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...]
Trinity Mirror’s Takeover of Local World and the Future of local Journalism in Wales
by Dr Andy Williams Along with the Media Reform Coalition researchers at the School held a public panel discussion about the recent merger between regional news publishers Trinity Mirror and Local World. We hosted speakers from the word of politics, academia and journalism to debate the issues. Trinity Mirror, the fifth-biggest local media company in the UK, is buying … [Read more...]
Trinity Mirror deal a serious threat to media plurality
Trinity Mirror has announced the full acquisition of regional publisher Local World, making it the biggest regional news publisher in the country with control of more than 20% of all titles. The deal will cost about £160 million and give Trinity Mirror combined revenues dwarfing even the UK wing of American giant Gannett, owner of Newsquest and Trinity Mirror’s next biggest … [Read more...]
Honest journalists need a regulator to protect them
By Angela Phillips As four more journalists are arrested in connection with phone hacking it is worth remembering that it is commercial pressures, not great journalism, that brought us to this place. … [Read more...]