UPCOMING EVENTS

PAST EVENTS

All-Party Parliamentary Media Group Annual Reception

Wednesday 7th February 2024

The Media Group held its annual reception on Wednesday evening in the Terrace Pavilion in Parliament. Guests heard from a stellar line up of speakers including Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Fraser, Ofcom Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes, Competition and Markets Authority, Chief Executive Sarah Cardell, Creative Industries Council co-chair Peter Bazalgette, and our Chair Andy Carter MP.

Our speakers discussed a range of key issues in media policy, from broadcast regulation to AI, to local news. We had a wonderful evening of good conversation between the brightest and best of the media industry.

Audience protection and empowerment: Netflix, BBFC Age Ratings and the draft Media Bill

Wednesday 13th September 2023

Meeting organised by Andy Carter MP with Netflix and the BBFC, discussing their pioneering partnership on age ratings, designed to help provide a safe online environment for families to watch content together. With the recently published draft Media Bill including provisions on streaming services’ audience protection measures, the meeting will be an opportunity for members to hear how the two organisations have established a best practice approach to ensure that all Netflix content in the UK is classified with an appropriate age rating based on the BBFC’s trusted standards.

Subscription services in the DMCC Bill: in conversation

Tuesday 5th September 2023

Taking place at the House of Commons, Taylor Wessing, in collaboration with the APPMG, will be hosting this forum focused specifically on Part 4 of the Bill in relation to subscription contracts. Taylor Wessing is an international law firm, representing the world's most innovative businesses and individuals, and a sponsor of the APPG.

A panel of parliamentarians, industry and legal representatives will discuss subscription businesses' concerns with the Bill as well as ways in which the Bill could be improved.

Breaking the Internet or Saving Trusted News? The Digital Markets Unit and the UK’s Media Ecosystem

Monday 3rd July 2023

Key topics for discussion will include the progress of similar legislation in other jurisdictions, how DMU regulation will work in practice, as well as debate on where the new regulator should focus its resources once the legislation is passed. The Bill Committee’s scrutiny of the legislation will be in full swing at the time of the event, making this an excellent opportunity to discuss parts of the Bill that could be strengthened, and those that should not be watered down.

The panel will bring together a panel of senior parliamentarians,  industry voices, and legal experts who will analyse the role of that the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) will play in ensuring that tech giants and UK producers of trusted news content can build sustainable business relationships.

What Local News Plans tell us about supporting a new era in local news
Wednesday 8th March

Join the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) and NewsNow, the UK’s independent news discovery platform and one of the sponsors of the Media APPG, to discuss findings from a pilot project run in six locations across the UK (Bangor, Bristol, Folkestone, Glasgow, Manchester and Newry) to support a new era in local news.

At a time when many local papers have closed, consolidated or cut back their services, leaving a troubling deficit in local democracy, the project supported each community with producing a ‘Local News Plan’, to set out a shared vision for the future of public interest news in each area, including commitments from local politicians, business leaders, civil society organisations, funders and residents.

Jonathan Heawood of PINF and media consultant Sameer Padania will present findings from the six Plans, including many useful perspectives on how to foster the development of local news so communities get the depth and breadth of news they need and news providers become more sustainable.

There will then be an opportunity to discuss these findings, in an open discussion chaired by Andy Carter MP.

The children’s television sector in the UK: how to tackle the decline in children’s content
Wednesday 11 January 2023

Following the closure of the Young Audiences Content Fund earlier this year, the television production sector faces a monumental challenge to continue to create uniquely British programmes for young people. The DCMS’ £44m fund – launched in 2019 as a three-year pilot – contributed up to 50% of production costs for local UK firms creating new programmes for children under 18. Without funding, television programmes which reflect British children’s lives and culture could disappear from the nation’s screens.

Pact – the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television – will be unveiling the results of their latest research project into the state of the UK’s children’s television sector at an exclusive breakfast briefing. Their latest report investigates why the sector has suffered a decline in recent years and highlights the importance of original UK content for young British audiences. Most importantly, based on their latest research they will present proposals for an enhancement of the existing children’s and animation tax credit
to help keep this vitally important sector thriving.

There will then be an opportunity to discuss these solutions, in an open discussion chaired by Andy Carter MP.

Digital gatekeepers and the future of media
Tuesday 22 November, 10:00am-12:00pm

PCH

This event aims to explore the gatekeeping position of online platforms with significant market power and how best for Governments and regulators across the world to respond.

Confirmed speakers include: Sarah Cardell (CMA Interim CEO), Baroness Tina Stowell (Chair, Communications and Digital Committee), Andreas Schwab (MEP), Lina Khan (Chair, Federal Trade Commission), Matt Payton (Radiocentre), Paul Oldfield (BBC), Owen Meredith (NMA), Sajeeda Merali (PPA), John Battle (ITN) and Damien Geradin (Geradin Partners). The event will be hosted by Andy Carter MP, Chair of the Media APPG.

Media Group: Annual General Meeting

Unleashing innovation: does competition online matter for UK media?

Thursday 24 March 2022, 10am

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Media’s annual general meeting for the election of officers and other formal business will be held on Thursday 24th March, 10am. The list of current officers can be found here.

The AGM will be immediately followed by our second webinar of the year, further details of which can be found below.

The All-Party Parliamentary Media Group Chair, Andy Carter MP, invites you to a panel discussion on competition reform and the wider implications for the media sector.

As UK citizens increasingly seek their news and entertainment online and through connected devices, the role of digital gatekeepers grows in importance. Platforms, including search engines, social media sites and smart speakers determine what content UK citizens consume and in turn impact on the business models of media owners.

This session will explore why the government is proposing reforms to the UK's competition framework, the creation of the Digital Markets Unit within the Competition and Markets Authority, and what this will mean for the media sector. Attendees will hear from a range of experts, including UK media owners who are investing in high quality independent journalism.

This will be a very timely discussion as we await the introduction of legislation to formally establish the Digital Markets Unit, which will oversee a new regulatory regime for news platforms and big tech, including Google, Facebook, and Apple.

Speakers TBC.

Empowering the public to understand digital media: the work of the Content Authenticity Initiative
Webinar panel discussion
Tuesday 1 February 2022, 3pm

All-Party Parliamentary Media Group Chair, Andy Carter MP, invites you to a parliamentary briefing for the Media Group in collaboration with Adobe. The event will be a ‘teach-in’ on the work of the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), which Adobe launched in 2019 with Twitter and the New York Times with the aim of working to promote adoption of an open industry standard for content authenticity and provenance to empower citizens  to decide whether to trust the digital content they consume.

CAI now had hundreds of members, including ARM, BBC, Microsoft, VII, AFP and Getty Images. Its mission is to bolster trust in content (images, video, other digital file formats) by adding robust, tamper-evident provenance data from the moment a piece of content is created about how it was produced, edited and published. It offers a transparent way to inform the public about who created original photos and videos, and how these assets were changed over time, while ensuring that creative professionals and photojournalists receive credit for their work.

This exclusive parliamentary ‘teach-in’ will be an opportunity to learn about the work of the Content Authenticity Initiative and to see how the technology works in practice. The speakers will explain the history of how the CAI came into being, as well as setting out how they hope to implement the technology across a range of platforms and forms of media by developing an open-source standard, ensuring it is free to use for the benefit of all.

This will be a very timely discussion as we await the introduction of the Online Safety Bill in Parliament later this year, a large part of which focuses on how the government and Ofcom can increase awareness of media literacy tools for citizens to better understand disinformation and inauthentic content.  

Speakers include:

• Santiago Lyon, Head of Advocacy and Education at the Content Authenticity Initiative (and an award-winning photojournalist)

• Laura Ellis, Head of Technology Forecasting at the BBC

• Kate Brightwell, Head of Government Relations for Europe at Adobe

Watch here.

Changing the Narrative Around Disability in the Media 

Tuesday 13 July 2021, 11am

Virtual panel discussion

Watch here.

The media sector plays an important role in promoting rights and equalities for disabled people: from on-screen representation in fictional and non-fictional programmes to being a leader in positive inclusivity in recruitment and progression. Steps have been made, but there’s no denying that more can – and should – be done to promote and normalise a wider range of disabilities to the wider public through the media to ultimately change the narrative. What could the future look like, should media brands be creating tailored approaches for different disabilities, and what is required at a policy level to ensure disabled people – visible or invisible - are both represented and welcome in a media space?

The APPGs for Disability and Media are joining forces for a joint event to explore these questions with industry experts, and to probe what changes need to be made to make the media industry a safe space for all disabled people.

Speakers include:

Ally Castle, Creative Disability and Diversity Lead at Channel 4
Andy Ballantyne, Senior Broadcast Journalist at Global
Loren Eley, Group Client Lead at Bauer
The Cheetham Sisters, Disability Campaigners and TikTok Influencers

Group Chairs Dr Lisa Cameron MP and Andy Carter MP will chair the discussion, and there will be an opportunity to raise your questions to any of our speakers about creative diverse workforces and creative content in the Q&A session planned.

We hope to see you at the event, and if you have any questions or need any reasonable adjustments please do not hesitate to ask.

Watch here.

Tuning into a broader range of voices: championing diversity in the UK media

Friday 18 June 2021, 11am

Virtual panel discussion

View video here.

Diversity and Inclusion: a hugely important topic in broadcasting, but how are industry leaders truly tackling diversity at every level to create a level playing field? A truly diverse and inclusive workforce must be intersectional, from entry level to C-suite, and produce content which is reflective of their audience as well as hiring a diverse range of employees and creators.

With the broadcast sector a leader in pushing for internal diversification, how can policymakers both learn from their initiatives and implement policy frameworks to support a truly balanced media sector?

The APPG for Media, in partnership with Global, is bringing together the biggest names in broadcast to explore how the diverse voices of the UK can be championed.

Speakers include:

Nikhat Choudhury, Co-Chair of Rise Diversity Network at Global
Cathy Taylor, Principal in the Broadcasting & Online Content Group at Ofcom
Babita Bahal, Head of Creative Diversity at Channel 4
Jonty Archibald, Principal of the Global Academy
Simone Thomas, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Bauer Media
Kaye Elliott, Director of High-end Television at ScreenSkills

Our Group Chair, Andy Carter MP, will chair the discussion, and there will be an opportunity to raise your questions to any of our speakers about creative diverse workforces and creative content in the Q&A session planned.

We hope to see you at the event, and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

View video here.

‘From cottage industry to global success story: how the UK has grown a supercharged UK production sector’

Friday 14 May 2021, 11am

We are hosting a parliamentary briefing in collaboration with Pact. The event will explore how British film and TV has risen to world-class standing in recent years, and how the industry needs your support to ensure it can thrive through and beyond changes to policy and regulation that will be coming through parliament soon.

We are asking parliamentarians and policymakers to help us to save the future Corries and Fleabags of Britain, and a thriving creative industry of this country. With a 75,000 strong workforce and attracting inward investment worth upward of £3 billion a year, the UK independent production sector has grown from a small cottage industry to a sector which now adds significant creative and economic value to the British economy. British TV and film now competes and wins on the world stage, creating economic and cultural capital for the UK we should all celebrate and support.

This exclusive parliamentary briefing will look at why it is imperative that the upcoming Ofcom review into public service broadcasting protects and promotes British independent production, to ensure this industry can continue to thrive at home and around the world. We will outline how the sector has grown from a cottage industry to a global success story, and cover issues such as Intellectual Property Rights exploitation and public service broadcasting. We highly recommend attending this event if you have an interest in or would like to learn more about this thriving industry.

Speakers include:

• John McVay OBE, Chief Executive of Pact

• Hakan Kousetta, Pact Chair and Co-Founder of 60Forty Films

• David Swetman, Senior Vice President of Scripted Content at All3Media International

Our Group Chair, Andy Carter MP, will chair the discussion, and there will be an opportunity for you to raise your own questions in the Q&A session planned.

Friday 5 March 2021, 11am

With millions of people confined to their homes and communities during lockdowns, the regional and local media scene has seen a sharp and welcomed boost in popularity. Many have increasingly turned to local publishers and broadcasting stations for information on local restrictions, as well as how they can get involved with community projects and support schemes.

Whilst the regional and local media scene has been a force for good during the pandemic, it suffers from a number of challenges, including a lack of funding. If it is to endure post-pandemic, more support is needed to save this struggling industry. This is something which your career has invaluable expertise in.

The APPG on Media, in collaboration with Camelot, is hosting a panel event to explore these issues and the potential policy solutions.

You can watch the discussion in full here.

Friday 27th November, 11am

Watch here.

Both the challenges of and societal need for funding public interest journalism are making themselves unprecedentedly known in light of Covid-19 and global politics.

The APPG Media, in collaboration with NewsNow, is hosting a panel event to explore this issue and the potential policy solutions, spanning funding, regulation, fake news and freedom of speech, through to the prospective policy solutions to protect and promote legitimate news over misinformation in the digital world.

Speakers are:

1. Jonathan Heawood, Public Interest News Foundation

2. Adam Newby, NewsNow

3. Rachel Oldroyd, Bureau of Investigative Journalism

4. Matt Rogerson, Guardian Media Group

Our Group Chair, Andy Carter MP, will lead the discussion.

You can watch the discussion in full here.

Thursday 24 September, 11am

‘The impact of Covid-19 on the Film and TV industry: Building back better with a more inclusive workforce’, is delivered by the APPG on Media, a forum for discussion representing all angles of the media sector as it is affected by public policy, in partnership with ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the screen industries.

The webinar will discuss how the seismic events of the last six months have affected the industry and the practical measures it is taking to tackle the barriers that have blocked progression of people from a wide variety of backgrounds until now. The pandemic, combined with the momentum of the social movements, has injected an urgency to the drive to effect real change. The challenge now is to tackle these shortages, while getting back into production safely to create opportunities for people from all backgrounds.

The webinar will feature the expertise of Christine Healy, Head of Production at independent television production company New Pictures, Harjeet Chhokar, Commissioning Editor at Channel 4, and Seetha Kumar, CEO of ScreenSkills. The Chair of the Media APPG, Andy Carter, with decades of experience working across the media sector, will host the discussion.

Friday 3 June, 12pm

 Andy Carter MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Media Group, invites you to join us for an insightful discussion looking at how social media can empower movements and people, hosted by the APPG Media Group and TikTok.

The webinar will hear from a range of industry leaders on connecting people, creating positive online communities and movements, supporting people, and digital citizenship and literacy.

Joining us will be Alexi Mostrous, Editor and Partner at news start up and media disruptor Tortoise Media, Helen Milner OBE, Chief Executive of social change charity The Good Things Foundation and Fabio Thomas of BeetFreeks, a growing community of young creatives. They will be joined by TikTok’s Head of Policy Liz Kanter, as the world's fastest growing content platform. the Chair of the Media APPG, Andy Carter MP, who has decades of experience working in radio and journalism, will host the discussion.

February 2020

The event, hosted by Rosie Cooper MP, Chair of the APPG for Media, was attended by officers, sponsors and parliamentarians to celebrate a very successful year for the Group and discuss future strategy as we plan for the year ahead. Guests of Honour included Baroness Morgan of Coates, Sir Peter Bazalgette and Jonathan Oxley, who all gave insightful speeches.

15.10.2019

An event on changing changing viewing habits and more people using streaming services that watching regular TV. How do we ensure non-tech-savvy users are not left behind?

Our AGM will be in Terrace Dining Room A, House of Commons, after the Arqiva event ““The changing world of TV: Ensuring no one is left behind” which starts at 8.30am.

25.06.2019

At the event Screen Skills, as well as Richard Johnston, CEO of Endemol Shine (and Chair of ScreenSkills) and Frith Tiplady, Executive Producer at Moonage Pictures, spoke about how inflexibilities in the Apprenticeship Levy were damaging the UK screen sector.

29.01.2019

Professor Tim Luckhurst, Ian Reeves, and Rob Bailey from the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent presented their new report.

26.06.2018

Ofcom CEO, Sharon White, updated members of both houses on the organisations plans and hopes for the coming year.