A Democratic BBC

As the BBC approaches charter renewal in 2028, this book asks a question few are willing to confront: who does the BBC really serve? At a moment when public media faces its most consequential reckoning in decades, it argues that the future of democratic life in Britain—and beyond—will be decided by how this question is answered.

Since its creation in the final decades of the British Empire, the BBC has wielded enormous cultural and political power in the UK and around the world. Yet it remains largely unaccountable to the public it claims to serve. The 2028 charter renewal, the corporation’s first in the digital age, will determine its governance and operational structure for at least a decade—and in doing so will help shape what kind of country Britain becomes.

This book shows how and why the BBC continues to operate as an instrument of elite power at home and abroad, before laying out a practical path beyond it. It proposes transforming an imperial-era broadcaster into a democratic digital media institution, governed through universal rights and randomly selected public bodies. In doing so, it offers not just a plan for the BBC, but a replicable model for public media in the twenty-first century.

Too often the left underestimates the power of the media. But nothing speaks for itself, and without democratic control of communication, public life is shaped by persuasion rather than participation. Liberal paternalism will not meet this challenge. Only democracy will. The current system must hold everywhere to survive; a democratic alternative need only succeed once. A Democratic BBC shows how.