- A commentary: Communication, democracy and social change in crisis times – Disrupting power, dismantling injustices Fenton, Natalie. 2022. A commentary: Communication, democracy and social change in crisis times – Disrupting power, dismantling injustices. Media & Jornalismo, 22(41), pp. 21-39. ISSN 1645‑5681
- Indymedia and the long story of rebellion against neoliberal capitalism Fenton, Natalie. 2020. Indymedia and the long story of rebellion against neoliberal capitalism. Media, Culture & Society, 42(6), pp. 1052-1058. ISSN 0163-4437
- Regulation is Freedom: phone hacking, press regulation and the Leveson Inquiry – the story so far Fenton, Natalie. 2018. Regulation is Freedom: phone hacking, press regulation and the Leveson Inquiry – the story so far. Communications Law, 23(3), ISSN 1746-7616
- Democracia fake, más notícias Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.)
- Fake Democracy: The Limits of Public Sphere Theory Fenton, Natalie. 2018. Fake Democracy: The Limits of Public Sphere Theory. Javnost - The Public, 25(1-2), pp. 28-34. ISSN 1318-3222
- Post-democracy, Press, Politics and Power Fenton, Natalie. 2016. Post-democracy, Press, Politics and Power. The Political Quarterly, 87(1), pp. 81-85. ISSN 0032-3179
- Left Out? Digital Media, Radical Politics and Social Change Fenton, Natalie. 2015. Left Out? Digital Media, Radical Politics and Social Change. Information, Communication & Society, 19(3), pp. 346-361. ISSN 1369-118X
- Mourning and Longing: Media Studies learning to let go of liberal democracy Fenton, Natalie and Titley, Gavan. 2015. Mourning and Longing: Media Studies learning to let go of liberal democracy. European Journal of Communication, 30(5), pp. 554-570. ISSN 0267-3231
- Defending Whose Democracy? Media Freedom and Media Power Fenton, Natalie. 2014. Defending Whose Democracy? Media Freedom and Media Power. Nordicom Review, 35, pp. 31-43. ISSN 2001-5119
- News Journalism, New Media, Democracy and the Public Interest Fenton, Natalie. 2013. News Journalism, New Media, Democracy and the Public Interest. Medienjournal, 3, pp. 19-38.
- Telling Tales: Press, Politics, Power and the Public Interest Fenton, Natalie. 2012. Telling Tales: Press, Politics, Power and the Public Interest. Television and New Media, 13(1), pp. 3-6. ISSN 1527-4764
- Cosmopolitanism as Conformity and Contestation: the mainstream press and radical politics Fenton, Natalie. 2011. Cosmopolitanism as Conformity and Contestation: the mainstream press and radical politics. Journalism Studies, 14(2), pp. 172-186. ISSN 1461-670X
- Deregulation or democracy? New media, news, neoliberalism and the public interest Fenton, Natalie. 2011. Deregulation or democracy? New media, news, neoliberalism and the public interest. Contiuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 25(1), pp. 63-72. ISSN 1030-4312
- Alternative Media and Social Networking Sites: the Politics of Individuation and Political Participation Barassi, Veronica and Fenton, Natalie. 2011. Alternative Media and Social Networking Sites: the Politics of Individuation and Political Participation. Communication Review, 14(3), pp. 179-196. ISSN 1071-4421
- Deregulation or democracy? New media, news, neoliberalism and the public interest Fenton, Natalie. 2011. Deregulation or democracy? New media, news, neoliberalism and the public interest. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 25(1), pp. 16-22. ISSN 1030-4312
- My Media Studies: Getting Political in a Global Digital Age Fenton, Natalie. 2009. My Media Studies: Getting Political in a Global Digital Age. Television and New Media, 10(1), pp. 55-57. ISSN 1527-4764
- Mediating Solidarity Fenton, Natalie. 2008. Mediating Solidarity. Global Media and Communication, 4(1), pp. 37-57. ISSN 1742-7665
- Mediating Hope: New Media, Politics and Resistance Fenton, Natalie. 2008. Mediating Hope: New Media, Politics and Resistance. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 11(2), pp. 230-248. ISSN 1367-8779
- Global Capital Local Resistance? Trade Unions National Newspapers and the Symbolic Contestation of Offshoring in the UK Fenton, Natalie and Downey, J.. 2007. Global Capital Local Resistance? Trade Unions National Newspapers and the Symbolic Contestation of Offshoring in the UK. Current Sociology, 55(5), pp. 651-673. ISSN 00113921
- New Media, Counter Publicity and the Public Sphere Fenton, Natalie and Downey, John. 2003. New Media, Counter Publicity and the Public Sphere. New Media & Society, 5(2), pp. 185-202. ISSN 14614448
- Counter Public Spheres and Global Modernity Fenton, Natalie and Downey, J.. 2003. Counter Public Spheres and Global Modernity. Javnost - The Public, 10(1), pp. 15-32. ISSN 13183222
Professor Natalie Fenton
Natalie's research interrogates the relationship between media, democracy and social change.
Staff details
Position
Professor of Media and Communications
Department
Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
n.fenton (@gold.ac.uk)
Links
Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups
Natalie is a Professor of Media and Communications. Her research is concerned to address one of the most complex and vital issues of our age - the role the media play in the formation of identities and democracies and why and how people seek to change the world for socially progressive ends. Located in debates on media justice, social and economic democracy and social equality her research exposes the necessity for radical reform of concentrated media and tech power and the need to re-imagine what a democratic politics might mean in a digital age.
Teaching and supervision
I teach the following courses: Critical Perspectives in Political Communications on the MA Political Communications & Global Cultural Politics on the BA PPE.
I am interested in supervising students in the broadly defined areas: media & democracy; political economy of media & cultural industries; media power; media & political resistance; media & radical politics; civil society & the media.
Research interests
Natalie has published widely on issues relating to news and journalism, media and democracy, media reform, civil society and the public sphere, radical politics, digital media and social change. She has particular interests in issues of political transformation, rethinking our understanding of public culture and the public sphere, radical media reform and re-imagining democracy.
She has researched and directed over 20 externally funded research projects receiving funding from a range of foundations and UKRI funding bodies.
Featured publications
2024:
Democratic Delusions: How the media hollow out democracy and what we can do about it
Democratic Delusions explores the potential of our media and tech systems to be democratic and contribute to a just and transformative democracy.
2020:
The Media Manifesto
In this incisive manifesto, four prominent media scholars and activists put forth a roadmap for radical reform of concentrated media power.
2020:
Media, Democracy and Social Change: Re-imagining Political Communications
Tackling broad themes of structural inequality, technological change, political realignment and social transformation, the book explores political communications and what a democratic politics means
2016:
Digital, Political, Radical
Contributes to political debate on contemporary (re)configurations of radical progressive politics through a consideration of how we experience (counter) politics in the digital age
2016:
Misunderstanding the Internet 2nd Edition
A polemical, sociologically and historically informed guide to the key claims that have been made about the online world. It challenges popular myths and existing academic orthodoxies on the internet
Grants and awards
2024: Honorary Life Member of the Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies Association
Publications and research outputs
Book
- Democratic Delusions: How the Media Hollows Out Democracy and What We Can Do About It Fenton, Natalie. 2024. Democratic Delusions: How the Media Hollows Out Democracy and What We Can Do About It. Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 9781509548484
- Media, Democracy and Social Change: Re-imagining Political Communications Davis, Aeron; Fenton, Natalie; Freedman, Des (D. J.)
- The Media Manifesto Fenton, Natalie; Freedman, Des (D. J.)
Edited Book
- New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age Fenton, Natalie, ed. 2009. New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age. London: SAGE. ISBN 978-1847875747
- Trust and Civil Society Tonkiss, Fran; Passey, Andrew; Fenton, Natalie and Hems, Les, eds. 2000. Trust and Civil Society. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0333778159
Edited Journal
- A symposium on media, communication and the limits of liberalism Calabrese, Andrew and Fenton, Natalie, eds. 2015. A symposium on media, communication and the limits of liberalism, European Journal of Communication, 30(5). 0267-3231
- Special Edition: ‘Rupert Murdoch and Empire’ Fenton, Natalie, ed. 2010. Special Edition: ‘Rupert Murdoch and Empire’, Television and New Media, 13(1). 1527-4764
Book Section
- A Manifesto for a People's Media: A Response to Power Without Responsibility Fenton, Natalie. 2025. A Manifesto for a People's Media: A Response to Power Without Responsibility. In: Des (D. J.) Freedman and Michael Klontzas, eds. Media Pasts and Futures: Critical Reflections on Power Without Responsibility. London: University of Westminster Press, pp. 96-100. ISBN 9781915445643
- Corporate governance within and by the media Fenton, Natalie. 2024. Corporate governance within and by the media. In: Thomas Clarke; Wafa Khlif and Coral Ingley, eds. Elgar Encyclopaedia of Corporate Governance. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p. 240. ISBN 9781839107054
- Media Reform and the Politics of Hope Fenton, Natalie and Freedman, Des (D. J.)
Article
- Critiquing the Vocabularies of the Marketized University Fenton, Natalie; Freedman, Des (D. J.)
- Critique is Dead – Long Live Critique: A response to Finlayson and Cusset Fenton, Natalie. 2023. Critique is Dead – Long Live Critique: A response to Finlayson and Cusset. Media Theory, 7(1), pp. 63-74. ISSN 2557-826X
- Understanding Civic Participation and Realizing Data Justice Fenton, Natalie. 2023. Understanding Civic Participation and Realizing Data Justice. International Journal of Communication, 17, pp. 3660-3678. ISSN 1932–8036
Conference or Workshop Item
- Alternative Media and Social Networking Sites: The Politics of Individuation and Political Participation Barassi, Veronica and Fenton, Natalie. 2010. 'Alternative Media and Social Networking Sites: The Politics of Individuation and Political Participation'. In: Community and Communication Section at the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). Braga, Portugal.
Report
- Protecting the News: Civil Society and the Media Freedman, Des (D. J.)
- Meeting the News Needs of Local Communities Freedman, Des (D. J.)
Research projects
2021-2024:
The BBC and Beyond: Imagining a Media Commons
Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust this project works under the auspices of the Media Reform Coalition to research and campaign for progressive media reform towards a Media Commons
Media engagements
2017:
Investigating the Echo Chamber
Portland's Deirdre Livingston interviews Natalie about the effects on the world from our everyday lives to democracy
openDemocracy
Articles
2019:
How the British media helped Boris Johnson win
Opinion piece
2020:
Covid-19 and the ownership and control of the media
Opinion piece
2022:
Media Matters
A short film made by Carl Joyce and Mike Quille, with the support of the Communication Workers Union.
2022:
How the UK Media Could Serve the Public Interest
A piece discussing ideas for media reform from 'A Manifesto for a People's Media'
2024:
Fair Media Council Podcast
In this episode of FMC Fast Chat, Jaci Clement speaks with Natalie Fenton —professor of media and communications at Goldsmiths, University of London, co-founder of the Media Reform Coalition in the UK
Conferences and talks
2016:
Media and Politics
Sage Video Experts
2021:
Misinformation in News
Public Talk
2021:
Media Reform
Podcast
2021:
How the media let the government get away with over 100,000 deaths
Owen Jones Show
2023:
Interview with Miriam Lewis of Defensoria del Publico
Interview with Defensoria del Publico de Argentina (Spanish translation)
2024:
Neoliberalism and the University
Anjali DasSarma and Sim Gill discuss neoliberalism and the state of the university with Profs. Natalie Fenton and Alison Hearn
2024:
Cultural Studies Podcast
Natalie Fenton talks about her new book, Democratic Delusions: How the Media Hollow Out Democracy and What We Can Do About It
