Media Democracy

Informações:

Synopsis

A podcast about politics, the media, and the politics of the media. Hosted by Tom Mills and Dan Hind.

Episodes

  • MD Christmas Special 2021

    22/12/2021 Duration: 01h09min

    The Boris Johnson who bestrode British politics like a Colossus in 2019 is no more. In his place is a hapless figure, who can't seem to stop breaking his own regulations again and again last December. What happened? Why have the British public finally lost patience with him? Was it the media, by any chance? Tom and Dan come back to the Media Democracy studios to discuss the ongoing campaign by political insiders and their allies in the press to get Boris done.

  • From A to Zoom: The 2020 Media Democracy Review

    25/12/2020 Duration: 01h28min

    What a vintage year it's been! Tom and Dan look back on 2020 and talk about the highlights of the UK media's performance. We touch on mainstream satire (bad), the BBC (cosily familiar but also bad), the Murdoch press (very, very bad) and the current state of relations between the media and economic reality (absolutely awful). There's also some talk about what the hell the two hosts have been up to this year. There'll be Media Democracy one offs in the future, but we aren't going to pretend to be regular podcasters any more. But look out for new work on media reform in 2021. Music by Makaih Beats. Show links: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1852099 https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/after-corbynism-where-next-english-socialism/

  • 3.8 In a way, the BBC is the real maze

    25/02/2020 Duration: 01h17min

    This week your intrepid co-hosts enter BBC Radio 4's flagship forum for ethical debate, The Moral Maze and talk about its February 12th episode 'The Moral Purpose of the BBC'. Confronted with the labyrinth of the BBC's assumptions and dogmas, its lopsided balance and general inability to think or see what's in front of its nose, Tom and Dan soon realise that there is no easy way out. At the beginning of the show Media Democracy explains who you should vote for in the forthcoming elections for leader of the Labour Party. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 3.7 Trans-forming Media (ft. Juliet Jacques) Part 2

    20/02/2020 Duration: 01h01min

    This is the second part of our interview with Juliet Jacques. In the intro, Tom and Dan talk briefly about Rebecca Long Bailey's recent proposals to reform the BBC and the response of liberal intelligentsia: why think through what public media should look like in the digital age when you can fixate instead on court gossip? Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 3.6 Trans-forming Media (ft. Juliet Jacques) Part 1

    16/02/2020 Duration: 01h03min

    In the first instalment of a two-parter, this week Tom and Dan talk with author and critic Juliet Jacques about the depiction of trans people in the media, the trouble with liberal pluralism, and whether or not a secret cabal of Norwich City fans is pulling the strings of the British power elite. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 3.5: 17-19: A Podcast Comes of Age

    09/01/2020 Duration: 01h07min

    Dan and Tom return to podcasting after the Christmas break to discuss the media's behaviour in the General Election and the implications for the Labour Party of trying to operate in a communicative space that is as deceptive as it is hostile. Along the way we touch on some familiar themes - the awfulness of PPE, the awfulness of the New Statesman, liberalism's inability to distinguish between basic sociology and conspiracy theory, and much, much more. Peter McColl's article on deliberative democracy as a superior alternative to technocracy and market forces can be found at his blog: https://petermccoll.wordpress.com/2019/09/02/from-the-crisis-of-meaning-to-challenge-focused-democratic-economy/ Shout out to Andy McDonald, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary, for pointing out that 'the conduct of broadcasters in this election demonstrates the urgent need to debate democratic reforms to our media.' https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/labours-unfair-treatment-shows-broadcasters-21222653.amp Music by Makaih

  • 3.4 Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Officially Sourced

    01/11/2019 Duration: 51min

    On 22 October Peter Oborne broke the silence that surrounds Westminster journalism with a damning article on the relationship between Downing Street’s press operation and senior correspondents like Robert Peston, Tim Shipman and Laura Kuenssberg. We talk about the article, the responses from Robert Peston and Amol Rajan, and what the reaction tells us about the state of UK journalism. Peter Oborne’s original article - https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/british-journalists-have-become-part-of-johnsons-fake-news-machine/ - Robert Peston’s hilarious response - https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/my-job-draw-back-veil-robert-peston-responds-peter-oborne/ and Amol Rajan’s pretend-brave interview with Oborne https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009lhr Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 3.3 Positively 4th Estate

    30/10/2019 Duration: 57min

    Barely days after Facebook began trialing a news feature on its app Tom and Dan talk about the journey the company is on, from content agnostic charnel house to halfway convincing approximation of a civil public sphere. What does the platforms' emerging compromise with elected politicians, legacy media and the secret state look like? And how do we stop it? We also talk about Ofcom’s recent review of the BBC, the difference between quantity and quality in news coverage, balance in theory and practice, and Rupert Murdoch, the GOAT in the production and dissemination of fake news. We end with a bungling attempt to persuade our listeners to like and subscribe. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 3.2 The Centre is Everywhere: Local News on the Edge of England

    11/10/2019 Duration: 45min

    This week Tom and Dan talk with Jodie Nesling of the Isle of Thanet News, an awarding winning monthly newspaper covering Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate and a handful of villages inland in East Kent. Jodie began her career as a journalist in one of the corporate conglomerates and she talks about her experiences there and about the challenges facing a start-up aiming to give its community the reporting it deserves. The Isle of Thanet News is published as a free monthly newspaper and its reporting is also freely available online at https://theisleofthanetnews.com. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 3.1 The Working Breakfast Club

    05/10/2019 Duration: 01h07s

    This week Tom and Dan are joined by author and activist Tamasin Cave of Spinwatch. We talk about the Climate Crisis and the individuals and institutions determined to preserve business as usual, whatever the cost. We explore the geography of the Westminster Village, the politics of proximity, and the gap between the lobbyists' outward facing propaganda and their growing internal anxiety about the threat of democracy. For the avoidance of doubt, at one point Dan makes a joke. Tamasin will be at Extinction Rebellion from Monday October 7th. For more information, follow her on Twitter at @CaveTamasin. Check out Influence Map: https://influencemap.org to find out more about the geography of lobbying. For more about the Climate Emergency and what to do about it, check out Desmog https://www.desmog.co.uk/. Spinwatch works to promote transparency in the lobbying sector Spinwatch.org. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.18 It's Too Much Winning

    12/03/2019 Duration: 01h02min

    In a one-off special to promote the Media Democracy Festival on March 16th, Tom and Dan fail utterly to mention said event. Instead they noisily take credit for the BBC's nervous flirtation with the audience-as-editor and the New Statesman's tentative moves away from pallid centrism. Along the way there is talk of Jordan Peterson, the role of experts in democratic reasoning, and these notorious thugs of the hard left identify the next target of their 'reforming ambition'. Music by Makaih Beats. Entering the secret castle: A small step towards democratic public media? https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/entering-secret-castle-small-step-towards-democratic-public-media/

  • 2.17 Trebor Scholz and the Rise of the Platform Cooperative

    08/02/2019 Duration: 58min

    Tom and Dan are back after a long break throughout which the media class have behaved with scrupulous professionalism and disinterested rationality. This week we talk a little about Tom Watson's recent speech on digital policy before moving on to the main order of business, an interview with Trebor Scholz. Trebor Scholz is an associate professor at the New School in New York and in April of this year Trebor will launch the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy there. His publications include Uber-Worked and Underpaid: How Workers are Disrupting the Digital Economy. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.16 TFW Columnists Take to Twitter

    30/11/2018 Duration: 01h29min

    This week Dan and Tom are joined by journalist, author and Blue Tick Twitter Personality Hussein Kesvani to discuss celebrity columnists and the Twittersphere. Over the course of the show we cover the politics of newsrooms, unpaid internships, Aaron Sorkin, David Aaronovitch, The Spectator and, regrettably, Jordan Peterson. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.15 I've Seen Takes You People Wouldn't Believe

    10/11/2018 Duration: 58min

    This week Tom and Dan go back to basics and spend an hour chatting about recent events in media/politics. The takes range from the stone cold and frankly unappetising - Dan's outrageous treatment at the hands of Ed Miliband - to the sizzling hot and oh-so-current - Poppygate and the uses of insincerity in the politics of remembrance. Along the way we discuss Tom's baffling online encounters with David 'Dave' Aaronovitch, the Stalinist left as a training ground for centrist shitheels, and Dave's well remunerated inability to notice vast criminal conspiracies in his own workplace. We end with proposals for democratic reform of the charitable sector under socialism, naturally. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.14 The Political Thinking of Nick Robinson

    26/10/2018 Duration: 01h18min

    This week on the podcast we're joined by Jack Frayne-Reid of the Reel Politik podcast to review Nick Robinson's podcast, 'Political Thinking'. It's a podcasting hall of mirrors. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.13 The Westminster Hour

    20/10/2018 Duration: 01h07s

    This week we bring you a recording from the Parliamentary launch of the Media Reform Coalition's 'Draft Proposals on BBC Reform', featuring Natalie Fenton, Zoe Williams, Amelia Womack, Clive Lewis and Media Democracy's very own Tom Mills. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.12 Farewell to the Centrists: New Statesman Reading Group with Joe Kennedy

    06/09/2018 Duration: 01h27min

    We're joined by Joe Kennedy (@joekennedy81 on Twitter), the author of 'Authentocrats: Culture, Politics and the New Seriousness', to discuss the history, politics and aesthetics of the 'New Statesman'. Our apologies for the sound quality, which at times is not great even by our low standards. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.11: These Premises Are Unsafe and Should be Condemned

    16/08/2018 Duration: 01h38min

    James Stern-Weiner returns to the show to discuss the structure of the debates about Israel-Palestine and Labour's alleged antisemitism crisis. Jamie is the editor of 'Moment of Truth: Tackling Israel-Palestine's Toughest Questions' (http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/moment-of-truth/). He is a graduate student at the University of Oxford. Music by Makaih Beats.

  • 2.10 Undercover at the FT: Matt Kennard on his time in the belly of the beast

    09/07/2018 Duration: 01h04min

    This week we're joined by author and journalist Matt Kennard and talk about how he came to write his 2015 book, 'The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs. the American Elite'. As a graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism and a former employee at the Financial Times, Matt has first hand experience of how the media legitimates and assists state and corporate power across the world. Reporters rarely investigate the people who pay their salaries, and hardly ever publish what they find out. Matt has done both, and he has a hell of a story to tell. Music by Makaih Beats.​

  • 2.9 The Horror in the Archive on 4

    04/05/2018 Duration: 01h01min

    Fifty years ago Enoch Powell gave his racist 'Rivers of Blood' speech. In it he trailed themes that have given undead life to right-wing populism ever since: effete elites in the service of alien subversion, violent crime as an inevitable accompaniment to demographic change, a respectable and long-suffering civilization on the brink of cataclysmic collapse. It's all there and was given the full BBC radio treatment in April of this year on Archive on Four. We talked with academic and author David Wearing about the speech, its framing by the BBC, and how the monsters Powell summoned in 1968 still walk among us. Music by Makaih Beats. David’s article for the New Socialist that we mention in the show: https://newsocialist.org.uk/stephen-lawrence-and-hostile-environment/.

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