Social cohesion is often discussed as though it is something that happens after the “real” work of public services is done. Housing, health, education, policing, then perhaps a communications campaign to explain what is happening. The LGA’s Common Ground guidance makes a different claim. Produced by Belong, the cohesion and integration network, the Common Ground guidance treats cohesion as a practical condition of everyday life that has to be built and maintained, not assumed.

Better Media and Decentered Media are collecting views about BBC Charter Renewal. Here are our Frequently Asked Questions. Complete the survey here: What is the BBC Charter Renewal, and why does it matter? The BBC Charter Renewal process sets the framework for how the BBC is governed, funded, regulated, and held to account for the next Charter period. Its implications extend beyond the BBC, shaping how public interest media is defined and supported across the UK media system.

The Government has published a Green Paper setting out initial proposals for the renewal of the BBC’s Royal Charter. This is a significant moment for media policy in the UK. The Charter defines not only how the BBC is governed and funded, but how public interest media is understood, regulated, and held to account over the next decade. Decentered Media is seeking views on this Green Paper because the consultation raises questions that extend beyond the BBC as a single institution.

SSDAB solution not a comprehensive substitute for analogue provision. There are 332 community radio stations in the UK mostly broadcasting o...

Much of the public discussions about the decline of trust in mainstream news focuses on polarisation, misinformation, or changing audience behaviour. The recent Triggernometry podcast conversation with Richard Minter, however, approaches the issue from a different angle. It frames the loss of trust not as a temporary reputational problem, but as a structural failure in the relationship between news institutions and the publics they claim to serve.

I'm excited to share a set of community-focused activities taking place across Leicester in spring 2026 that may be of interest to volunteers and organisations involved in community media, local storytelling, and civic participation. These events offer practical opportunities to develop skills in community reporting, hosting and facilitating public activities, and sharing ideas about how local media contributes to a sense of belonging, shared history, and understanding of the places we live in and come from.

Decentered Media is publishing a new briefing paper examining the outcomes of the Small-Scale DAB programme and its implications for local and independent broadcasting. This blog post accompanies the paper and is intended to situate it as a discussion document for policymakers, regulators, and sector stakeholders. Read the Paper Here The briefing reviews available regulatory data, market structures, and operational evidence from community and small independent services.

The Intangible Labour and the New Folklore exhibition, taking place at Leicester Adult Education Gallery on Belvoir Street brings together artists, performers, and musicians who are interested in the kinds of work that usually go unnoticed. This is not labour measured in hours, wages, or output, but the quieter effort involved in creativity, care, endurance, and emotional commitment. The exhibition and the accompanying podcast explore how much artistic work happens below the surface. Artists speak about the time, risk, and personal investment involved in making images, performances, and music. Much of this labour leaves little behind once a moment has passed, yet it shapes how culture is felt and remembered.

In this episode of the Decentered Media Podcast, I am joined by Shumaila Jaffery, a journalist and doctoral researcher whose work spans reporting in Pakistan and the UK. We use that lived, professional experience to explore a simple but difficult question. If media is part of the social infrastructure that holds everyday life together, what has to change for it to support social cohesion rather than fragmentation?

I am thrilled to join Decentered Media as part of my Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded PhD project. Over the coming months, I’ll be participating in podcasts and engaging in conversations and initiatives that matter to Leicester’s community media environment. Before entering academia, I spent many years as a journalist. My reporting has focused on the people and politics of South Asia.

This article argues that Christmas TV ratings cannot be used as a definitive measure of the BBC’s success or failure. Reflecting on the contrast between 2024 and 2025 ratings, it warns against over-selling short-term successes and calls for a culture shift through Charter Renewal, refocusing the BBC on public purpose, citizen interests, and innovation in a decentralised media environment. Christmas television ratings are routinely treated as symbolic verdicts on the health of British broadcasting.

As the year draws to a close, we want to offer our thanks to everyone who has read, listened, challenged, supported, or quietly reflected alongside Decentered Media over the past twelve months. Christmas and the New Year are moments for pause rather than proclamation, and for taking stock of what has been learned, what has shifted, and what still needs careful attention.

UK media reform is being shaped by Ofcom’s Review of Broadcast Regulation and the BBC Charter Renewal process. This blog frames reform as civic renewal, treating community media as essential civic infrastructure. It draws on participatory practice, cultural democracy, and ecological cultural vitality to question attendance-led metrics, address statistical invisibility, and propose proportionate evidence that avoids surveillance while building local capability and trust.

The UK Government’s Green Paper on the BBC’s Charter Review is now published, and it is welcome. Whatever one’s preferred settlement, Charter Renewal is one of the few moments when the public can legitimately expect the BBC’s constitutional purpose, governance, and long-term funding to be discussed in the open, rather than treated as a background administrative routine. The document frames the BBC as a national institution with a civic role that extends beyond broadcasting alone, and it explicitly asks for evidence and views from the public, the creative industries, researchers, and industry bodies.

This post examines why journalism must clearly explain the influences shaping the trans-identity debate, including contested terms, advocacy networks and policy processes. It argues that transparent reporting helps the public understand how language, evidence and decision-making interact, without taking sides. Clear explanation strengthens democratic discussion, supports accountability and prevents misunderstandings that arise when debates are framed through unclear or unexamined assumptions.

Given the social and political turmoil reported in our media, one might question if the economic and social model that has held sway for the last forty years might be shuddering to a halt. If this is the case, then in what form will a new, more sustainable model emerge? I would like to think that there is growing recognition that the real backbone of our lives is not speculative finance or headline-grabbing tech, but the everyday systems that quietly keep us going: housing, care, transport, food, water, education, and energy.

Ofcom’s Annual Report on the BBC’s activities presents a picture of steady compliance, careful monitoring, and procedural attention. The tone that Ofcom adopts is measured and administrative, as it works through the broadcaster’s performance against the Operating Licence and the Charter framework. When shortcomings are identified, the language is restrained. When procedures are not followed, Ofcom notes the omission and expects the BBC to correct it in future.

This article examines the findings of Parallel Lives: 25 years on and considers how social cohesion is shaped by psychological, neighbourhood and narrative factors. It highlights the limited attention given to media influences in the report and argues for a stronger focus on public purpose media as part of the civic infrastructure needed to support cross-group relationships. The piece discusses future research needs, policy implications and the role of local communication practices in building trust, belonging and shared understanding across diverse communities.

This blog explores new research arguing that public service media should be recognised as essential national infrastructure, comparable to transport or healthcare. It highlights how this aligns with Foundational Economics, which values the systems that support everyday life and social cohesion. As the BBC Charter Renewal approaches, the blog suggests shifting policy discussions away from technocratic fixes and towards social purpose, resilience and long-term public value.

As the BBC’s Charter Review approaches, a new briefing paper, BBC New to Britain: A Public Interest Case for an English-First Integration Service, calls for a national discussion on the future of public service media. It proposes evolving the BBC Asian Network into a universal, English-language platform promoting integration, civic participation, and shared identity. Decentered Media invites policymakers, practitioners, and listeners to engage in this debate through its podcast and online forums to shape the BBC’s role in a changing UK society.

The BBC’s leadership turmoil signals a deeper, systemic failure. This post compares today’s BBC to British Leyland’s decline: centralised control, weak product discipline, factional culture, and platform-chasing over public value. It critiques contradictory government mandates since 2010 and the drift toward US-style expansion at the expense of UK service. We propose Decentered Media’s Foundational Media model—plural supply, civic accountability, legal clarity, and Communications Impact Analysis—to rebuild trust, strengthen journalism, and refocus the BBC on a UK-first public mission in a global market.

How did the Manchester Piccadilly Gardens brawl highlight the grey zone between citizen reporting and influencer livestreams? What responsibilities around consent and dignity apply when filming in public spaces? How does “context collapse” and platform monetisation distort fast, viral footage? Can creator transparency and visible edit logs rebuild trust in local news? What would a local verification network in Manchester look like—and who joins it?