A new report has warned that British democracy could be being eroded by a Tory-sympathising media controlled by a handful of corporate moguls.
Analysis by the Media Reform Coalition found just three companies – DMG Media, Rupert Murdoch’s News UK and Reach – dominate 90 per cent of the UK’s national newspaper market.
The same three organisations account for more than 40 per cent of the total audience reach of the UK’s top 50 online news brands.
This concentrated ownership is “terrible” for democracy, warns Des Freedman, a founding member of the MRC.
“I don’t believe a media can be truly free when it is dominated by so few voices, and in the service of profit-making more than genuine public service,” he said.
“A few giant corporations dominate the public conversation. And they are constantly pushing mainstream opinion to the right.”
The UK has plenty of newspapers. But most of them are owned by a handful of powerful men.
Jonathan Harmsworth, Viscount Rothermere, controls 40 per cent of the UK’s national newspaper market through the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The i and Metro.
Multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch, meanwhile, controls The Sun and The Times, while Reach PLC – which owns the The Mirror, the Express, the Daily Star, and Daily Record – accounts for a further 15 per cent of circulation.
Intense media concentration pushes public debate to the right, Freedman warns – and politicians follow suit.
“It contributes to a nasty kind of politics that victimizes marginalised populations, and penalises the most vulnerable,” he says.
It also encourages ”dog whistle” politics on issues like immigration and prevents the Labour party from taking radical stances.
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