NEW REPORT ON UK MEDIA OWNERSHIP JUST PUBLISHED We produced our first comprehensive report on media ownership in the UK back in 2015 when we argued concentrated ownership was a significant problem for any modern democracy. In 2019, we produced an updated version that suggests that, not only does concentrated ownership persist but that the problem may be getting worse. … [Read more...]
Election campaign reveals a media system that’s not fit for purpose
MRC asked some leading advocates of media reform for their reaction to the result of the general election. Angela Phillips: The media and the polls Outrage about the bias of the media has been a constant over many years of elections but the past four years allow us to make a fairly direct comparison between events. The main thing that has changed is not the … [Read more...]
News plurality and the Mirror/Express merger: real concerns remain
by Justin Schlosberg This week the Culture Secretary Matt Hancock cleared the proposed mergerbetween Trinity Mirror and Northern & Shell Group. This followed a public interest testof the merger by Ofcom on the grounds of both plurality and the ‘free expression of opinion’. It’s perhaps hardly surprising that Ofcom found no cause for concern on either ground, given … [Read more...]
MRC statement on Fox/Sky merger decision
The Media Reform Coalition cautiously welcomes the Culture Secretary’s statement agreeing with the main finding of the Fox/Sky merger review: that the deal poses a serious risk to the public interest on plurality grounds. We are disappointed that neither he nor the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have expressed similar concerns in regard to Fox’s commitment to … [Read more...]
Fox/Sky takeover: archive of civil society submissions
MRC is happy to host an archive of some of the submissions and reports that have been prepared in relation to the proposed takeover of Sky by 21st Century Fox. Avaaz, Submission to the CMA consultation on its provisional findings regarding proposed acquisition of Sky by 21CF, February 2018 Media Reform Coalition, Response to notice of possible remedies, February … [Read more...]
Block the AT&T/Time Warner merger
via our friends at Free Press in the US AT&T is an enormous media, telecom and internet gatekeeper with a horrible track record of overcharging you, limiting your choices and spying on you. It's still fighting Net Neutrality. It helps the government spy on people by turning over its customer records to the NSA. It tries to stop communities from building their own … [Read more...]
Off the agenda: Why press silence speaks volumes about the dangers of concentrated media
By Justin Schlosberg Real press power resides in the the ability to suppress a scandal, at least as much as the ability to produce one. This is the lesson we learn repeatedly when journalists, facing the combined pressures of austerity, failing business models and an increasingly cautious and interventionist management decide enough is enough. The latest in this new cadres … [Read more...]