In recent years, there has been an increasing trend towards the takeover of British media by foreign corporations, in particular British newspapers. Virtually every British newspaper is now owned either by Rupert Murdoch’s News International (itself a subsidiary of the conglomerate News Corporation), which owns The Sun, Britain’s most widely circulated newspaper, and The Times, another of Britain’s most widely read newspapers, or another massive global media corporation, a fact which has been particularly in the spotlight in the wake of the recent News of the World phone hacking scandal.The News of the World was, before its recent closure, another part of the Murdoch media empire, and exemplified the tabloid-style of journalism so prominent in recent decades.
Some figures within the media world, such as chairman and CEO of Independent News Ltd, Duncan Williams, argue that this recent scandal is by no means coincidental; he argues that the phone hacking scandal is indicative of a wider trend of deterioration of media ethics. Whilst the case of the News of the World hacking into mobile phone messages to attain information and thus potentially jeopardising a police investigation is an extreme case, it nevertheless demonstrates how unethical the world of tabloid journalism is. Williams argues that the style of tabloid journalism brought about by foreign owned media has created a culture of sensationalism, whereby stories are focussed on scandal and negativity. This has a detrimental effect on British people and communities, and can in turn allow for events such as the phone hacking scandal to occur. Williams contends therefore that “it’s far healthier for Britain to have its press and media owned by British people”.
Williams contends that, whilst he is someone who holds business-orientated values, “when making money is detrimental to freedom of speech, something’s gone wrong”. He also puts forward the argument that, whilst investigative journalism plays an important role in the way the media operates, citing the example of journalists’ exposure of the Watergate scandal, and that preventing media companies from carrying it out would impede freedom of speech,allowing them to use techniques such as the interception of phone calls and so forth is also a violation of this right. Therefore, in his view the correct balance needs to be addressed so that journalists are capable of unearthing important stories in ways which are ethically sound, as when media companies have both the power and the intention to invade someone’s privacy as a means of obtaining information for a story, something is not right.
It is not only the tendency towards sensationalism produced by foreign-owned tabloid newspapers which provides a reason why British media should be owned by the British however; Williams argues that the foreign takeover of newspapers naturally leads to their content losing touch with British people and British life, hence the shift towards celebrity gossip in place of genuine news stories which are in the public interest. This, in the view of Williams, also has a negative impact on British society, as it creates a sense of detachment, and people no longer feel represented by the publications they read. It is on this notion that his company, Independent News Ltd, operates. They aim to focus their reporting on positive stories about British communities and people, thereby providing journalism which affects British society in a positive way. Williams states, for example, that Independent News may run articles about stories such as successful marriages or pay homage to war veterans who have recently passed away. In keeping with Williams’ philosophy on the ownership of British Media, Independent News is backed solely by British investors. As Williams puts it: “Our company is owned by British investors, which we feel is very important when you are providing news for people who are reading it in Britain”.
Another reason why it is healthier for British media to be owned by the British is that, when large sections of the media are owned by a few large conglomerates such as News Corporation, it leads to high levels of media censorship, with fewer views and opinions published, otherwise known as an oligopoly. This concentration of media ownership has a damning effect on smaller media companies, as well as on the content of news publications. The media will become less pluralistic, thus undermining freedom of speech. In response, many argue that the solution to this problem is the ownership of British media by smaller, British companies, giving greater media pluralism and a broader range of opinions. British companies are also naturally more likely to reflect the views of average British people than foreign-owned media does.
Moreover, in the wake of the News of the World scandal, Williams argues that people are losing faith in the brand of tabloid journalism perpetrated by such publications, and that “it’s an opportunity for positive, British owned media companies (such as his) to gain a voice”. While tabloid newspapers and global corporations such as News International become seen as being disreputable, British publications will have the opportunity to win favour with the public, which in Williams’ view can only be a good thing. Williams talks about the rapid changed happening in the media at this present time, and argues that they are akin to the changes that are happening in the political world. Companies such as his, he believes, have an important part to play in this media revolution, andthe apparent ‘death of journalism’ is, he contends, not a disaster for the British media, but rather a very real chance for smaller, British newspaper companies to transform the tattered state of journalism ethics.
In conclusion, as recent events in particular have shown, the current trend of foreign-owned media publications has proven to have a negative effect on the British media as well as British society in general. Were it the case that British media were owned primarily by British investors, and that newspapers sought to represent British interests to a greater degree, there is no doubt that it would have a positive impact on British communities, British society andmedia ethics, as companies such as Independent News have tried to demonstrate through their positive style of journalism.
No comments:
Post a Comment