The Concept of Media Reform

In today global communication ecosystem, is media diversity still an issue for media reform movements to be engaging with?
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The concept of media reform became more prominent with the expansion of the role of civil society in promoting freedom of expression, press freedom, and media rights. The media reform movements reshaped media landscaping and promoted media diversity and governance. Yet, corporate media tends to focus on elite-captured policies and issues, while also perpetuating the dominant discourses on different issues. One of the dominant views in the media industry is that regulating the media violates the freedom of expression and media democracy activists are among the strongest opponents to such regulations (Brevini and Schlosberg, 2016). As such, there is consensus in western democracies, that the media should be allowed to operate freely and there should be no regulations restricting free speech. There is still a need for diverse voices in the media industry and media reform movements still need to champion media diversity.
Media reform is closely linked with democratic reform as there is an emphasis on strong institutions, access to unbiased diverse viewpoints, press freedom, and media diversity. To achieve this, the civil society actors and activities seek equitable media access where there are also more democratic structures and content (Aslama & Nieminen, 2017). The media reform movements often engage in negotiation and resistance to influence change and ensure the media covers diverse issues (Brevini and Schlosberg, 2016). The movements are informed by advocacy for consumer rights reflected in reform strategies and communicative justice that linked to civil rights equal representation and accountability (Freedman, 2016). For the media reform activists, there ought to be justice and free speech where there are no vested interests in the media industry, which would allow and encourage media diversity.
There are more commercial broadcasters than public broadcasters in democratic western societies, while public broadcasters tend to be highly influential in non-western societies. There is transparency on content and ownership among public broadcasters in the west and these broadcasters tend to be more open to media diversity. The media reform movement emphasizes democratizing the media landscape (Durazo Herrmann, 2017). The lack of transparency of media ownership and high ownership concentration in the media industry are concerning as they make it more difficult to promote media diversity (Freedman, 2016). Ownership concentration also reflects the owners’ economic interests and attempts to promote media diversity may be wrongly viewed as a government’s interference in a free press (Schlosberg, 2016). Yet, freedom of the press should be accompanied by accountability with journalists following journalism professional ethics and code of conduct.
Freedom of the press is essential for independent news production, but media self-regulation has not necessarily made it easier to promote media diversity (Podger, 2019) and (The media reform movement emphasizes democratizing the media landscape (Bayer et al., 2016). In a globalized world, news coverage is now distributed fast, but there are fewer opportunities for the public to evaluate news coverage. Media reformists recognize the need to protect the freedom of the press, but they are skeptical about working with institutions and corporations with vested interests (Dwyer, 2014). The big press companies still have a big influence on news reporting and coverage of specific topics including narrow interest groups. For the big media corporations, there is more focus on profitability compared to the public broadcasters and media diversity is rarely a big priority so long as there are more profits and returns to investors.
In non-western societies and among the poor in western countries there is still inequality in access to the media. This situation makes it harder for diverse voices to be heard even with the diversification of media systems, and it is necessary to offer alternative avenues for new and information (Trappel, 2019). Even with globalization and improved interconnectivity, the dominant positions are still prevalent in the media and it is helpful to promote new actors in the media sector. Some political actors and states still restrict access to information and press freedom, which limits media diversity and restricts the freedom of expression. Media reform movements champion global fundamental rights and freedoms and this is necessary to protect press freedom.
The international human rights standards guarantee the right of citizens to receive and access information from diverse sources without government intervention (Carter & Westenskow, 2020). However, government regulations, laws, and economic interests do threaten freedoms and media diversity. For instance, governments adopt censorship laws that tend to target political opponents and tend to promote certain ideologies and worldviews that exclude some sections of the society. If a country’s legal framework does not protect the diversity of voices and access to information then it is more likely that there will be widening inequalities to access information and media diversity.
Online platforms and media have made it easier for people to access alternative sources of news and information and news, but the digital divide limits who and what information people access. Still, there is a high concentration in the broadcast and print media even as there are local stations since the major broadcasters influence news reporting (Humprecht & Esser, 2018). There is a diversity of content in online media, but there is low diversity of owners in the mainstream media industry. However, one of the challenges of social media platforms is their misuse in amplifying misinformation campaign messages. Sometimes, even the mainstream media amplifies false and misleading content from social media, and violating the professional ethic and principles of truthfulness and impartiality. 
The problem of bias and inaccurate reporting in political reporting is a concern and there is increased Press hostility and the negative coverage of political opponents that also attacks diversity. Increasingly, political communication and journalism target certain groups such as the case of scapegoating migrants in the west who are considered outsiders and less likely to have their voices heard in the media. There is less trust in the media for political news more than ever before because of biased reporting and partisanship (Eberl, Boomgaarden & Wagner, 2018). Furthermore, as the media does not reflect the diversity of the people, those underrepresented and marginalized are less likely to trust the media. Yet, the social reform movements have mostly focused on guaranteeing press freedom without necessarily addressing how to promote media diversity.
There is an assumption and expectation that the media are to be independent and accurate quality, but media outlets do not get the same level of scrutiny from broadcasting regulators and the public. Media outlets that ignore media diversity may get less public scrutiny based on the public’s perceptions of the media company and the extent to which the corporations are unbiased. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which is the public broadcaster in the UK, faces public scrutiny, unlike the commercial competitors. The BBC is increasingly expected to focus on underserved audiences than other broadcasters deem unprofitable (Freedman, 2016).Ideally, the media should be free from political influence and the media should not be involved in political meddling and influ...