news media

Independence impact on media

Stephen Richard — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 14:58:48 +0000

Independence impact on media Stephen Richard Thu, 10/28/2021 - 15:58

Author or Creator

Common Weal

Does independence impact on the media?

Mostly the media is entirely independent so won't be affected by independence. There are two areas where there will be changes; regulation and broadcasting and those will need to be set up.

What is the issue with regulation?

There is no public regulation of the print media in the UK – it is self-regulating other than on legal issues (like defamation or contempt of court where Scotland already has its own laws). If a future Scottish government wanted to introduce statutory regulation that would be a matter for the Scottish Parliament at that time. But broadcast does need to be regulated for a number of reasons. At the most technical end, broadcasting uses part of the radio spectrum and that has to be controlled and allocated on behalf of the public. In addition, broadcasting does have statutory cuties to ensure fairness and balance. Just now both these functions are carried out by Ofcom which answers to the UK Government. Scotland will therefore have to set up an Ofcom equivalent to take over those functions and answer to the Scottish Parliament.

What needs to be done for broadcasting?

The regulation and 'spectrum allocation' aspects will be covered by the 'Scottish Ofcom'. But Scotland will want to maintain public service broadcasting and so at least one Scottish public television channel will need to be set up. This will probably be based on transferring a lot of the personnel and asses from BBC Scotland but there are many models for how it could work. Equally it really is a matter for political decision the nature of the channel – how much it wants to invest in drama, how much it wants to invest in news and so on. Suffice to say that currently Scotland does not have spend on Scottish programme-making proportionate to the amount of money collected by the TV license of Scottish viewers so there will be more Scottish content – but without the UK content there is a strong case for more public funding for Scottish public service broadcasting.

So what about the BBC?

The BBC has a commercial arm which licenses BBC programming outside the UK and Scotland will simply have to negotiate on what kind of broadcast content it wishes to buy from the UK. This could range from entire channels (maintaining all of BBC One's service for example) to picking and choosing which programmes it wishes to license for showing on a Scottish channel. Of course, a lot of the BBC's current affairs programming will no longer be directly relevant to Scotland as it will relate to politics and policy in London.

Will that give Scotland enough of an effective media?

At the moment investment in media in Scotland has been in decline for a long period and many newspapers have a fraction of the staff they did even ten years ago. This is a problem at the best of times but so much will be happening in the transition to independence that it is very important that the media has the capacity to scrutinise and report on this work. There is therefore a good case for at least interim public funding to make sure that the media is properly able to fulfil that function.

Keywords

news media

Social media

Broadcasting

Understanding Scotland - Society

Stephen Richard — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 21:25:47 +0000

Understanding Scotland - Society

Primary Author or Creator

Diffley Partnership

Stephen Richard Sun, 11/14/2021 - 21:25

Alternative Published Date

October 2021

Category

Society

Type of Resource

survey report

Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)

19pp

Fast Facts

This first report lays the groundwork for understanding Scottish society as we emerge from the pandemic, and addresses the following fundamental questions: Is Scotland on the right track? Where do we want to go as a country? And who do we trust to help us get there?

More details

TACKLING POVERTY & INEQUALITY IS A TOP CONCERN FOR THE SCOTTISH PUBLIC A third of respondents (34%) put tackling poverty and inequality in the top three issues facing Scotland, at least 8 percentage points ahead of all other issues,

THE SCOTTISH POPULATION WANT A FAIR RECOVERY Coupled with the economy being the second most important issue of concern, there is an evident appetite from the Scottish population for a fair recovery from the pandemic that tackles socioeconomic disparities. The less well-off were more likely to prioritise poverty and inequality, the cost of living and inflation, and mental health and wellbeing, with the economy coming in fourth place.

THE ECONOMY TOPS THE CONCERNS OF THE BETTER OFF, WHILE THE LESS PRIVILEGED ARE FOCUSED ON DAY-TO-DAY PRACTICALITIES Recent news stories appear to have cut through, with the cost of living, mental health and wellbeing, and the environment all featuring in the public’s top concerns.

OTHER PRIORITIES ARE REFLECTIVE OF THE CURRENT CONTEXT AND TOPICAL DEBATES

THE NHS IS SCOTLAND'S MOST TRUSTED INSTITUTION With a fifth of people saying that they trust it 'entirely', the NHS is Scotland's most trusted group, followed by other people in Scotland, and universities.

CONVERSELY, THE MEDIA ARE AMONG THE LEAST TRUSTED With 19% of people reporting that they do not trust the print media 'at all', and 14% saying the same of the broadcast media, there is evidently little faith in the journalistic profession.

FAITH IN POLITICS IS LOW With a fifth of people saying that they do not trust the Government or the political system 'at all', faith in politics is low, and especially so among the less well off.

TRUST IS CONSISTENTLY LOWER AMONG LOWER SOCIAL GRADES On all but one item, trust in given institutions was lower among the less well off. This was especially pronounced with regards to Government and the political system, as well as the broadcast and press media.

SCOTLAND IS SPLIT DOWN THE MIDDLE ON ITS DIRECTION OF TRAVEL 43% of the Scottish population believe that Scotland is heading in the right direction, while the same proportion believe that it is heading in the wrong direction, with the remaining 14% undecided.

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.diffleypartnership.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Understanding-S…

Keywords

Language English

The British media’s progressives are coming round to Scottish independence

Stephen Richard — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 10:44:36 +0000

The British media’s progressives are coming round to Scottish independence

Primary Author or Creator

Simon Pia

Stephen Richard Tue, 10/12/2021 - 11:44

Additional Author(s) / Creators

The Conversation

Date Published

Thu, 03/30/2017 - 12:00

Category

Media

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

Will the UK commentators fall into line and back unionism once a timetable for a vote has been agreed, or is a more permanent split developing?

Resource Address (URL)

https://theconversation.com/the-british-medias-progressives-are-coming-round-to…

Keywords

news media

Language English

Media Matters; how the media reports on indepencence matters

Stephen Richard — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 17:43:44 +0000

Media Matters; how the media reports on indepencence matters

Primary Author or Creator

David Patrick

Stephen Richard Sun, 10/10/2021 - 18:43

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Alternative Published Date

2021

Category

Media

Type of Resource

Podcast

Fast Facts

Craig talks to David Patrick, author of recently published book Front-Page Scotland which looks at how stories about Scottish independence were reported in the newspapers throughout the 2014 independence referendum campaign.

More details

Episode 102 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/podcast/the-common-weal-policy-podcast-episode-102/

Keywords

news media

Scottish economy

Independence campaign

Language English

Whose voices are heard in the news? A study of sources in television coverage of the Scottish independence referendum

Stephen Richard — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 19:02:46 +0000

Whose voices are heard in the news? A study of sources in television coverage of the Scottish independence referendum

Primary Author or Creator

Marina Dekavalla

Stephen Richard Fri, 09/24/2021 - 20:02

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Alenka Jelen-Sanchez

Date Published

Tue, 09/20/2016 - 12:00

Category

Media

Type of Resource

Academic Paper

Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)

23pp

Fast Facts

This analyses the referendum coverage on BBC’s Reporting Scotland in the final month of the campaign. Findings suggest that, despite the presence of many types of sources, male-dominated political elites were the main focus in the news. The coverage more broadly manifests a liberal democratic logic whereby the media represent the views of politicians and political organisations to the public, whose role is to make an informed choice between them, with comparatively limited opportunities to participate in the mediated political debate.

More details

his article explores the prominence of different types of sources in the coverage of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum on BBC Scotland’s regional news bulletin. It combines the most commonly used classifications of news sources in the literature and proposes an integrated taxonomy, in which official, unofficial, elite and non-elite sources may take on news-shaper or news-maker roles. This taxonomy is used to analyse the referendum coverage on BBC’s Reporting Scotland in the final month of the campaign. Findings suggest that, despite the presence of many types of sources, male-dominated political elites were the main focus in the news. Although the inclusion of some grassroots and citizen sources is encouraging, the coverage more broadly manifests a liberal democratic logic whereby the media represent the views of politicians and political organisations to the public, whose role is to make an informed choice between them, with comparatively limited opportunities to participate in the mediated political debate.

British Politics volume 12, pages449–472 (2017) fulll article behind paywall

Resource Address (URL)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41293-016-0026-4

Keywords

news media

TV news

2014 independence referendum

BBC

Language English

The Media and National Identity: Local Newspapers’ Coverage of Scottish Independence during the Campaign of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

Stephen Richard — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 11:26:05 +0000

The Media and National Identity: Local Newspapers’ Coverage of Scottish Independence during the Campaign of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

Primary Author or Creator

Jan-Philipp Wagner

Stephen Richard Fri, 09/24/2021 - 12:26

Additional Author(s) / Creators

University of British Columbia

Alternative Published Date

2017

Category

Media

Type of Resource

Academic Paper

Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)

30pp

Fast Facts

the 2014 Scottish independence referendum offered local newspapers a unique opportunity to frame Scottish independence in a particular manner that reinforces their influence on Scottish distinctiveness and secures their position in the media market. This gives reason to examine how The Courier and Evening Telegraph framed Scottish independence during the campaign of the 2014 referendum in order to assess if local indigenous titles capitalised on this opportunity.

Resource Address (URL)

http://www.wpsanet.org/papers/docs/JWagner_WPSA2017_TheMedia&NationalIdentity.p…

Keywords

news media

Courier newspaper

Evening Telegraph newspaper

Language English

Bella Caledonia

Stephen Richard — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 14:01:42 +0000

Bella Caledonia

Primary Author or Creator

Mike Small

Stephen Richard Thu, 09/16/2021 - 15:01

Alternative Published Date

2007 -

Category

Independence

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

"We’re not aligned to any one political party but believe in self-determination for Scotland. Only then will a country disfigured by poverty and inequality be re-born. Only independence can bring democracy. The British State is irredeemable and is structurally corrupt, broken and riven with hierarchy."

Resource Address (URL)

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/

Keywords

Scottish Independence

news media

Scottish opinion

Language English