The United Kingdom (UK) is one of Europe’s most populous countries, with 66.7 million inhabitants. The country is composed of four nations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – of which England is by far the largest, with over 80 per cent of the country’s total population. Scottish Gaelic and Welsh are the largest minority languages and receive significant coverage in the media, although Scots, Ulster-Scots, Irish, Manx and Cornish are considered minority languages by the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. The UK has a large and diverse media landscape, with national media almost entirely based in the largest metropolitan area, London; however, there are distinct media markets in each of the four nations and a widespread local news industry. The UK is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy
Freedom House Global Freedom: Status “free” (94 out of 100 in 2020; up from 93 in 2019).
V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy; Annual Democracy Report 2019)
- Liberal Democracy Index 2018: the United Kingdom ranked 12th
- Freedom of Expression Index 2018: the United Kingdom ranked 8th
Since World War II the UK has generally been a two-and-a-half party system, with the Labour Party and the Conservative Party enjoying spells in government, with the Liberal Democrats (Liberal Party until 1981, SDP-Liberal Alliance between 1981 and 1988) playing a significant role as a third force. The First-Past-The-Post electoral system traditionally favours the two largest parties. A different set of parties contests elections in Norther Ireland, and Scotland and Wales have nationalist parties in the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru respectively. After referendums in 1997 powers were devolved to national legislatures in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In the 21st Century the party system has partially fragmented, with fluctuations in support for eurosceptic parties such as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the almost total replacement of Labour in Scotland by the SNP in 2015, making the latter a significant presence in Westminster. Governments in the second decade of the 21st Century have been less stable than in recent history, with a coalition government in place between 2010 and 2015 and a minority Conservative government propped up by an agreement with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) between 2017 and 2019. The 2019 Conservative election victory delivered the first significant government majority in a decade. The UK political landscape has been convulsed by the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. A bitterly fought and divisive campaign marked by allegations of campaign irregularities and dishonesty by leading political figures delivered a narrow victory in favour of leaving the Union. This issue has defined political and social relations in the intervening years.
The UK has a hybrid media landscape, with a heavily-regulated broadcasting sector dominated by the publicly-owned British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which is the largest domestic content provider and commands the largest audiences across television, radio and online news. Commercial broadcasters and the BBC are regulated by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which imposes strict rules on accuracy and impartiality in news programming. The UK’s press is wholly commercial and partisan, though many newspapers profess an independence from centres of power and journalists have traditionally adhered to a ‘fourth estate’ role conception of independence and objectivity. Both institutional and individual independence are not always as evident in practice as they are in theory.
Cross-platform ownership of the media is restricted by legislation, though within certain sectors there has been recent market concentration. Around 80 per cent of the UK’s 1000+ local newspapers are owned by five companies, and recent takeovers in the national press mean that three companies now publish two-thirds of all titles, accounting for 72 per cent of revenue and 87 per cent of print circulation. The national press and broadcasters are all headquartered in London, though the BBC has significant presence elsewhere.
The UK has a thriving hyperlocal and community media sector, with hundreds of community radio stations and online news sites. The hyperlocal sector, though professionalizing over time and now assisted by a substantial support network, remains fragile. A network of digital local television stations, introduced from 2014 onwards, has failed to meet expectations and commands negligible audiences. Combined, however, local media and the wider availability of information online has increased the availability of information to citizens at the community level at the same time as legacy local newspapers have been in sharp economic decline.
Over the last two decades news consumption habits have altered significantly, especially amongst young people, with the population increasingly consuming news online and via mobile (62 per cent access news via smartphone). Almost 40 per cent of the population use social media as a source of news, though this figure is highly differentiated by age. As a consequence, US technology platforms – most notably Facebook/Instagram and Google/YouTube have become significant gatekeepers for news.
The Media Pluralism Monitor by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom found in 2017 ranked the UK as high risk for three indicators (on commercial and owner influence over editorial content, editorial autonomy, and access to media for minorities), medium risk on four indicators, and low risk on the remaining thirteen.
Leading News Media Sample 2020 (and Covid-19 Pandemic Disruption)
Our media sample for MDM 2020 consists of three out of four public service broadcasters (BBC, ITV and Channel 4) and Sky News, which is not classed as a public service broadcaster but is subject to identical content regulation by Ofcom. The heads of each news division were contacted via email (news on ITV and Channel 4 is produced by a separate company, Independent Television News, which has separate divisions for the different channels that it serves) as were the editors in chief of nine of eleven national newspapers (excluding the i and the tabloid Daily Star) though it has not, as yet, been possible to arrange interviews. This may partly be a consequence of the severe disruption to newsrooms caused by the COVID-19 outbreak from the crucial research period of March onwards. Face-to-face interviews were not possible for the same reason.
COVID-19 Pandemic
In response to the coronavirus epidemic the UK government imposed significant restrictions on movement, travel and public gatherings as well as the closure of non-essential businesses and industries in late March 2020. Although journalists reporting on the pandemic were classified as ‘key workers’ and news audiences – particularly on broadcast platforms – rose sharply, the negative effect on the newspaper industry was initially profound and is expected to remain so for some time. The abrupt loss of advertising revenue – expenditure across all UK advertising was forecast to decline by 50 per cent – has resulted in publishers ceasing print distribution of some or all titles, the furloughing of a significant proportion of staff (20 per cent at the national and regional newspaper publisher Reach Plc) and the temporary suspension of some local newspaper titles completely. On 17 April 2020 the UK government announced a three-month £35 million advertising partnership with the majority of the newspaper industry to offset some of the lost advertising revenue, although none of the funding has been allocated to independent news providers.
Conclusions
The UK has seen huge changes in the ways in which news is produced, distributed, and consumed over the last decade. Although this has chiefly been driven by technological developments it has had a profound impact across all aspects of the news media. Not least since, amongst certain UK audiences, the legacy media has seen their role as the leading distributors of news usurped by large US technology platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Google. The decade has also seen a fundamental shift in prioritization, particularly amongst newspaper publishers, from analog (print and broadcast) to digital first.
Despite the extent of technological change, the leading news media institutions in the UK in 2010 remain the leading news media institutions in 2020 and consumption of news – though it has evolved – is high if not higher than in 2010. News media is widely accessible across the UK’s nations and regions, via broadcast television, print or online (95 per cent of the UK has access to high speed broadband). Patterns of news consumption have altered significantly, and diverged between different generations. Young people have deserted print publications and watch much less television news, preferring to find their news online and via mobile. Older people remain reliant on television news though increasingly supplement this with information obtained online. Print circulation has halved since 2010 (though the reach of many publications has risen thanks to online access).
Most commercial news organizations are still organized hierarchically, though staff journalists have regular opportunities to participate in editorial discussions (less so contract and freelance journalists). There has been an increase in the number of women in top editorial positions, with women editors at five national newspapers as well as directing news at the BBC and Channel 4. The traditional separation of editorial and commercial decisions appears to be breaking down at commercial news organisations, particularly with the growth of sponsored content and native advertising, though there is limited evidence of major advertisers influencing editorial policy. The BBC, though non-commercial, has found its independence partly compromised by government intervention in provision of the Licence Fee. Most news organisations have detailed guidelines for newsgathering. The BBC has the most extensive editorial guidance which has, as of 2017, become overseen by the statutory communications regulator, Ofcom.
The news media has made progress on gender equality, and there is more transparency than there was around pay, though there is still a considerable way to go before the UK has gender pay parity or equality in senior management positions. There is also a strong imbalance in the use of women as expert sources in media content, something that broadcasters have sought to address. Outside the BBC there is little indication of dedicated internal policies for countering mis- or dis- information. Yet there is widespread evidence of journalistic awareness of the increased need for social media verification. Staff journalists have higher levels of access to protection from harassment – on and offline – as well as training in how to deal with harassment, though this is less accessible to contractors or freelance workers.
The UK national press is highly concentrated – with 11 mainstream national daily newspapers and 9 Sunday newspapers, all based in London. Broadcast news is produced almost entirely by three organisations – the BBC, ITN and Sky News – with the BBC dominating in both television and radio. The local newspaper industry has become even more highly consolidated in the last decade, with five publishers responsible for 80 per cent of all titles. Beyond this there is a growing number of small, independent online news outlets spread around the country. There is a wide range of news formats available to the public, from fixed schedule TV bulletins to hourly radio news to ‘live’ or rolling text based news online. Equally, there is a broad range of minority media, some publicly funded though most commercial or non-profit. News is affordable, with many outlets providing free access online, and all the BBC’s news available for the cost of the annual License Fee (£157.20 per household).
There is a modest amount of media monitoring and scrutiny. This is done sporadically by news outlets themselves, by university centres and by civil society or campaigning organisations. There are five codes of journalism ethics in use in the UK – covering the BBC, other broadcasters, large commercial print and online news organisations, smaller independent online outlets, and members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). All the major news organisations adhere to a code of practice, though the nature and extent of self-regulation varies. Involvement of the public in editorial or ethical decision is patchy and uneven. News outlets allow comments around news or opinion articles online, but few have any formal integration of the public in the news process. Some of the UK’s commercial news organisations are owned or run by international organisations (such as News International, Channel 5 and the FT), though are run nationally. Basic information about UK news organisations is available online, though more specific information – about expenditure or consumption – is more difficult to acquire.
A good majority (65 per cent) of UK journalists have a formal qualification (NCTJ) and ethics training is now widespread within the industry. The majority of journalists are employed by a news organization, though the number of contract and freelance workers is rising. Government information can be accessed using the Freedom of Information Act (2000) though requests can be refused, a practice that appears to have become more common in the last decade. The major news organisations each make rhetorical commitments to the watchdog function of journalism, though this is not necessarily explicit in their mission statements. Similarly, many express their commitment to investigative journalism, though it is difficult to assess the resources put behind investigations and evidence provided to Parliamentary committees suggests that these resources are diminishing.
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