Press ownership in United Kingdom is largely governed by Communications Act 2003, Enterprise Act 2002, The Broadcast Act 1996 and Competition Act 1998.
Owning multiple types of media companies allows a single corporation to build cross-linked walled gardens that corral customers and their money to the corporation’s child companies and create an environment of controlled messages. In the United States as of 1985, 90 percent of all media companies were owned by 50 different companies. Through acquisitions of smaller companies by larger ones, 90 percent of media companies are now concentrated under the ownership of just five corporations: Comcast, Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, News Corp and National Amusements.
Freedom of speech advocates point out that cross-ownership affords massive control of public opinion. Cross-ownership of media can also be anti-competitive, fostering monopolies and slowing innovation by crushing startupcompetition. Due to these concerns, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reviews rules for media cross-ownership once every four years.
In 2015, the FCC ruled to keep current media cross-ownership rules. Media companies are still prohibited from owning TV, newspaper and/or radio stations within the same market, to the great upset of media giants. The sole exception to the rule is the concession that local media companies may step in to save failing local newspapers. However, media companies claim that action would prove to be too little, too late.
Following the Leveson Inquiry in 2011, United Kingdom has been examining the state of its media.Media concentration raises specific concerns regarding ownership in terms of political, cultural as well economic areas Economically it affects the productive growth economically in form of competition and the market reality points out increasing number of media companies owned by the same parent company. This essay will first show that we need stricter press regulation laws against powerful corporations such as News UK and Trinity Mirror to strengthen plurality of sources and diversity of content. The essay will then discuss how print readership is on the decline because of convergence. Then it will explain then showed that since United Kingdom does not have legal boundaries on foreigners owning print media, we are now experiencing deterioration of media pluralism
Plurality of sources and diversity of content
The primary aim of establishing ownership rules for newspapers are to to safeguard plurality of owners and to give consumers various sources of news and information. A very concerning fact is that three companies such as (News UK, DMGT, Trinity Mirror) own 70% of the national newspaper circulation.Five companies control 70% of the regional daily newspaper circulation. This shows that ownership concentration has reached endemic levels.
There have been evidences from former editors of newspapers like Daily Mirror and Sunday Telegraph that the newspaper owners openly meddled with the contents of the newspaper. In 2007 Council of Europe highlighted that ‘media pluralism and diversity of media content are essential for the functioning of a democratic society and are the corollaries of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information’.While media pluralism serves the public interest, it is not in itself the public interest. The main UK media plurality rules are set out in section 58 of the Enterprise Act 2002which permits certain media mergers within the print industry on the basis of plurality grounds.One of the main issues with this provision is that a plurality review can only be started in the context of a media merger. Structural and behavioural interventions in relation to editorial freedom can often assert ineffectiveness given the enduring power relations as well as subtle means of pressure that has no legal ways as evidenced by Sir Harold Evans (former editor of the Times and the Sunday Times).Even the European Parliament has time and again supported legislative mediation to safeguard media plurality and has continued to push for action. Leveson Inquiry has revealed that avoiding significant merger has led powerful media personalities to seek unethical media activities to influence their power against political leaders with an agenda.This shows that we need stricter press regulation laws against powerful corporations such as News UK and Trinity Mirror to strengthen plurality of sources and diversity of content. This essay will then discuss stricter regulation for cross media ownership may eventually help in protecting media pluralism and diversity of content. This essay will then discuss the ineffectiveness of EU law to properly address the problem of press ownership regulation.
Effects of Cross Media Ownership
Protecting media plurality may be affectively done if there is strong regulation of cross media ownership. It is also a way for local media companies to consolidate its radio, television and printing press and produce similar content across all media. In the Measuring Media Plurality report, Ofcom has suggested that a diversity in viewpoints can effectively prevent any one media from influencing public opinion or serving a particular political agenda. Schedule 14 of The Communications Act 2003 states the cross media ownership rules and it includes consideration of company groups and also familial relationships. As specified in Part 1 of Schedule14, no person may acquire a Channel 3 licence if he or she runs one or more national newspapers with an aggregate market share of 20% or more. The national cross-media ownership rule prohibits a newspaper owner with a market share of 20% or more of newspaper circulation from holding a Channel 3 licence or a stake in a Channel 3 licensee that is greater than 20%. This helps protect plurality of sources and diversity of content in UK media ownership and prevents the biggest newspaper operators from acquiring one of the biggest commercial broadcasters in the UK. This provision helps prevent undue influence that media conglomerates can use for self-serving agendas.
An Ofcom study conducted in 2009 explains local media pluralism is not amongst the priorities for the public. Respondents were more concerned with single ownership amongst the local media and were not concerned about cross media ownership.
An Ofcom study conducted in 2009 explains local media pluralism is not amongst the priorities for the public. Respondents were more concerned with single ownership amongst the local media and were not concerned about cross media ownership. Some academics believe that urgent reform is required to redress the endemic concentration in the press markets. However Ofcom disagrees and asserts that cross media merger laws should be retained. Recently Rupert Murdoch has been on the spotlight as he is being investigated by the UK competition regulator for the £11.7bn bid which has consistently been called a deal against the public interest because it would give the Murdoch family “too much control over news providers in the UK, and too much influence over public opinion and the political agenda”. By buying 61% of Sky Murdoch would own what it does not already making him the sole owner of Sky News. A three week consultation examining has been launched by The Competition and Markets Authority referring to Sky News that could allow the deal to go through. The three options include to stop the deal, a potential spin-off or sale of Sky News or to keep Sky News as part of Sky but to question its independence to address concerns about Murdoch’s influence, such as an independent board and funding guarantee. Hence, stricter regulation for cross media ownership may eventually help in protecting media pluralism and diversity of content.
European Union Law
After a long gap of inaction, European Union started to engage with the question of media pluralism after both internal and external pressures. Article 11.4 was introduced to increase support amongst the public for legislative intervention. European Laws function on the open market for the most part and hence the aim is multilateralism and as is the way of globalisation to be at an equilibrium state. Media pluralism is being addressed by the European Commission in its Green Paper focusing on the controlling of public access to information as well as distribution platforms. However, European laws too affect Competition laws which can be a duplication of the national laws as there is ineffective coordination between the two legal systems which are resulting in repetition. At EU level, Mergers may be subject to competition law and more specifically the Merger Regulation. There is of course the question of Brexit and the friction which will cause difficulties in the practice of the existing laws but that is not yet known.
Convergence
Convergence is not just about development in technology. It corresponds to creating innovative idea to create services and about different ways of doing business and of interacting with society. Where local newspapers do exist, their audience reach has traditionally been high although it has dropped in recent years. It has been observed that the decline in quality local journalism is strongly associated with convergence and ownership concentration. Even though there is an increase in citizen media, however major news organisations still overpower the growing citizen media. Ever since convergence, the multinational corporations and organisations have responded to the current climate by investing heavily in online platforms with a strong market strategy and extensively established news production infrastructures.Nowadays, UK citizens are predominantly using online news sites that are run by existing news providers further asserting the already significant dominant in the major players. Ever since the growing age of smartphones, print readership has been steady and big organisations are taking part in it equally.
Foreign Ownership
There are no formal restrictions on the foreign ownership in UK print media industry. Holding reservations of overseas firms is not profitable since international competitiveness is the aim for deregulating. However, the argument of News International dominating the print industry still remains prevalent in the ownership debate.Ever since the Communications Act ended the ban on foreign ownership of TV licences, this paved the way for News Corporation to attempt to buy the 60% of BskyB it did not own.In a surprising news, Brian Roberts who owns NBC lanched a £22 billion takeover bid for Sky and this just confirms that no matter who wins the bid, Sky will be moving into a complete foreign ownership after being UK’s biggest media company for three decades.News UK, an American company owned by Rupert Murdoch which is part of News Corporation commands a significant share in print media. Since United Kingdom does not have legal boundaries on foreigners owning print media, we are now experiencing deterioration of media pluralism.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there needs to be more defined regulation in the press ownership as it is largely being run by corporations like News UK who are trying buy the press. This shows that we need stricter press regulation laws against powerful corporations such as News UK and Trinity Mirror to strengthen plurality of sources and diversity of content. This essay then explained why stricter regulation is needed for cross media ownership which may eventually help in protecting media pluralism and diversity of content. This essay then discussed the ineffectiveness of EU law to properly address the problem of press ownership regulation. The essay then discussed how print readership is on the decline because of convergence. The essay then showed that since United Kingdom does not have legal boundaries on foreigners owning print media, we are now experiencing deterioration of media pluralism. Moreover, Brexit has left print ownership on a very unpredictable path. Hence, we need concrete regulations on many issues regarding press ownership.
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