"Whether the power's being wielded by the state or a multi-national corporation, media freedom can hang on a very thin thread indeed," said Michelle Stanistreet, General Secretary of the NUJ, at our Rally for Media Reform, calling for a market share cap to be set at 25% and a public interest test to be introduced whenever any market share reaches 15%. Watch her speech in … [Read more...]
Report from the Lords select committee on plurality, 25 June
As MPs call on Lord Justice Leveson to comment on the shameful stalemate that has prevailed over press regulation since the agreement of the Royal Charter in March, the House of Lords select committee on communications is quietly and seriously examining the question of what to do about media ownership. We observed the committee on 25 June as it heard evidence from three … [Read more...]
It’s time to put media ownership at the top of the agenda
With Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman’s call for a new Communications Bill establishing rules on media ownership, the vast power of a handful of British media owners is back on the agenda. … [Read more...]
The case for caps: how to make media ownership policy work
By Justin Schlosberg Last night’s Radio 4 Media Show featured an interview with shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman where she was pressed by Steve Hewlett on the burgeoning issue of what to do about media plurality. In response, she reiterated Labour’s support for a system of thresholds to be applied to media ownership – particularly in respect of newspapers – arguing … [Read more...]
No, Andrew Gilligan, we do not want content regulation
Have you heard? The Media Reform Coalition is part of a plot by the European Union to take control of the British press. At least that’s what seems to be implied in an article by Andrew Gilligan in this week’s Sunday Telegraph. Normally, we turn the other cheek to these kinds of attacks. But in between the shocking revelations that media academics sometimes talk to each … [Read more...]