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Professor Des Freedman

Staff details

Position Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Head of Department
Department Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
Email d.freedman (@gold.ac.uk)
Phone +44 (0)20 7919 7632
Professor Des Freedman

Des Freedman is interested in the relationship between media and power together with the political and economic contexts of media policymaking, regulation and reform. He was a founding member and recent chair of the Media Reform Coalition and was project lead for the Inquiry into the Future of Public Service Television chaired by Lord Puttnam. He is a former editor of the Sage journal 'Global Media and Communication' and has edited several strands for openDemocracy including 'Anti-austerity and media activism' (with Natalie Fenton and Gholam Khiabany), 'Liberalism in neo-liberal times' (with Gholam Khiabany, Kate Nash and Julian Petley) and 'Capitalism and universities' (with Michael Bailey). His latest books include Misunderstanding the Internet (2nd edition, Routledge 2016, with James Curran and Natalie Fenton) and The Contradictions of Media Power (Bloomsbury 2014).

Des is currently Head of Department and Co-Director of the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre.

Teaching

Des Freedman convenes and teaches on 'Media, Modernity and Social Thought' and the spring term PhD methods course, 'Researching Media and Culture'.

Areas of supervision

Current Research Students

  • Michael Klontzas is researching the BBC's use of technology as a form of public policy delivery.

Completed Students

  • Noemie Oxley researched soldiers' videos of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Alejandro Rodriguez looked at Mexican media policies in relation to Habermasian concepts of ideal speech and the public sphere
  • Vana Goblot evaluated notions of 'quality' in relation to BBC4 and the idea of 'think television'
  • Yachi Chen explored regulatory discourses in relation to the National Communications Commission in Taiwan
  • Laurence Pawley assessed different models of citizenship in relation to the policies, programmes and performance of the BBC.
  • Kate Coyer looked at the democratic implications of local and community radio with case studies of radio stations in Los Angeles and London.
  • Eugene Gorny, an experienced web producer, researched the history of creativity in Russian cyberculture.
  • Sen-Yin Li looked at press narratives in relation to debates on GM food.
  • Thomas Chivers evaluated the power dynamics of recent media policy debates in the UK.
  • Sabrina Wilkinson used networked gatekeeping theory to examine the assumptions governing the regulation of digital intermediaries in Canada.
  • Vince Medeiros explored the possibility of business models supporting radical content in a commercial environment

Publications and research outputs

Book

Davis, Aeron; Fenton, Natalie; Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Khiabany, Gholam. 2020. Media, Democracy and Social Change: Re-imagining Political Communications. London: SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781526456960

Fenton, Natalie; Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Schlosberg, Justin and Dencik, Lina. 2020. The Media Manifesto. Cambridge: Polity. ISBN 9781509538065

Curran, James P.; Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2017. Misunderstanding the Internet, 2nd edition (in Korean). Seoul, South Korea: Culturelook. ISBN 97-11-85521-06-0-94300

Curran, James P.; Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2016. Misunderstanding the Internet 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781138906228

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. The Contradictions of Media Power. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781849660730

Curran, James P.; Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Fenton, Natalie. 2014. Hulianwang de Wudu (Misunderstanding the Internet). Beijing: People's University of China Press.

Curran, James P.; Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Misunderstanding the Internet. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-57958-2:

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2008. The Politics of Media Policy. Cambridge: Polity. ISBN 9780745628417

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. Television Policies of the Labour Party 1951 - 2001. Frank Cass. ISBN 0714654558

Edited Book

Freedman, Des (D. J.) , ed. 2021. Capitalism's Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian. London: Pluto Press. ISBN 9780745343341

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Goblot, Vana, eds. 2018. A Future for Public Service Television. London: Goldsmiths Press. ISBN 9781906897710

Titley, Gavan; Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Khiabany, Gholam and Mondon, Aurelien, eds. 2017. After Charlie Hebdo: Terror, Racism and Free Speech. London: Zed Books. ISBN 978-1-78360-938-3 pb

Abraham-Hamanoiel, Alejandro; Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Khiabany, Gholam; Nash, Kate and Petley, Julian, eds. 2017. Liberalism in Neoliberal Times: Dimensions, Contradictions, Limits. London: Goldsmiths Press. ISBN 978-1-906897-40-6

Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Obar, Jonathan, A.; Martens, Cheryl and McChesney, Robert, eds. 2016. Strategies for Media Rerform: International Perspectives. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823271658

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Thussu, Daya, eds. 2011. Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives. London: Sage. ISBN 978-1-446-20158-9

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Bailey, Michael, eds. 2011. The Assault on Universities: A Manifesto for Resistance. Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0745331911

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Schlosberg, Justin, eds. 2011. Mapping Digital Media: UK case study. Open Society Foundations.

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Thussu, Daya Kishan, eds. 2003. War and the Media: Reporting Conflict 24/7. SAGE. ISBN 978-0761943136

Book Section

Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2022. Media Reform and the Politics of Hope. In: Joanna Zylinska, ed. The Future of Media. London: Goldsmiths Press, pp. 25-41. ISBN 9781913380144

Fenton, Natalie. 2021. Corruption in the Fourth Estate: How the Guardian exposed phone hacking and reneged on reform of press regulation. In: Des (D. J.) Freedman, ed. Capitalism's Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian. London: Pluto Press, pp. 169-185. ISBN 9780745343341

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2021. Media Policy Failures and the Emergence of Right-Wing Populism. In: Silvio Waisbord and Howard Tumber, eds. The Routledge Companion to Media Disinformation and Populism. London: Routledge, pp. 421-429. ISBN 9780367435769

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2019. ¿Sin tropiezos? El modelo de propaganda y tiempos de crisis. In: Joan Pedro Carañana and Francisco Caballero, eds. El modelo de propaganda y el control de los medios. Salamanca, Spain: Comunicacion Social, pp. 225-244. ISBN 9788417600259

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Obar, Jonathan A.. 2019. Media Development and Media Reform: Time for Change. In: Nicholas Benequista; Susan Abbott; Paul Rothman and Winston Mano, eds. International Media Development: Historical Perspectives and New Frontiers. 23 New York: Peter Lang, pp. 220-229. ISBN 9781433151484

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2017. Media Power and the Framing of the Charlie Hebdo Attacks. In: Gavan Titley; Des (D. J.) Freedman; Gholam Khiabany and Aurelien Mondon, eds. After Charlie Hebdo: Terror, Racism and Free Speech. London: Zed, pp. 209-222. ISBN 978-1783609390

Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2017. Fake Democracy, Bad News. In: Leo Panitch and Gregory Albo, eds. Rethinking Democracy. 54 London: The Merlin Press, pp. 130-149. ISBN 9781583676714

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2017. A return to prime-time activism: Social movement theory and the media’. In: Victor Pickard and Guobin Yang, eds. Media Activism in the Digital Age. London: Routledge, pp. 120-133. ISBN 9781138228023

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2017. Critical perspectives on media and conflict. In: Piers Robinson; Philip Seib and Romy Frolich, eds. Routledge Handbook of Media, Conflict and Security. London: Routledge, pp. 68-79. ISBN 9780415712910

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2016. Divided Britain? We were already divided... In: Daniel Jackson; Einar Thorsen and Dominic Wring, eds. EU Referendum Analysis 2016: Media, Voteres and the Campaign. , p. 48 ISBN 9781910042090

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Obar, Jonathan, A.. 2016. Media Reform: An Overview. In: Des (D. J.) Freedman; Jonathan Obar; Cheryl Martens and Robert McChesney, eds. Strategies for Media Reform: International Perspectives. New York: Fordham University Press, pp. 3-18. ISBN 9780823271658

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. ‘The Resilience of TV and its Implications for Media Policy’. In: Kate Okaley and Justin O'Connor, eds. The Routledge Companion to the Cultural Industries. London: Routledge, pp. 120-129. ISBN 9780415706209

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. How to Study Ownership and Regulation’. In: Manuel Alvarado; Toby Miller and Milly Buonanno, eds. The Sage Handbook of Television Studies. London: Sage, pp. 3-21. ISBN 9780761947417

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. How to Study Ownership and Regulation. In: Manuel Alvarado; Milly Buonanno; Herman Gray and Toby Miller, eds. The Sage Handbook of Television Studies. SAGE, pp. 3-21. ISBN 978-0761947417

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. The Resilience of TV and its Implications for Media Policy. In: Kate Oakley and Justin O'Connor, eds. The Routledge Companion to the Cultural Industries. London & NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415706209

Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. The Politics and Possibilities of Media Reform: Lessons from the UK. In: Toby Miller, ed. The Routledge Companion to Global Popular Culture. London & NY: Routledge, pp. 458-470. ISBN 978-0415641470

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Power in the Digital Economy. In: Granville Williams, ed. Big Media and Internet Titans: Media Ownership: the Democratic Challenge. Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, pp. 94-105. ISBN 978-1898240075

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Truth over justice: the Leveson Inquiry and the implications for democracy. In: Philip Dearman and Cathy Greenfield, eds. How We are Governed: Investigations of Communication, Media and Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 53-74. ISBN 978-1443854061

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. Regulating for plurality: lessons from the UK. In: Franck Rebillard and Marlene Loica, eds. Pluralisme de l'information et media diversity : Un état des lieux international. De Boeck (in French), pp. 97-116. ISBN 978-2804182328

Khiabany, Gholam and Williamson, Milly. 2012. Terror, culture and anti-Muslim racism. In: Des (D. J.) Freedman and Daya Kishan Thussu, eds. Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives. London: Sage, pp. 134-150. ISBN 9781446201589

Couldry, Nick; Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Phillips, Angela. 2010. An Ethical Deficit? Accountability, Norms, and the Material Conditions of Contemporary Journalism. In: Natalie Fenton, ed. New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age. London: Sage, pp. 51-67. ISBN 978-1-847-87574-7

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2010. The Political Economy of the 'New' News Environment. In: Natalie Fenton, ed. New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age. London: Sage, pp. 35-50. ISBN 978-1-847-87574-7

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2008. Policy and regulation. In: R Picard; R Towse; L Kung and R Wallis, eds. The Impact of the Internet on the Mass Media. SAGE.

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2007. The Mirror and the war on Iraq. In: Anita Biressi and Heather Nunn, eds. The Tabloid Culture Reader. Maidenhead: Open University Press, pp. 70-80. ISBN 978-0335219315

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2006. Internet Transformations: “old” media resilience in the “new media” revolution. In: James P. Curran and David G. Morley, eds. Media and Cultural Theory. London and NY: Routledge, pp. 275-290. ISBN 978-0415317054

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2006. Media policy-making in the free trade era: the impact of the GATS negotiations on audiovisual industries. In: Sylvia Harvey, ed. Trading Culture: Global Traffic and Local Cultures in Film and Television. John Libbey & Co, pp. 21-32. ISBN 978-0861966691

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2004. The Mirror and the War on Iraq: Profits, Politics and Product Differentiation. In: Anita Biressi; Heather Nunn; Jonathan Rutherford and Fran Davies, eds. MediaWar (Mediactive). 3 Barefoot Publications. ISBN 978-1905007028

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. How Her Majesty's Opposition Grew to Like Commercial TV: The Labour Party and the Origins of ITV. In: Toby Miller, ed. Television: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415255028

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. Misreporting war has a long history. In: David Miller, ed. TELL ME LIES: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq. Pluto Press, pp. 63-69. ISBN 978-0745322018

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. Raymond Williams. In: Chrsitopher May, ed. Key Thinkers for the Information Society: Vol 1. Routledge, pp. 173-190. ISBN 978-0415296731

Article

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Schlosberg, Justin. 2020. Opening the gates: Plurality regulation and the public interest. Journal of Digital Media & Policy, 11(2), pp. 115-132. ISSN 2516-3523

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2020. The world is changing – it’s time our media did too. Huck Magazine,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2019. “Public Service” and the Journalism Crisis: Is the BBC the Answer? Television & New Media, 20(3), pp. 203-218. ISSN 1527-4764

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2018. Introduction to Revolting Media: Why Manifestos? Media Theory, 2(2), pp. 240-244.

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2018. Populism and media policy failure. European Journal of Communication, 33(6), pp. 604-618. ISSN 0267-3231

Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2018. Democracia fake, más notícias. Comunicação & Educação, 23(1), pp. 107-126. ISSN 2316-9125

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2017. Put a ring on it: why we need more commitment in media scholarship. Javnost - The Public, 24(2), pp. 186-197. ISSN 1318-3222

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2016. Jeremy Corbyn's media strategy is smarter than his critics realise. New Statesman, ISSN 1364-7431

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2016. Media Policy Norms for a Europe in Crisis. Javnost - The Public, 23(2), pp. 120-134. ISSN 1318-3222

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. Some Contradictions of the Assault on the BBC. Discover Society, 24,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. Paradigms of Media Power. Communication, Culture & Critique, 8(2), pp. 273-289. ISSN 1753-1929

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. Media Policy Fetishism. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 32(2), pp. 96-111. ISSN 1529-5036

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Guardian’s anti-Hamas advert is a story of media power – and it’s not just about the money. The Conversation,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. The Meaning of the Hacking Trial: A Free Press would be a Really Good Idea. Huffington Post,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Five reasons why Ed Miliband's flirtation with the Sun was a disaster. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Murdoch buying Murdoch: Nothing to worry about? LSE Media Policy Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Media ownership: the elephant in the room. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Decriminalising non-payment of the licence a barely disguised attack on BBC. The Conversation,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. When are we going to do something about media power? Coalition for Media Pluralism,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Lords Report does little to weaken media barons. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Four more years to wait for media plurality. LSE Media Policy Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Why are we so frightened of breaking up 'big media'? Huffington Post,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Communication & Global Power Shifts. The Puzzle of Media Power: Notes Toward a Materialist Approach. International Journal of Communication, 8, ISSN 1932-8036

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2014. Media Policy Research and the Media Industries. Media Industries Journal, 1(1), pp. 11-15. ISSN 2373-9037

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. Year after Leveson: Has British press cleaned up its act? CNN Online,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Schlosberg, Justin. 2013. Tackling ownership at a snail's pace: the government's consultation on plurality. Three-D,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. The Press can't decide if they're for press freedom or against it. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. Ralph Miliband would have seen the Daily Mail attack coming. Guardian, Comment is Free,

Grayson, Deborah and Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. Leveson and the prospects for media reform. Soundings: A Journal of Politics and Culture, 53, pp. 69-81. ISSN 1362-6620

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. The Daily Mail Know All About 'Hate'. Huffington Post,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. When "measuring" is a substitute for action: the DCMS consultation on media ownership. LSE Media Policy Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2013. A tale of two British summers: phone hacking and a royal baby. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Metrics, Models and the Meaning of Media Ownership. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 20(2), pp. 170-185. ISSN 1028-6632

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Leveson and the Left. New Left Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. The Phone Hacking Scandal: Implications for Regulation. Television and New Media, 13(1), pp. 17-20. ISSN 1527-4764

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Leveson: Does the Sentence Fit the Crime? Huffington Post,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. The BBC: Is this the Corporation's Hacking Crisis? Huffington Post,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Communications White Paper: The Deregulation Bandwagon is on the Road. LSE Media Policy Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Measuring media plurality isn’t enough. LSE Media Policy Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. It’s Not Just about Murdoch – The Whole System Needs Fixing. Huffington Post,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Did UK Minister work for government - or Murdoch? CNN Online,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Murdoch and the UK culture secretary: we shouldn’t be surprised, we should be angry. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. If the Sun hates attacks on press freedom, how must it hate itself! openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. The Phone Hacking Scandal: Implications for Regulation. Television and New Media, 13(1), pp. 17-20. ISSN 1527-4764

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2012. Media Regulation. Oxford Bibliographies,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Curran, James P. and Phillips, Angela. 2011. Rehabilitating Britain’s news media. Guardian, Comment is Free,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2011. Still hacked off with the media: Come and join the campaign for UK media reform. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2011. The BBC is not part of the problem raised by Hackgate. openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2011. The Leveson Inquiry – Should We Care? New Left Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2011. What does it mean to ‘break up’ media power? Guardian, Comment is Free,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2011. Is hacking scandal the UK’s Watergate? CNN Online,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2011. Hackgate and the Communications Review: two separate planets? OpenDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2011. Murdoch: The End of the Affair? LSE Media Policy Project,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2010. Media Policy Silences: The Hidden Face of Communications Decision Making. International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(3), pp. 344-361. ISSN 1940-1612

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2009. The Public Service Publisher - an Obituary. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 6(1), pp. 103-121. ISSN 1743-4521

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2009. ‘Smooth operator?’ The propaganda model and moments of crisis. Westminster Papers in Communication, 6(2), pp. 59-72. ISSN 1744-6708

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2009. The Public Service Publisher – an Obituary. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 6(1), pp. 103-121. ISSN 1743-4521

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2006. Dynamics of power in contemporary media policy-making. Media Culture & Society, 28(6), pp. 907-923. ISSN 01634437

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2006. Book Review: GATS and the audiovisual sector: An update. Global Media and Communication, 1(1), pp. 124-128. ISSN 1742-7665

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2006. 'Do scholars matter? Some reasons for the declining influence of academics on the media policy-making process. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, 2(1), ISSN 1740-8296

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2005. Promoting Diversity and Pluralism in Contemporary Communication Policies in the United States and the United Kingdom. The International Journal on Media Management, 7(1, 2), pp. 16-23. ISSN 14241277

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. Cultural Policy-Making in the Free Trade Era: An Evaluation of the Impact of Current World Trade Organisation Negotiations on Audio-Visual Industries. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 9(3), pp. 285-298. ISSN 10286632

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. Witnessing whose truth? openDemocracy,

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. Managing pirate culture: corporate responses to peer-to-peer networking. International Journal on Media Management, 5(3), pp. 173-179. ISSN 1424-1277

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2003. A "Technological Idiot"?: Raymond Williams and Communications Technology. Information, Communication and Society, 5(3), pp. 425-442. ISSN 1369-118X

Conference or Workshop Item

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2015. 'PERC Paper 2: Media Moguls and Elite Power'. In: Goldsmiths Political Economy Research Centre. London, United Kingdom 28th February 2015.

Report

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2016. A Future for Public Service Television: Content and Platforms in a Digital World. Project Report. Goldsmiths, University of London.

Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Tryhorn, Chris; Goblot, Vana; Born, Georgina; Loughrey, Pat; Chitty, Andrew; Griffee, Andrew; Watson, Neil; Clayton, Sue; Normington, David; Douglas, Omega and O’Neill, Onora. 2016. A Future for Public Service Television: Content and Platforms in a Digital World. Project Report.

Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Fenton, Natalie; Metykova, Monika and Schlosberg, Justin. 2010. Meeting the News Needs of Local Communities. Project Report. Commissioned by Media Trust.

Freedman, Des (D. J.) ; Witschge, Tamara and Fenton, Natalie. 2010. Protecting the News: Civil Society and the Media. Project Report. Carnegie UK.

Freedman, Des (D. J.) . 2008. The Rise and Fall of the Public Service Publisher. Project Report.

Articles related to Professor Des Freedman