The support of the Sun is seen as so important for political success that Rupert Murdoch is often able to 'persuade' parties to adopt particular policies in return for support.

Don't believe the type - a great site by the refugee council about how the media affects how refugees are seen.

A Quick Overview of the Media Around You (with helpful links...)

The UK is pretty unusual because all of its national newspapers come out in the morning, and not the evening like in most of Europe. There are three basic groups of papers:

• mass market tabloids, or red-tops (eg The Sun), which tend to have a lot of pictures and gossip alongside the news
• middle-market tabloids (eg the Daily Mail), which have a greater news content,
• and broadsheets (eg The Times) - so called because they're normally printed on bigger sheets of paper.

In October 2003, The Independent started making what it called a 'compact edition' - tabloid sized - along with the main broadsheet sized newspaper. The Times followed suit launching its own compact edition. Both newspapers are now only available in compact form. The Guardian changed to a kind of middling size paper, which the telegraph are also thinking about.

Political leanings

The two most-popular newspapers are The Sun and The Daily Mirror. The Sun used to be known as a Conservative (right-wing) paper, while The Mirror was Labour (left-wing). Both now seem to support Labour. On the opposite side, The Daily Mail is very right wing in its writing, and talks a lot about asylum seekers. Of the broadsheets, The Times and Guardian are normally seen as the most left-wing, and the telegraph as the most right-wing.

A relatively recent phenomenon in the newspaper industry has been the free morning papers. Free weekly papers are fairly common, supported by advertising and carrying little in the way of editorial. But now, with the launch of Associated's 'Metro' in London, Birmingham and Leeds, a sister paper called 'News' in Manchester, plus Manchester’s own 'Metro News' and similar titles in Tyneside, Edinburgh and Glasgow, these newspapers thrive on public transport and in busy cities. Giving editorial almost as good as the paid-for dailies, are these a threat to the established titles? The Metro is a canny operation - in London, it’s deliberately difficult to get hold of a Metro after 9.00am, to avoid causing sales problems with Associated’s Evening Standard later in the day. In the author’s tube station, supplies run out at around 7.50am.

In late 2004 the Evening Standard itself joined the free newspaper revolution with the launch of Standard Lite, a cut-down free edition available at lunchtime in London.

The Guardian Media Group's Manchester Evening News, who launched their own spoiler free morning paper in late 1999 (called, ironically, Metro News), launched a free lunchtime paper in March 2005 with the launch of MEN Lite.
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The future

Consolidation seems one of the ways forward. The Times and The Sun’s parent company also owns Sky television, the UK’s satellite television service. The Guardian group now owns the Smooth FM and Real Radio radio stations, as well as probably the biggest internet presence for a newspaper. On a local scale, the Kent Messenger group also owns the local KMfm radio stations in many areas of Kent, and agressively cross-promotes them.

New sizes and formats may arrest the decline of newspaper buying. In June 2004, newspaper sales were declining year-by-year by 4.7% - the only increases worldwide, in fact, coming in developing countries. However, reductions in size for some of the newspapers has meant an increase in circulation, albeit arguably a temporary one. And, while newspaper sales have been slowly declining, consumption of news can be claimed to have vastly increased: whether from the internet, or one of the eight non-stop news channels available to UK viewers.

Newspaper companies own content. The best way of consumption of this content at present is on small sheets of dead, pulped, reformed, wood. It requires no recharging; losing a newspaper is not a major problem; and delivery and availablity is easy. However, some newspapers are experimenting in delivery of the printed newspaper by the internet - you download a PDF instead of picking up a printed paper. All national papers now have their own websites; some are shifting classified advertising away from the printed paper. Content is a useful commodity - and the way this is presented in the future may well change. The cleverest newspapers will adapt to use their content in different ways.

The BBC networks

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasts eight public service television channels in the UK. BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament. They are all available on every digital platform (cable, satellite and terrestrial(Freeview)) free to air. In addition, BBC One and BBC Two are available on the analogue platform until switchoff. These eight television channels, like the BBC's radio services, carry no advertising or sponsorship. They are publicly funded through the television licence. In March 2005 this costs around £10 per month per household although it is free to the elderly.

In the eleven BBC "English Regions" BBC One broadcasts local programming incuding daily local news and a weekly documentary. In Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales (what the BBC terms "the nations") there is additional news, current affairs, drama, sport and local language programming on both BBC One and BBC Two.

Outside the UK, the BBC also broadcasts a growing number of commercial television services. BBC World, BBC Food and BBC Prime are available in many places around the world while channels like BBC America and BBC Japan are targeted at consumers in those particular countries. No BBC-branded commercial channels are distributed in the UK although BBC World can be received from the Hotbird satellite.

In Britain, the BBC holds a 50% interest in the commercial television provider UKTV which broacasts ten channels on the UK digital platforms. Much of the programme content is drawn from the BBC’s programme archive for which UKTV pays a licence fee to the BBC. This money supplements the licence fee and is reinvested in the BBC's public services.
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The commercial networks

There are three commercial television national networks - ITV (referred to by Ofcom as "Channel 3"), Channel 4 and Channel 5 (branded simply as 'five'). Although commercially-funded, each of these services has an obligation to provide some programming which is deemed to be "Public Service". Each one of these channels is available on every digital platform (although not always free to view) and also on analogue terrestrial.

ITV stands for independent television, a throw-back to the days when there was only one ‘independent’ television channel. ITV1 is licensed regionally so each each regional company could broadcast a mix of national and local programmes. In reality, a wave of consolidation has left just one company, ITV plc, holding the vast majority of these licences and the schedule is largely identical around the country except in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Even the branding has consolidated with many well known regional channel brands like Yorkshire Television, London Weekend, Meridian and Granada being replaced by the generic ITV1 label. Scottish (Central and Southern Scotland), Grampian (Northern Scotland), and UTV (Northern Ireland) retain their own identities.

If all this it wasn’t confusing enough, a separate licence is issued to GMTV to provide breakfast programming on the ITV network between 0600 and 0930 daily.

Channel 4 launched in 1982 and has a strong public service brief in its licence. Known for cutting-edge drama, its own film commissions, youth programming, Countdown and more recently Big Brother, it is run by a publicly owned company.

The Welsh language channel S4C - Sianel Pedwar Cymru is carried on analogue in most parts of Wales instead of Channel 4 (though some Channel 4 programmes are used on S4C). On digital platforms however, viewers in Wales can see both Channel 4 and S4C Digidol, a part-time digital version of S4C which carries more Welsh-language programming and no Channel 4 programmes.

five (known at launch as Channel 5) is the most recent addition to the analogue terrestrial bouquet and only just manages to squeeze itself into the spectrum. In many parts of the country the service is not available on analogue television although it is carried on every digital platform. It has less of a public service remit than ITV and Channel 4 and has tried several programming formats since its launch. After chasing downmarket ratings with shock reality programming and a spurt of soft porn, it is now aiming more upmarket with documentaries, films and wildlife programming. It carries advertising and is profitable.
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Cable

Cable television has yet to expand into many homes in the UK - franchises are awarded on a local basis to cable companies, who usually provide both television and telephone services. There are consequently few cable-specific stations - around five or six outside London, and a further ten or so London-specific channels. Digital Cable promises widescreen and interactivity; although the major cable companies are committed to it, it’s currently available in precious few places.
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Digital

Digital Satellite Television (DSAT) was launched in October 1998, on a platform provided by Sky Digital, part of BSkyB. It is estimated that 1,500,000 people had access to Sky Digital a year later, in October 1999; by mid 2005 the number is expected to reach five three million. Pricing for subscription DSAT ranges from £17.99 (€24) to £34.99 a month (€50). Digital satellite receivers are now available free, subject to a small installation charge and to keeping the box connected to a telephone line for the interactive Sky Active service. Most analogue services are also avalable on DSAT as Free to Air FTA channels without the requirement to purchase a card or subscription.

Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) launched in mid-November 1998 as a part free, part subscription model, under the name of On Digital. Unfortunately, the lack of channels, combined with losses due to piracy and a slightly unwise investment into league football, meant that the service went into liquidation in early 2002. It was replaced by Freeview, a consortium including the BBC, BSkyB and broadcast transmission specialists Crown Castle Communications, and ofers around 30 entirely free channels. DTT receivers cost a one-off fee of around £40. The frequencies used are in the same band as for analogue television, which means that digital television is currently not available in certain areas, and that older aerials sometimes need to be changed for designs offering greater bandwidth.
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Teletext and interactive services

Most televisions sold in the UK have teletext, an information service broadcast with an analogue television picture signal, consisting of around 3,000 pages and close-caption subtitling. All analogue stations carry some information on teletext; the larger stations also carry live news, weather, travel and a variety of other information and programming sources. Teletext adds about £30 (€42) to the cost of buying a television.

Digital television brings more interactive services: digital teletext (the successor to the analogue service above), and interactive shopping services. SkyDigital’s platform offers “Sky Active", a feature-rich service offering shopping, e-mail, games and information, using the bandwidth available to it - limited interactivity is also available on digital terrestrial. Cable has the capability of the best interactive programming and services.
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Regulation

All non-BBC television stations follow guidelines laid down by Ofcom, which oversees programme content and quality, and makes sure that advertisers follow a specific and stringent code of conduct. The BBC is currently self-regulating, to a degree, although Ofcom's influence and power over the BBC is seen to be growing.

Student-based

Student radio stations are usually 100% student-based and student-targetted; this means that presenters, newsreaders, producers, sales staff, managers, programmers and everyone involved with the station are enrolled at that particular educational establishment. Other stations have professional management in place, with additional presenters and staff of ex-students, plus enthusiasts from other walks of life. These stations are aimed at that university's or city's student population and therefore tend to play contemporary music and feature specialist music shows.

There are number of methods by which student stations broadcast. Some of them broadcast via internal loops in their students' union buildings. Some have an LPAM licence - they transmit on an AM frequency in a tightly defined area restricted by the terms of their licence to the university campus. Stations in far-flung areas, such as Lancaster, Exeter and Bangor, are able to transmit permanently on FM on an LPFM licence. Many stations now simulcast on the Internet, or just across their campus's computer network, but some stations exclusively broadcast on line. However, the most common licence arrangements for student stations are Restricted Service licences, which allow the station to broadcast on a designated FM frequency 24 hours a day for up to 28 days. RSL regulations state that any organisation running an RSL can only have two broadcasts each calendar year with four clear months in between; but some student stations on a tight budget only broadcast once a year.
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History

The first university radio station was University Radio York, started in 1967 and still going. It was also the first legal independent station in the UK, so its 40th birthday in 2007 will also see the anniversary of independent radio in the UK. It was followed by University Radio Essex (URE), based at the Colchester campus of the University of Essex.
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Representation

Many student radio stations are represented by the Student Radio Association (SRA). This organisation represents the collective of stations at a national level, as well as dispense advice and help to all affiliated stations through their twice-annually conferences. They also compile weekly charts and organise the annual Student Radio Awards in conjunction with the Radio Academy and BBC Radio 1 to recognise the best stations.
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Sustaining services or automation?

While student stations usually broadcast 24 hours a day while they are on air, they typically use a sustaining service during the hours when live presenters are not available. or the premises are closed. This simply means that the station rebroadcasts some other organisation's output. As playout software becomes more accessible and cheaper, more and more student stations, even those on a tight budget due to lack of funding and the cost of licences, are changing over to automated playout outside of their manned hours, many have even produced their own software to take on the task.

Until the summer of 2004, most student stations used SBN - the Student Broadcast Network - as their sustaining service. It provided subscribers with specialist shows and student-orientated news and information via sateliite. SBN paid stations for taking syndicated advertising and sponsored shows (like Friday Night Kiss and The JD Set), which enabled them to buy transmitting and studio equipment. However, in July 2004, SBN's parent company Campus Media ceased its student radio operation at short notice. Many student stations relying on an income from SBN suffered a severe financial setback and some have not returned to air since because of the withdrawal of this essential funding.

While a few sustaining services have been set up following the demise of SBN, none has made as big an impact as the original service.
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Alumni

The Association of Student Radio Alumni (ASRA) was set up as an organisation to provide a way for alumni of student stations to keep in touch with each other and the stations that they were from.

As well as organising regular events, ASRA provides tools on its website (blogs, forums and mailing lists) so local alumni stations can be easily set up free of charge.
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Student radio in the Media UK directory
Student radio stations in the UK (page temporarily unavailable pending re-coding)
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External Links
Student Radio Assocation (http://www.studentradio.org.uk)
Association of Student Radio Alumni (http://www.studentradioalumni.com)
NonStopPlay.com (http://www.nonstopplay.com): one of the replacement sustaining services in the wake of SBN's demise
Student Radio Wiki (http://www.studentradio.org.uk/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) - providing info and advice for student radio stations.

Information for scotland - and media guide