Novara Media Is Officially Part of Britain’s Media History

Ten of Novara Media’s videos have been selected by the British Film Institute for inclusion in its National Archive, reflecting the contribution the organisation has made to UK media in its 14 years of existence.

The videos span interviews with political leaders, explainers on media capture, vox pops with city bankers and dispatches from landlord conferences. Together, they provide a cross-section of Novara Media’s video output, which today reaches millions of people each month.

The videos being added to the BFI archive are:

• Cops Off Campus
• Jeremy Corbyn: ‘Things Are Not Going To Be The Same In 2020’
• The Unbearable Whiteness of Brexit
• Grenfell, Gaza & the Royals with Lowkey
• Billionaires Control The Media – and It’s Destroying Democracy
• Are Bankers Scared Of Corbyn? We Asked Them
• Ash Sarkar x Extinction Rebellion: Lovebomb the Cops?
• YouTube Shut Us Down Without Explanation
• “Sit Down, Relax, Have A Holiday” – Welcome To Being A Landlord
• Corbyn’s Revenge: An Election Night to Remember

These videos, added as part of the BFI’s online moving image acquisitions programme, will now sit alongside some of Britain’s screen heritage, from Edwardian newsreels to silent film classics, the works of Alfred Hitchcock to contemporary Netflix dramas. 

“It has been a joy to work with Novara Media on selecting videos from their ever-growing body of contemporary online reporting to preserve in the new BFI National Archive online collection,” said Becky Vick, assistant curator at the archive. 

“We were keen to make sure an online voice that was growing and offered a counter perspective to the mainstream news and traditional political journalism was represented. … The selected videos capture key political moments and recent debates that have resonated with audiences.

“Contemporary online video is fragile and at risk. Historically, online videos have been underrepresented, and we are in the process of addressing this gap. Novara Media’s work is an important contribution towards this.”

Dr Tom Chivers, vice-chair of the Media Reform Coalition, said of Novara Media’s addition to the archive: “The BFI deserves praise for recognising the importance and impact of Novara Media in modern Britain. 

“Novara’s work joins an esteemed collection of purpose-driven journalism that goes against the mainstream grain, including first-hand accounts of racist discrimination against migrant communities in the 1970s and celebrations of Britain’s LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s.

“Like the other records of powerful social justice reporting held in the archive, Novara Media provides something the UK has lacked for too long: journalism that exposes unseen inequalities, challenges vested interests and campaigns unashamedly for a leftwing alternative.

“Novara’s place in the BFI National Archive will stand as a vital snapshot of British politics and media in the early 21st century, and be an inspiration to those building independent left media for years to come.”

Novara Media began in 2011 as a podcast on a community radio station presented by Aaron Bastani and James Butler, who met in the student anti-austerity movement. While for many years, it was a mostly voluntary project, today it has over 20 staff and a funding model which relies mostly on small donations, enabling it to weather the storms of a contracting media industry without sacrificing its principles.

BFI is not the first establishment organisation to recognise Novara Media’s work. Last year, Amnesty International nominated the organisation for one of its media awards for an episode of Novara FM entitled ‘This Is How the British State Is Trying to Crush the Palestine Movement’, presented by Simon Childs and Richard Hames.

Gary McQuiggin, head of video and a director of Novara Media, said of the BFI announcement: “We are honoured that the British Film Institute has decided to preserve our work for posterity in its National Archive. 

“Britain’s media is dominated by the billionaire class and ultra-rich, from Rupert Murdoch and Lord Rothermere to Paul Marshall. Much of it exists to serve the interests of the powerful and wealthy. 

“Novara Media was founded as a corrective to this, as an independent media company that would question business as usual, making journalism that speaks truth to power. 

“We never thought we’d make it this far, but today we are proud to stand in the tradition of the many radical media collectives and cooperatives that preceded us, and whose works we now join in the BFI National Archive, from the Berwick Street Film Collective to Cinema Action.

“Our work is far from done. But we hope that what we’ve built can serve as inspiration to future generations: that you can challenge the status quo and succeed; that you can use the master’s tools against them; and that there is a great appetite for change – not only in this country, but in the wider world too.”

All of the videos selected by the BFI took a huge amount of dedication from the Novara Media team. None of it would have been possible without our supporters. If you’re a supporter already, thank you. If not, support us today.