the incorporation of a new indicator explicitly referring to community networks in UNESCO’s November 2018 policy document Internet Universality Indicators: A Framework for Assessing Internet Development. The indicator requests that UNESCO’s member states have a legal framework in place that enables community networks to be established – a major impact on the advancement of media plurality.
A member of the UNESCO team confirms that “Michalis’ research expertise on Internet community networks provided a significant source of knowledge that impacted upon the development of these indicators – and, in particular, a new indicator”.
The insights provided by Michalis helped us to recognise the importance of community based Internet networks and the need to ensure their viability within a field that is dominated by corporations.”
– Member of the UNESCO team.
Find out more about the Network Infrastructure as Commons research at the netCommons project website.
Ensuring independent journalism thrives
Rising media concentration and a shrinking number of local and national media enterprises are reducing the number of outlets for original, trusted and independent journalism. Professor Barnett has called for better regulation of media mergers and for policies that will encourage more diverse players, such as hyperlocal news providers, to enter the market.
Ofcom – the UK’s communications regulator – drew heavily on Barnett’s research and his consultation submission to their 2017 report on the proposed acquisition of Sky plc by 21st Century Fox. Most significantly, ten paragraphs were dedicated to Barnett’s criticism of, and proposed alternatives to, Ofcom’s measurement framework for media plurality. Discussed by the authors to contextualise the complexity of measuring the impact of agenda setting by media corporations, particularly on those with political power, the Ofcom report further quoted Barnett’s evidence of a history of editorial interference by the Murdoch family, across all genres of programming.
Barnett’s assessment of the negative implications of this acquisition for media plurality was clearly reflected in Ofcom’s advice to government: “The transaction raises public interest concerns as a result of the risk of increased influence by members of the Murdoch Family Trust over the UK news agenda and the political process”.
Supporting citizen and consumer lobbying
Professor Michalis has shared her research-informed knowledge and expertise with representative groups in order to enhance their own policy engagement.
In 2014, Michalis was appointed by the European Alliance of Listeners' and Viewers' Associations (Euralva) as their adviser on European audio-visual policy. As Euralva’s President confirms, Michalis “has made an extremely valuable contribution to our work, voice and presence in European policy circles”.
This work includes Michalis writing two EU communication policy submissions on Euralva’s behalf arguing for the digital terrestrial television (DTT) spectrum to be safeguarded. These submissions emphasised DTT’s role in promoting vital public policy goals such as European cultural diversity and creative innovation. The EU ultimately agreed DTT broadcasters would keep exclusivity of the sub-700MHz band until 2023.
In 2017, Michalis joined the Board of the Voice of the Listener & Viewer (VLV), an independent non-profit advocating for quality and diversity in British TV and radio. Her “contributions have been particularly valuable in helping VLV place its work within the wider European policy context”, the Chairman says, “and improving VLV understanding of regulatory issues, in particular how these might relate to online media regulation”.
Having contributed to over 20 VLV submissions, highlights of Michalis’ engagement include her drafting of a segment on the regulation of on-demand services and respective provisions in EU legislation and practice for the April 2018 House of Lords Communications Committee inquiry into Public Service Broadcasting in the Age of Video on Demand, which the Chairman saw as particularly useful.
Find out more
Connect with Steven Barnett
Connect with Maria Michalis
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