About the Project
Impartiality in news reporting is under growing scrutiny in the UK. This project will examine how broadcasters balance fairness, accuracy, and trust, assessing election coverage and public engagement to explore what impartial journalism should look like today.
We investigate the impartiality of UK election coverage through large-scale content analysis, nationwide surveys and focus groups, and in-depth interviews with leading editors and journalists — exploring public trust, media standards, and how political news can better serve audiences.
This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Our Research Focus
Debates about
impartiality
We’re creating a go-to resource that brings together key research on impartiality, mapping the major debates in the academic and media fields and evidence that shape how it’s understood.
Complaints
to Ofcom
We are tracking every Ofcom complaint and ruling to uncover patterns in how impartiality and bias are regulated on UK broadcast media.
Panellists on political
discussion shows
We’re examining who gets a voice on major political panel shows — from Question Time to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg — tracking which parties are represented, how often they appear, and how they’re introduced to viewers.
Television and
podcast news
We’re comparing how political stories are told on TV news versus podcasts — from what makes it onto flagship bulletins, to the tone, style, and interpretation of political claims across different broadcasters and platforms.
Understanding
impartiality
We’re talking to the public, journalists, editors, and producers to uncover how impartiality is understood, interpreted, and put into practice.
