The Orwell Prize is delighted to announce that submissions for the Orwell Prize 2009 will open on 22nd October 2008. To mark the occasion, we will be holding a launch debate around the question, ‘Is journalism failing failing states?’ The panel wil... more
From 9th August 2008, George Orwell's diaries will be published as a blog by the Orwell Prize. The project marks 70 years since the diaries were originally written in 1938. The blog allows you to follow Orwell to Morocco and back to Britain, and Eur... more
Martin Moore, Director of the Media Standards Trust, appeared on BBC Radio 4's 'Analysis' programme last night (Thursday 3rd July 2008). The programme, 'Responsible Journalism?', was presented by Kevin Marsh, former editor of the Today programme an... more
PCC 'lacks independence from the industry', says today's House of Lords Select Committee Report The Media Standards Trust welcomes the findings of the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications and particularly the criticisms levelled at pres... more
Martin Moore, Director of the Media Standards Trust, recently appeared on BBC Radio 4's PM Programme following a conference on 'Broadcasting Britishness'. The event, entitled 'Broadcasting Britishness? Identity, Diversity and the Role of the Nationa... more
The Media Standards Trust has launched a new YouTube Channel to carry recordings of news debates and events. You can now listen to the PR vs Journalism debate, 'The growth of PR is threatening the integrity of the press', with Nick Davies, Roy Green... more
We are very pleased to report that the Media Standards Trust and the Web Science Research Initiative have just won a Knight Foundation Award for their transparency initiative. The awards - for $350,000 - will go towards the development of tools to e... more
We've just added the Financial Times, the Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday to www.journalisted.com. You can now look up journalists published on the websites of these three papers. Martin Wolf, Lucy Kellaway, Gideon Rachman, Philip Stevens are amongs... more
From now on it is called 'journalisted' (and can be found at www.journalisted.com). Naming websites is both an art and a science. It's all very well coming up with a snappy name (like journa-list) until you find out that Google does not recognise h... more
We have just launched the new Media Standards Trust website. The new site has all the resources provided by the old one – the access to media research, the news about news feeds, the links, the director’s blog. But it also focuses more on the four ke... more
In the last 6 months the MST has hosted 30 public debates, on news coverage of subjects including: the McCanns, Burma, climate change, MMR, Meredith Kercher, Northern Rock, Islam, Lord Browne, political spin and gang violence. Kevin Marsh (Director... more
www.theorwellprize.co.uk has just gone live. The Media Standards Trust developed the site in association with Simplicty IT and Beaucroft design. As well as explaining what the prize is and how to enter, the site has exclusive photographs of George O... more
We are delighted to announce that the Media Standards Trust is to partner with the Orwell Trust and Political Quarterly to run the Orwell Prize for political writing. The Orwell Prize is the pre-eminent British prize for political writing. Its ambit... more
The Media Standards Trust and Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism are holding a joint panel discussion about the impact of the media on public life. In a speech organised by the Reuters Institute in June, Tony Blair said: "At points, it [... more
National news blogs have now been added to www.journa-list.com - the Media Standards Trust website that allows you to search for news by journalist and by subject. You can now read Adam Boulton blogging on Sky News, Roy Greenslade at the Guardian, o... more
The Media Standards Trust will this week give evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications. The Committee is inquiring into the effect of ownership and ownership structures on news. The specific questions the Committee is revie... more
The beta version of journa-list has now gone live at www.journa-list.com. Journa-list is the first Media Standards Trust internet initiative (after this website). It is an independent, not-for-profit site that makes it easier for people to find out ... more
The MacArthur Foundation – famed for its ‘genius grants’ – has just awarded a grant of $350,000 to the Media Standards Trust and the Web Science Research Initiative to develop their plans for authenticating news on the web. The plans are based on an... more
The Media Standards Trust is looking for a Research Journalist / Website Editor. This is a unique opportunity for the successful applicant to be intimately involved in setting up a groundbreaking new organisation. He/she will research media coverage,... more
Martin Moore's article about TV, Edinburgh, the MacTaggart lecture and existential angst, published on The Guardian's Comment is Free... 'I was reminded of Sartre's existential angst by Jeremy Paxman's MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television ... more
Media Standards Trust applauds and supports Jeremy Paxman's MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival. 'Never mind the scandals, what's it all for?' was a compelling plea for the television industry "to rediscover a sense of purpose". ... more
The Media Standards Trust welcomes the news that Google is to launch a right-to-reply service, and hopes it will lead UK news organisations to recognise the value of right to reply and do the same. Google has just announced that this week it will la... more
We are pleased to announce that Anthony Salz has agreed to join the Board of the Media Standards Trust. Described as having ‘one of the finest legal brains in Britain’ Salz spent much of his career as senior partner at Freshfields, transforming the ... more
Going against the new media grain we will, as of tomorrow, be requesting not only real names for comments, but also occupation and organisation (although both optional not compulsory). Our hope is not that this will deter people from commenting but ... more
The Media Standards Trust supports the strengthening of Clause 10 of the Editorial Code but believes the amendment regarding user-generated content and non-edited material is unrealistic and illustrates a growing challenge to self-regulation The Edi... more
Ian Burrell interviews Sir Robert Worcester in the Independent about the state of the news media and why we need the Media Standards Trust. Sir Robert talks about how, though he 'loves the media... he and a group of eminent colleagues in the industr... more
Roger Graef, a trustee of the Media Standards Trust, will give the James Cameron Award and Memorial Lecture on "Public Service Broadcasting in the Digital Age" on Thursday 21st June. The lecture will follow the award of the James Cameron prize for f... more
Read, 'Public Interest, Media Neglect' in the British Journalism Review. In the article Martin Moore, Director of the Media Standards Trust, argues that public interest journalism is 'in mortal danger'. It is, he writes, under threat from 4 directi... more
Press statement Monday 21st May 2007: Timely new organisation launched to tackle news standards. A campaigning think tank has been launched to foster high standards in our news media. The Media Standards Trust (www.mediastandardstrust.org) will ta... more
The PCC's report on subterfuge and newsgathering rightly condemns the actions of Mulcaire and Goodman of the News of the World. It describes its investigation into the affair since the pair's prosecution, and the measures it has taken to prevent such... more
This year’s Orwell Prize, held last Tuesday night at the Frontline Club, reeked of the welcome stench of real reporting – a celebration of journalists and writers who work “from the ground up”, in Martha Gellhorn’s famous phrase. George Orwell would ... more
The PCC's annual report - 50% bigger than 2005's - contains a robust defence of the organisation's actions in the face of sharp criticism. Despite privacy complaints rising the PCC says it has taken even more action this year than it has in the past... more
Mark Thompson's speech about media in the age of moral ambiguity at Coventry Cathedral on Tuesday 17th April. Thompson explored the question of whether "we can reasonably look to broadcasting and other media to be a force for good in the world, promo... more
Charles Clarke's revealing talk about the impact of the media on politics over the last decade, and the impact of politics on the media. Clarke has not been a big fan of the media in the past. In office Clarke became progressively disenchanted with ... more
This is the website of the Media Standards Trust, a public space – independent of government, commercial interests and news media – where people can respond, react, review and reflect on the news. Each week we will ask topical questions about the ne... more
Martin Moore, Director of the Media Standards Trust, debates the relationship of public relations with journalism at the Cass Business School on Wednesday 21st March at 18:30. The debate, chaired by Professor Adrian Monck from City University, exami... more
"Openness is not an absolute good in itself", Lord Falconer said in the Mostyn Memorial Lecture on 21st March. "Openness is good where openness is of benefit, crucially of benefit to the public [that] governments are here to serve". The Lord Chancel... more
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