He was a contender! openDemocracy's co-founder looks back to his frustrated attempt in 1986 to be made editor of Britain's formost leftwing weekly, the New Statesman, as he celebrates its revival on its 100th birthday. See what it might have been.
Britain will never recover from being saved by Margaret Thatcher.
Soon after it started openDemocracy was plunged into the war on terror and the preparations for the Iraq war. They defined its editorial approach. oD's founding editor looks back to argue that so much more remains to be done.
Still they continue to caricature and minimise the opposition at the time as they sense the threat to the balance of power. But the fact is this. Without the battering ram of the Murdoch press especially, and media generally, the UK Parliament could not have voted for the Iraq invasion.
Drawing on his new edition of Iron Britannia, a veteran critic of Parliament's war over the Falklands says that today's 'referendum' of 1,600 islanders is a sad projection of British dreams.
OurKingdom contributor Lis Howell speaks out on making the BBC accountable as the men around her say all it needs is better leadership.
The BBC was profoundly damaged by the Blair government's successful attack upon it over Iraq. Since then its senior managers have regarded truth as something to be handled not investigated. Could this loss of integrity underly its recent disasters?
The second session of OurBeeb’s day-forum at King’s College London asked Gerald Kaufman, Dan Hind and Anthony Barnett to present their arguments for establishing a new method of accountability in the BBC, fit for the digital age.
On 31 October 2012, OurBeeb held a day-forum at King’s College London to discuss the future of the BBC. Full audio and video highlights start with a discussion between David Elstein and Lis Howell on how to fund public service broadcasting.
The UK's coalition government of Tories and Lib Dems have now pushed through legislation creating secret courts that will protect the State at the whim of Ministers and the Secret Services. It is an outrage.
The appointment of the new Director General at the BBC must be an open process rather than the current backroom dealing underway. OurBeeb is trying to make this happen - and you can help.
