The Big Society on the Small Screen: Neoliberalism and the Local Digital Television Programme Service

• In Event: Changing Audiovisual Media Markets and Regulation

Abstract

In 2013 the United Kingdom saw the launch of the first of dozens of planned local television stations through an initiative called the local-digital television programme service (L-DTPS). While the press has repeatedly covered this unprecedented restructuring of British broadcasting, scholarship has not been so prolific. I rectify this paucity through a critical discourse analysis of the policies and regulations for the L-DTPS from 2009-2014. Drawing from the tradition of critical political economy, I argue that despite the rhetorical commitment to local television for the purposes of bringing power, accountability and community to the citizens of the UK, the L-DTPS represents a clear commitment to the principles of neoliberalism and to the Conservative party’s “Big Society” plan. This is demonstrated through a lack of commitment to local news, ownership restrictions, and spectrum management. This paper contributes to the limited, but nonetheless important, discussion of local media in the UK.

Author

• Christopher Ali, University of Virginia