» SubscribeMain section
-
Top story
On and Ofcom...
Granville Williams
In a recent letter to the Guardian, CPBF's Granville Williams expresses concerns about Ofcom in the light of the Lords' amendments to the Communications Bill. Read the letter here.Emily Bell's rather jaundiced commentary on the Communications Bill ('Soufflé and jelly bill won't worry Murdoch', The Guardian, July 11) is dismissive of the 'fair amount of detritus of variable merit' that has been added to it as a result of amendments in the Lords.
I would agree that the amendments do not really drastically alter the bill's intention, which is to create a light touch regulatory structure supervised by Ofcom, and encourage media consolidation. However, the amendments rankle both Lord Currie, chair of Ofcom, and the government, and they would like them taken out.
Take, for example, clause 3(i) which gives Ofcom "the principal duty...to further the interests of citizens in relation to communications matters".
This clause would require Ofcom, when performing the plurality test on proposed media mergers, to be guided by citizens' interests, rather than commercial concerns.
As the bill goes back to the Commons for debate on Monday 14 July there are clear signs that the government will attempt to return to the wording of the clause at the time the bill left the Commons. MPs really should oppose such an attempt.
Whatever the outcome of the debate, the hard fact is that Ofcom will play the key role in deciding whether to block or allow mergers. All the more worrying then, that Lord Currie has only recently returned from a visit to the United States to discuss common issues of concern with the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Colin Powell's son Michael. The FCC has just moved to dramatically liberalise media ownership rules and Ofcom will be allowed, without reference to Parliament, to initiate similar reviews of media ownership in the future.
Emily Bell is right about one 'incredible' aspect of Ofcom - Ed Richards, the Blair adviser who played a key role in REPLACEing the proposals to lift the prohibition on non-European ownership of UK broadcasting and the 'Murdoch' clause allowing him to acquire Channel Five, is now on the Ofcom board.
It looks like those individuals and organisations who are concerned about the way Ofcom will go about its business will have to set up an organisation to monitor its progress - how about Ofcom Watch?
Last modified: Thursday, October 14, 2004
Previous ofcom stories
OFCOM AND PRESS REGULATION
OFCOM role to include the BBC?
-
Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
-
Previous stories
