Professor Des Freedman

Des Freedman is interested in media and power together with media policymaking, regulation and reform.

Staff details

Position

Professor of Media and Communication Studies

School

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies

Email

Contact 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 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

Edited Book

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Klontzas, Michael, eds. 2025. Media pasts and futures: Critical reflections on 'Power Without Responsibility'. London: University of Westminster Press. ISBN 9781915445667
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

Book Section

Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2022. Reverse Media Policy: Challenging Empires, Resisting Power. In: Joan-Pedro Caranana; Eliana Herrera-Huerfano and Juana Ochoa Alamnza, eds. Communicative Justice in the Pluriverse: An International Dialogue. New York: Routledge, pp. 94-108. ISBN 9781032326894
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
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2021. Introduction: 'Just the Establishment'? In: Des (D. J.) Freedman, ed. Capitalism's Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian. London: Pluto Press, viii-xv. ISBN 9780745343341

Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2021. In the wake of Peterloo? A radical account of the founding of the Guardian. In: Des (D. J.) Freedman, ed. Capitalism's Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian. London: Pluto Press, pp. 1-18. 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. 驴Sin tropiezos? El modelo de propaganda y tiempos de crisis. In: Joan Pedro Cara帽ana 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鈥�. 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. 鈥楾he Resilience of TV and its Implications for Media Policy鈥�. 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鈥�. 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
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
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.). 2013. Regulating for plurality: lessons from the UK. In: Franck Rebillard and Marlene Loica, eds. Pluralisme de l'information et media diversity : Un 茅tat des lieux international. De Boeck (in French), pp. 97-116. ISBN 978-2804182328
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: 鈥渙ld鈥� media resilience in the 鈥渘ew media鈥� 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. Raymond Williams. In: Chrsitopher May, ed. Key Thinkers for the Information Society: Vol 1. Routledge, pp. 173-190. ISBN 978-0415296731
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

Article

Forde, Sydney L and Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2025. Arm鈥檚 length or joined at the hip? Public service media鈥檚 coverage of Gaza. Communication, Culture & Critique, 18(2), pp. 155-163. ISSN 1753-9129
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2024. Neither private property nor public service: Critical reflections on the conceptual framework of public service media. European Journal of Communication, 39(5), pp. 472-485. ISSN 0267-3231
Fenton, Natalie; Freedman, Des (D. J.); Khiabany, Gholam and Williamson, Milly. 2023. Critiquing the Vocabularies of the Marketized University. Media Theory, 7(1), pp. 277-298. ISSN 2557-826X

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 鈥� it鈥檚 time our media did too. Huck Magazine,
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2019. 鈥淧ublic Service鈥� 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, m谩s not铆cias. Comunica莽茫o & Educa莽茫o, 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鈥檚 anti-Hamas advert is a story of media power 鈥� and it鈥檚 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. 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鈥檛 enough. LSE Media Policy Project,
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2012. It鈥檚 Not Just about Murdoch 鈥� 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鈥檛 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鈥檚 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 鈥� Should We Care? New Left Project,
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2011. What does it mean to 鈥榖reak up鈥� media power? Guardian, Comment is Free,
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2011. Is hacking scandal the UK鈥檚 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. The Public Service Publisher 鈥� an Obituary. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 6(1), pp. 103-121. ISSN 1743-4521
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2009. 鈥楽mooth operator?鈥� The propaganda model and moments of crisis. Westminster Papers in Communication, 6(2), pp. 59-72. ISSN 1744-6708
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2006. Dynamics of power in contemporary media policy-making. Media, Culture & Society, 28(6), pp. 907-923. ISSN 0163-4437
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. A "Technological Idiot"?: Raymond Williams and Communications Technology. Information, Communication and Society, 5(3), pp. 425-442. ISSN 1369-118X
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

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.

Dataset

Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2023. Local newspapers - core data.

Digital

Freedman, Des (D. J.) and Ismail, Feyzi. 2016. Trump-style universities headed for the UK.

Report

Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2023. Who Owns the UK Media? 2023 Report. Other. Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre, London.
Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2016. A Future for Public Service Television: Content and Platforms in a Digital World. Project Report. 樱桃视频.
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鈥橬eill, Onora. 2016. A Future for Public Service Television: Content and Platforms in a Digital World. Project Report.