Dorset Eye

Creating A People’s BBC

Tom Mills (Chair) Chair of the Media Reform Coalition @ta_mills Helen Jay, doctoral researcher and consultant, former Channel 4 Head of Policy @hljay Marcus Ryder, Head of External Consultancies - Lenny Henry Centre For Media Diversity @marcusryder Jo Henderson, broadcast academic How could we recreate the BBC as a true ‘People’s BBC’? How can we build public support for renewed public media, and create sustainable and affordable alternatives to the licence fee? Come to this session to understand what our public institutions could become.

Creating A People’s Channel 4

Debs Grayson (Chair), lead researcher of the BBC & Beyond project @debsgrayson Tom Morton, lead campaigner at We Own It Rod Stoneman, former deputy commissioning editor of Channel 4’s Independent Film and Video Dept @RodStoneman Ahmed Alauddin Jamal, documentary filmmaker (formerly with Channel 4’s Independent Film and Video Dept) How could we recreate Channel 4 as a true ‘People’s Channel 4’? The channel was launched with a genuinely alternative, and fairly radical remit, and developed the careers of numerous British filmmakers of colour. How can we build public support for a radical Channel 4 fit for the 21st century, and fight the Tories’ privatisation plans? Come to this session to understand what our public institutions could become.

Strengthening UK Media Unions

Eliz Mizon (Chair), media writer @elizmizon Benjamin Dictor, Counsel to the NY News Guild @BenjaminDictor Natasha Hirst, Vice President of the NUJ @HirstPhotos Phillipa Childs, Head of BECTU @philippachilds The UK media industry has numerous unions, and its workers need them - the creative industries are notoriously exploitative, with low pay, insecure contracts, long hours and endemic abuse. How can media unions play a role in reinventing media worker power over the next few years?

Creating a Media Commons

Debs Grayson (Chair), lead researcher of the BBC & Beyond project @debsgrayson Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, head of regulation at IMPRESS Dorothy Kidd, researcher and producer of alternative media Shirish Kulkarni, Community Organiser, The People’s Newsroom Initiative @ShirishMM A ‘commons’ is a collective resource sustained through the active participation of those who rely on it. In a media commons, our media would be funded through significant public resources, and managed collectively so they serve our needs and help us face the challenges ahead. Come and find out more about creating a ‘media commons’ fit for the coming decade.

What Does Media Concentration Do to a Country?

Bene Brevini (Chair), journalist, academic and media activist @grnsurveillance Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Chair of the Senate Inquiry into Media Diversity in Australia @sarahinthesen8 Michael Ward, PhD in media and comms, and former ABC exec @michael_p_ward Tosca Lloyd, senior campaigner at GetUp @toscall Australia’s media industry has recently had a revolution… or so some would like you to think. The country’s Big Media and Big Tech have recently gone head to head in a legal fight over who should control billions in advertising revenue, and many countries around the world are following the trend. Come to this panel to understand how Australia’s media system is a microcosm of the problems of

Framing the Climate Emergency

Antonio Lopez (Chair), author of Ecomedia Literacy @mediacology Bene Brevini, journalist, academic and media activist @grnsurveillance Adi Kuntsman, reader in Digital Politics @Dr_Ku Peter Hannam, environment correspondent for the Guardian Australia @p_hannam We are in a climate emergency and the media has not done a good enough job at raising the alarm. But rather than simply blaming ‘bad journalists’, this panel will help us understand the wider socio-economic problem of how information is created, distributed, and understood - or not.

Digital Rights and Digital Wrongs - Online harms, the Far Right, Datafication

...to the Perils of Datafication and Its Impact on Social Justice #socialmedia #digitalmedia #twitter #social #instagram #facebook #qanon #rightwing #extremism #leftwing Tech companies are now global monopolies with massive and unaccountable power over what we do, think, produce and consume. Data they collect is used to inform policy making, for government surveillance and political campaigns. The online spaces they enable have fueled the rise of far-right groups, while culture wars rage around representation, free speech and regulation. Governments are now talking about how best to protect us from ‘online harms’. But what is online harm? Can it be moderated without impinging on free speech? How can we hold the biggest tech companies to account? Do we need to break up digital monopolies? How can we secure data justice? To discuss this and more, our Media Democracy Festival is hosting a panel event, live and direct with leading activists and researchers: @ProfAFinlayson is Professor of Political & Social Theory at The University of East Anglia. He writes about British Politics, political ideas and ideologies and political rhetoric. @aurelmondon is an author and Senior Lecturer in Politics at @UniofBath His research focuses on the impact of racism and populism on liberal democracies and the mainstreaming of far right politics through elite discourse. His new book, Reactionary Democracy, is out now. @LinaDencik is Professor at @CardiffJomec and Co-Director of the @DataJusticeLab. She has published widely on digital media, resistance and the politics of data - her most recent publications include Digital Citizenship in a Datafied Society and The Media Manifesto. @emmalbriant is an Associate Researcher at Human Rights Program and Author of Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change

Media reform: Possible? Likely? Enough?

Every significant challenge to the status quo is dismissed or undermined by our mainstream media. If we are to secure radical change, we will need a different kind of media. WIth the growth of giant tech platforms, new right-wing broadcasters on the horizon and a media system that has failed to hold the powerful to account, is reform of the media possible and is it even enough? What kind of change do we need to secure and how we can achieve it? To discuss this and more Media Democracy Festival is hosting a panel event, live and direct with four leading activists from the UK and the US. James Schneider @schneiderhome is a socialist strategist. He served as Jeremy Corbyn and Labour's spokesperson and head of strategic communications from 2016-2020. Before that he co-founded Momentum and was an Africa-focused journalist. He is now communications director for Progressive International. Hilary Wainwright @hilarypepper is the co-editor of @RedPeppermag magazine and website and author of New Politics From the Left. Victor Pickard @VWPickard is a professor at the University of @AnnenbergPenn School for Communication, where he co-directs the @MIC_Center. His most recent book is Democracy Without Journalism? @marcusryder is a leading figure in the efforts to increase diversity and representation in the UK media industry and co-author of the book "Access All Areas - The Diversity Manifesto for TV and Beyond" and launched the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity. Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/media-reform-possible-likely-enough-tickets-143606660387 #mediareform #ChangeTheGovernment #mediajustice #Murdoch #truthinmedialaws #mediabias #brokenmedia #trustinmedia

The solution or the problem? What should we do with our public service media?

The launch of GB News and Murdoch’s UK News TV, along with the appointments of a new Director General and a new Chair of the BBC who are more openly Conservative than before, all spell massive change for the BBC and public service media more generally. Trust in the BBC’s impartiality has dropped in recent years, and looks like it is not going to recover any time soon, if ever. Yet the possibilities for a public service media in the digital age are massive - and the need for a counterpart to commercial tech and media companies is more pressing than ever. What are the changes we need to see? How do we make them happen? To discuss this and more Media Democracy Festival is hosting a panel event, live and direct with leading activists campaigning for a more democratic public media system: @ta_millsis lecturer in sociology at Aston University. He is the author of The BBC: Myth of a Public Service. @PascaleRobinson is a campaigns officer at @We_OwnIt which campaigns for public ownership of public services. She has led campaigns such as “It's Our BBC”, calling for the BBC to be independent, publicly owned and funded, as well as accountable to citizens in public hands. @labourlewis was elected the Labour MP for Norwich South in May 2015. Before entering Parliament Clive was Vice President of the National Union of Students, a BBC TV political reporter as well as Army reservist infantry officer, serving a combat tour of Afghanistan in 2009. Deborah Grayson Deborah has a background in campaigning and activism on a range of issues, having previously been involved with the Suffragette-inspired environmental direct action group, Climate Rush, worked on the 'Yes' campaign for the Alternative Vote, and with the Media Reform Coalition around the Leveson Inquiry. Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-solution-or-the-problem-what-should-we-do-with-our-public-service-medi-tickets-143605747657 #publicservice #news #media #independentmedia #trust #PublicServiceM

The Real Story of the Coronavirus Crisis

Tragically, more than 100,000 people have died in the UK since the coronavirus pandemic began. Join us as we explore the real story of the coronavirus crisis, how the Johnson government has presided over such a monumental loss of life and how we balance protecting public health with protecting civil liberties. Panelists: Dave Carr, an intensive care nurse, will speak about the distressing reality on the frontline. Professor Anthony Costello, a leading public health specialist and member of Independent SAGE, will highlight the gulf between what the science tells us and what the Johnson government has done. Emily Apple, The Canary’s senior editor and a founding member of The Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) will discuss how we can take steps to protect our health while holding the state to account. Chaired by Nancy Mendoza (The Canary’s Chief Operating Officer and science communication consultant).

FrontLine with Jeremy Corbyn - screening with Kerry-Anne Mendoza giving intro and Q&A

Aww 🥰 the first proper moment of solidarity I think I've seen since this pandemic started. It was so nice to see so many people on our street clapping, waving at each other and saying hello! #clapforourcarers @sophiecridland #nhs #carers #clapforourcarers #lookoutforeachother #community