UK MEDIA

BRITISH CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Pr. EL OUAHABI ABDERRAHIM
 Introduction
• The UK media sector can include newspapers, television, magazines,
radio, film, books, advertising, music, telephones and public relations.
• At the same time, UK media organizations have interests in many parts
of the world. Since the late 1990s, successive Labour governments have
attempted to elide the distinction between culture and commerce,
leading to the adoption of the idea of the ‘creative industries’.
• The UK has also been affected by the general decline in consumption of
traditional media, particularly newspapers, which has been evident in
most developed countries.
• The government’s objective was for the UK to be digital by 2014. These
trends have been accompanied by widespread concerns about media quality.
 Traditional Media
• The UK is effectively saturated with traditional electronic media, Multi-television, multi-
radio, and multi-telephone households are commonplace.

• The four sectors are worth a total of about 100bn British pounds (111 million
euros) a year.

• The audiovisual media’s major defining characteristic is the existence of a

strong public service broadcaster, the BBC
(BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION) supported by a
universal compulsory television licence fee.
 Print Media
• This press is commonly divided into three sectors :
1. Quality: also known as "broadsheets".
- They typically cater to a more educated and affluent readership.
- Emphasis is on serious news, in-depth analysis, and comprehensive coverage of international and
national events, politics, economics, and culture.
-They often have a more traditional and formal layout with less reliance on images compared to tabloids.

2. Middle Market : These are a hybrid between tabloids and broadsheets.

- Aimed at a more middle-class readership.
- They often mix serious news with entertainment and lifestyle features but tend to have a more
conservative stance than the quality press.
-More visually engaging than broadsheets but less sensational than red-top tabloids.

3. Red- top tabloid: Named after their distinctive red mastheads.

- Appeal to a more working-class readership.
- Known for their sensationalist and often controversial reporting style. They focus heavily on celebrities,
sports, scandals, and gossip.
- Characterized by bold, sensational headlines, and a heavy use of photographs.
 Newspapers
• Newspapers in the UK can be broadly categorized into two main types:
broadsheets and tabloids:
• Broadsheets: These newspapers are known for their in-depth reporting and
analysis of news, often focusing on political and economic issues. They are
typically regarded as catering to a more educated readership and are
characterized by their larger, traditional paper size.

▫ The Times: One of the oldest and most respected newspapers, known for its
comprehensive coverage of national and international news, politics, and
culture.
▫ The Guardian: Known for its progressive stance, it covers a wide range of
topics from politics to environmental issues. It is also famous for its
investigative journalism.
▫ The Daily Telegraph: A broadsheet that traditionally leans towards
conservative politics, offering extensive coverage of news, business, and sports.
• Tabloids: These are smaller in size and known for their
more sensational approach to news. They often focus on
celebrity gossip, sports, and personal stories.

▫ The Sun: The best-selling tabloid, known for its sensational

headlines and celebrity coverage.
▫ Daily Mail: Known for its focus on human-interest stories,
conservative editorial stance, and extensive coverage of
health and lifestyle issues.
▫ The Mirror: A tabloid with a more left-leaning editorial
stance, focusing on celebrity news, sports, and sensational
stories.
Magazines
• Magazines in the UK cater to a wide array of interests, ranging from
news and current affairs to specific hobbies and entertainment.
• News and Current Affairs Magazines:
▫ The Economist: Globally renowned for its detailed analysis of global
economic and political issues.
▫ Private Eye: Known for its satirical take on current affairs, politics, and
media.
• Lifestyle and Entertainment Magazines:
▫ Hello!: Focuses on celebrity news and lifestyle, popular for its coverage of
the British Royal Family and other high-profile figures.
▫ Radio Times: Provides TV and radio listings, along with entertainment-
related features and interviews.
• Special Interest Magazines:
▫ Empire: Targets film enthusiasts, featuring film reviews, interviews, and
industry news.
▫ Autocar: Specializes in automotive news, reviews, and features.
Regional and Local Newspapers

• Apart from national newspapers, there are numerous regional and

local papers that play a crucial role in delivering news at the
community level. These publications focus on local news, events,
and issues relevant to their specific geographic areas.
Examples include:

• Manchester Evening News: Covering news and events in and

around Manchester.
• The Scotsman: Providing news specific to Scotland.
Role and Challenges
• Role in Society:
Print media in the UK has traditionally played a significant role in
shaping public opinion, informing the electorate, and holding
authorities accountable.
• Challenges:
The rise of digital media has posed significant challenges to the print
media industry, with declining circulation numbers and advertising
revenues. Many newspapers and magazines have adapted by
establishing strong online presences and digital editions.
• Innovation and Adaptation:
Some print media outlets have innovated by incorporating multimedia
elements into their digital versions, offering podcasts, video content,
and interactive features.
 Radio
• The BBC operates ten national radio stations:
• The World Service; regional stations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (including stations
broadcasting in Welsh and Scots), and 30 local stations. Radio is also characterized by a multi-faceted
commercial presence alongside that of the BBC. About 300 commercial radio stations broadcast across a
number of platforms, the vast majority being local.

• In mid-2009, the BBC’s overall share of the radio audience was 54.6 percent and commercial
radio had 42.7 percent.
• The BBC’s Radio 2 had the largest single station weekly reach (13.42m listeners).
• Radio 1 reached 11.45m people. Classic FM, the largest single commercial station, reached
5.4m.
• On the other hand, the reach of local commercial radio is greater than that of local BBC
services.
• The largest commercial radio group, Global Radio, with 33 stations, claims about 40
percent of all commercial radio listening (19m listeners). A small number of large chains
dominate the sector.
 Television
• UK television channels broadcast about 2.5 million hours of programming a year.
• There are four main public service free-to-air broadcasters (the BBC [operating two services,
One and Two], Independent Television [ITV], Channel 4 and 5) which attract about 60
percent of total viewing. Three of these (ITV, Channel 4 and 5) carry advertising.
• UK television is also characterized by multi-channel provision, much of it subscription-
based, although the BBC has eight channels.
• More than 90 percent of UK households have multi-channel television. Nearly 500 channels
are available (including 30 24/7 news channels).
• BSkyB, controlled by NewsCorp, is the major satellite provider. Freeview is a set-top box
system jointly owned by the BBC, BSkyB, and Crown Castle.
• Sky operates 26 channels of its own, including nine movie channels and five sports channels.
• Others available include those from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, plus global offerings such
as Cartoon Network, CNN, Discovery, DW-TV, Fox News, MTV, Nickelodeon, TCM and VH1.
 Cinema
• The UK box office is worth 850m pounds with domestically-produced films accounting for
just under a third of this. The number of cinema screens has increased annually since 2006:
there are now more than 3,600.
• The UK has the highest number of digital cinema screens in Europe (more than 300). About
70 screens have 3D capability. About 60 percent of people go to the cinema at least once a year.
• However, more film is watched on DVD and television: about 40 percent of film revenues
(the largest single proportion) comes from DVD sales and rentals, while on average each
person in the UK watches more than 60 films on television each year.
• The UK produces just under 70 feature films each year.
• The number of companies involved in film and video production (7,970), distribution
(435), and exhibition (230) have grown steadily for the past decade.
• In sum, the cinema industry has turned over 61 billion pounds.
• By the international measure of ‘filmed entertainment’, the UK is the third-ranked
country in the world behind the USA and Japan.
• Its revenues are higher than those of all of the rest of Europe put together.
 Telecommunications
• The UK telecommunications sector is characterized by the development of new
technologies and services based on them. For the first time, in 2009 personal use of mobile
telephones was greater than the use of fixed-line phones across the UK.
• Revenues from mobile voice calls more than tripled in the decade to 2008. At the same
time, revenues from fixed-line voice calls fell by 27 percent. One in nine households has a
mobile but no fixed-line connection. Mobile call minutes will overtake fixed-line calls on
present trends in 2010.
• The once publicly-owned monopoly British Telecom (BT) now accounts for less than half
of retail fixed-line voice calls to UK numbers.
• Nearly 85 percent of premises are connected to a choice of services. O2 is the largest
provider of telecom connections. There are five mobile network operators: Vodafone, T-Mobile,
Orange, 3UK, and O2.
• They provide nearly 66 percent of all telephone connections, compared to BT’s 19
percent. O2 has the largest share (21.5 percent). Virgin is the largest mobile virtual
network operator. The supermarket chain Tesco is the second-largest
 New Media

• Nine out of ten UK homes have digital television;

• More than a quarter have digital video recorders, and
nearly a third have digital radio.
• Added to the uptake of digital telecommunications (broadband,
G3/4/5) mentioned above, the UK has become a digital nation.
• Nearly half of homes have bundled services: telephony
and broadband, or telephony, broadband, and television.
• The first digital-only regions switched over in November 2008
 Digital media
• All significant media have an online presence, a trend started in 1994 with the Electronic
Telegraph followed by Guardian Unlimited, whose site has made the paper the most
widely read in the world. BBC Online is one of the world’s most visited sites.
• Newspaper websites typically have features, such as audio, video and blogs, not found in
the print editions. The two most popular, Guardian.co.uk and the Telegraph, have more
than 30m unique users a month each.
• The dash to digital is led by television, however. BBC Online says it is visited by 43
percent of the UK population. The service is a compilation of many sites containing about
2m individual pages. BBC News and Sport is the most visited area, claiming about a fifth
of all users.
• However, video on demand (VOD) allowing viewers to catch up with scheduled
broadcasts they have missed is perhaps the biggest driver of online media use. About a
quarter of all households use VOD. The main service is the BBC’s iPlayer which has
posted 275m video streams, with another 100m available direct to TV sets through Virgin
Media. Channel 4 has posted 150m video streams.
 Media legislation

• It is estimated that more than 140 pieces of legislation have direct relevance
to the media, and litigation is a favoured method (among those who can
afford it) of bringing the media to account.
• Privacy was not recognised as such in UK law; however, cases could be
brought for breaches of confidentiality.
• Freedom of expression is protected under the 1998 Human Rights Act which
enacted into UK law the European Convention on Human Rights, and a
Freedom of Information Act came into force in 2005.
• The 1998 Act also introduced privacy as a statutory right. The main piece of
media legislation is the Communications Act which established Ofcom.
• As a rule, activities by and in the media are governed by general law
 Regulatory authority

• In 2003 a complex system of media regulation and oversight was partially

rationalised through the creation of Ofcom to police broadcasting and
telecommunications (replacing five separate bodies).
• This heralded a ‘lighter touch’ statutory regulation (for example, prohibitions on
cross-media ownership were relaxed); however, controls over content were
strengthened.
• This aspect of Ofcom’s work also applied for the first time to the BBC.
Otherwise, the Corporation established a Trust to oversee its operations and
to represent the public.
• As a public corporation, the BBC is ultimately answerable to parliament. The
Internet also lies outside the remit of Ofcom which is overseen voluntarily
by the Internet Watch Foundation. Films are classified, and censored, by the
Board of Classification
 Conclusions
• The UK media landscape is large and complex. For 80 years the publicly-
funded, public service BBC has been a defining element in it.
• However, over the past 50 years, starting with the introduction of ITV in 1956,
the UK media have been increasingly commercialized.
• This has brought broadcasting more into line with the press, which was
founded in commercial enterprise.
• Particularly from the 1980s, the BBC’s future has not always looked to be
assured as successive government’s committed to increasing
commercialization