01/07/2021 Beyond the BBC: Reimagining Public Service Media in Wales

Institute of Welsh Affairs

This event, jointly organised by the Media Reform Coalition and the Institute of Welsh Affairs, is part of ‘The BBC and Beyond’, an MRC campaign which aims to reimagine public media for the digital age. The event focusses on what a reformed public service media landscape within Wales could look like.
The BBC has set out its strategic goal to recreate itself as a ‘truly UK wide organisation (…) decentralising power and decision-making across the four nations’. But a healthy media landscape cannot depend on any single organisation, so this event explores how to embed public service media principles across more of the media ecosystem in Wales and the UK.
All political parties in the Senedd supported the IWA’s call for the Welsh Government to create a new, contestable fund to support independent news. This event considers the innovative journalistic models and practices this fund could nurture and how to ensure it embeds public service media principles – of independence, accountability, democracy and universality – at its heart.
We also talk about digital – what role can technology play in enabling more participatory processes, and does Welsh Government’s digital strategy contain the right policies to maximise this potential? Where does community media sit in this ecology, and how can the rest of the UK learn from the best innovations coming out of Wales?
Panellists:

• Debs Grayson (Chair) – Campaign Coordinator, Media Reform Coalition
• Emma Meese – Director, Independent Community News Network
• Shirish Kulkarni – News Storytelling Researcher, Clwstwr Creadigol
• Andy Regan – Policy & External Affairs Manager, Institute of Welsh Affairs
• Lucas Batt – Membership Coordinator, The Bristol Cable

This is an hour long panel discussion on Zoom, with an introduction by IWA Director, Auriol Miller.