The Future of News (Communications and Digital Committee Report)

Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill Excerpts

Friday 25th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness. I congratulate her on her sterling leadership in producing this report by the Communications and Digital Committee, on which I serve, and thank her for so eloquently outlining its wide-ranging recommendations.

In the time available I will highlight only one, which is the importance of media literacy to build societal resilience—not only to handle misinformation and disinformation but to aid critical thinking when bombarded by opinion often masquerading as fact. In analysing the future of news, our report warns:

“There is a realistic possibility of the UK’s news environment fracturing irreparably along social, regional and economic lines within the next 5-10 years. The implications for our society and democracy would be grim”.


Of course, news provided by professional journalism will continue to be available. Those fortunate, like we in this House, will continue to access it with ease, whether in print, online or by subscription. However, there is a risk of a two-tier media environment becoming the norm, where many will have little engagement with professionally produced news. There is already a growing local news desert in parts of the UK. Trust in institutions, including the media, is declining, and there is a worrying if understandable trend in news avoidance.

Studies have shown that those under the age of 35 are turning away from authoritative, professional news sources, in favour of what they consider to be authentic opinion from social media sources that they find more relevant and entertaining. Meanwhile, the platforms providing the information are increasingly removing links to established news sites, reducing access to professional journalism. Artificial intelligence models can already produce news summaries and provide the all-powerful tech firms with influence over the type of news that we see. News organisations, both print and broadcast, are trying hard to innovate and adapt to this new age by providing product in more social media-friendly formats—video, podcasts and bitesize chunks of information—some requiring their journalists to act more like influencers than reporters.

What can be done to equip our society, especially the young, to critically understand the world in which we are living? Fostering informed scepticism would be a start. Knowledge and education are by far the best weapons against disinformation. Our report called on the Government to develop their own strategy for media literacy and not outsource this complex policy issue solely to Ofcom, especially given the need for cross-departmental action.

I therefore welcome the Government’s acknowledgement that Ofcom should not bear the entire burden, and that they are now considering how best to target the next phase of media literacy activity and complement what Ofcom will be doing under the updated Online Safety Act duties. Can my noble friend the Minister explain how media literacy will be given greater prominence across all subjects from a young age within the curriculum following the Francis review?

In their response to our report, the Government said:

“Media literacy is a crucial skill for everyone—especially in the digital age”.


It is therefore vital that our citizens are given the tools both to prosper from the opportunities offered and to withstand bad actors who seek to harm and disrupt society. Government and other public and private bodies, including tech and media companies, need to take responsibility for ensuring that media literacy becomes a tangible skill shared by all. As Ofcom has said,

“media literacy must be everyone’s business”.

Because this report has highlighted how important media literacy is, our committee has now embarked on a new inquiry into how it can be best achieved.