Power Without Responsibility 4: public interest: an historical and contemporary analysis

The Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre is organising a monthly series of workshops celebrating 40 years since the publication of the seminal book on the UK media, James Curran and Jean Seaton’s Power Without Responsibility. Now in its eighth edition, the book has been translated into five languages and has influenced generations of media academics, students and wider readers. With a scope ranging from the 1830s to the present day, the book focuses on how market distortion and state sponsored public service, among other influences, have shaped the UK media and influenced the conduct of politics, entertainment and society more generally. The workshops will examine central themes of the book – including discussions about market failure, media reform, public service and radical journalism – with presentations by international scholars and journalists. The workshops will take place online from January to May 2022 and will be open to academics, teachers, students, historians, media activists and anyone interested in the history and the future of the UK media.

This fourth workshop in the series focuses on the past, present and future of public service communication through the lens of a range of national experiences. It contributes to the debate on the relevance and appropriate shape of public service media in the 21st century.

Workshop four – PWR and the public interest: an historical and contemporary analysis

CHAIR: Debs Grayson (Dr, Media Reform Coalition)

• Benedetta Brevini (Dr, Sydney)

• Karen Donders (Professor, VRT)

• Natalie Fenton (Professor, Goldsmiths)

• Robert Picard (Professor, RISJ, Oxford)

This event will take place on Zoom. If you have any access requirements, please contact us at M.Klontzas@gold.ac.uk. Please note that we will not be recording the workshop in full, only the speakers’ talks.

#PWRworkshops

Update: In response to the ‘recovery plan’ imposed by senior management at Goldsmiths that involves up to 46 redundancies, the University and College Union (UCU) has censured Goldsmiths by introducing a global academic boycott. This ‘greylisting’ means that members of trade unions and the international academic community are invited to express their opposition to the announced staff redundancies and restructure by refusing to participate in events organised at Goldsmiths. It is the ultimate sanction, designed to exert pressure on the senior management of the institution to reconsider its position.

As a result, this series of workshops will be relocated to the University of Westminster for the duration of the boycott. The new hosts, home to Professor Jean Seaton, are the obvious choice and have kindly offered their support at short notice.

The changeover will be made as smooth as possible.

More details on the international boycott can be found on the UCU website.