Murdoch attack on 'dominant' BBC

chris

News Corporation's James Murdoch has said that a "dominant" BBC threatens independent journalism in the UK.

The chairman of the media giant in Europe, which owns the Times and Sun, also blamed the UK government for regulating the media "with relish".

"The expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision," Mr Murdoch said.

He was giving the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

Mr Murdoch said that organisations like the BBC, funded by the license fee, as well as Channel 4 and Ofcom made it harder for other broadcasters to survive.

Free news

"The BBC is dominant," Mr Murdoch said. "Other organisations might rise and fall but the BBC's income is guaranteed and growing."

News Corporation lost $3.4bn (£2bn) in the year to the end of June, which his father, News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch, said had been "the most difficult in recent history".

Other media organisations are also struggling as advertising revenues have dropped during the downturn.

Mr Murdoch said free news on the web provided by the BBC made it "incredibly difficult" for private news organisations to ask people to pay for their news.

"It is essential for the future of independent digital journalism that a fair price can be charged for news to people who value it," he said.

News Corporation has said it will start charging online customers for news content across all its websites.

It owns the Times, the Sunday Times and Sun newspapers and pay TV provider BSkyB in the UK and the New York Post and Wall Street Journal in the US.

Rupert Murdoch addressed the same festival 20 years ago.


Source:BBCNews

rolfw

Falls under the category, "Well he would say that wouldn't he".

Pot and kettle also springs to mind.

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Tivù

How utterly bizarre.

Fortunately we can live without Mr.Murdoch (Apart from the Sunday Times, obviously).

I wonder if his distaste for dominance will be reflected in the UK Satelitte TV Market any time soon?

Topper

and black I should say....

He is obviously upset as he has discovered his business is not recession proof, he just doesn't live in the real world I'm afraid

War does not determine who is right, it determines who is left!

Formerly toppervte33h
whose six pack has turned into a keg

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Channel Hopper

Says the man behind Sky News, one of the countless other 'free' outlets for world events.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

bigboyo0

I think he needs to look at sky as one of there Business Partners have just gone in to administration!!!!!!!!!