Latest research
Our latest piece of research has recently been published in Journalism Studies; “Does the political context shape how “due impartiality” is interpreted? An analysis of BBC reporting of the 2019 UK and 2020 US election campaigns.” The research shows inconsistencies with how impartiality seems to be employed within the BBC, and in many instances a continued reliance on balance and “he-said-she-said” reporting, rather than true impartiality.
You can read the full paper here. To watch an animation highlighting some of the main findings of the paper, click on the video to the right. We worked with Learning on Screen to produce the video.
People have been switching off from coronavirus news – but the Dominic Cummings story cut through
The turmoil about whether Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, broke the UK’s lockdown rules has fuelled public anger about the government. This is despite many people experiencing “news fatigue” that led them to either start avoiding news altogether or pay less attention to news coverage, our research has found. Our study of the public’s opinions about media coverage of COVID-19 found many people wanted journalists to hold Cummings to account with some suggesting his actions may have influenced other people to break the UK’s lockdown rules.