James Curran

James Curran is professor of communications at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has written or edited over 20 books about the media, some in collaboration with others.

Remembering Todd Gitlin, witness to 9/11

openDemocracy’s former North America editor has sadly died. Here, our co-founder remembers a dear friend, as we republish one of Todd’s best articles

By Anthony Barnett and James Curran

/ 7 Feb 2022

Remembering Todd Gitlin, witness to 9/11

Why has the Internet changed so little?

The Internet Age was meant to change everything - internationalism, commerce, journalism, government - all would be transformed, made equal and boundless by the click. It's time to admit this has simply failed to happen, and what is more interesting than the bad forecasting is the reason that they

By James Curran

/ 4 Mar 2012

OurKingdom forum: The fall of Murdoch - What next?

An ongoing forum in which OurKingdom authors consider why the fall of Rupert Murdoch has taken place, what it tells us about the state of Britain and what the key lesson are for the media and government.

By James Curran, Nick Couldry, Suzanne Moore, Ryan Gallagher and Julian Sayarer

/ 15 Jul 2011

James Curran

Congratulations on being 10. Also for having the vision to recognise the potential of the internet to enable a global conversation – and the inexhaustible energy and drive to reinvent yourself

By James Curran

/ 8 May 2011

The BBC Strategy Review: Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre responds

Staff at the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre give their verdict on the BBC Strategy Review: its proposals "would lead to a reduction in quality, would signify a shrinking of ambition and would undermine the public space facilitated by the BBC"

By James Curran, Des Freedman and Natalie Fenton

/ 6 Jun 2010

Global media concentration: shifting the argument

The debate launched by the McChesney-Compaine exchange has been one of the most read sections of openDemocracy. It has also been used in university seminars in two continents. But now

By James Curran

/ 22 May 2002

Paradox of freedom on the media frontline

Al Jazeera is having a good war, says the Middle East Broadcasting Company, one of the five-year-old, 24-hour news stations many competitors for Arab viewers. As the only broadcaster

By David Elstein and James Curran

/ 14 Oct 2001

Beyond sleepwalking

No discussion of politics, economics, war, culture or everyday life today lacks attention to the media. Not only are the media major centres of investment and power virtually everywhere, they

By David Elstein, Todd Gitlin and James Curran

/ 15 May 2001