The NUJ has taken the opposite view to Trinity Mirror chief Sly Bailey and called on the Government not to rush to relax media ownership laws.
In a complete contrast to Bailey's claim that "time is running out" for the regional press (see post below), the NUJ's response to today's interim Digital Britain report is cautious on the proposed review of media ownership and merger rules by the Office of Fair Trading and Ofcom.
NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: “Whilst on the one hand the government talks about the importance of plurality in the media, on the other it is considering a relaxation of the very rules that protect it.
“Politicians must take care not to allow policy to be dictated by media owners who have shown scant interest in investing in the editorial resources needed for quality journalism."
Showing posts with label Digital Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Digital Britain. Show all posts
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sly Bailey: 'Time is running out...mergers and combinations of newspaper groups offer only chance of survival for some titles'
Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey has given a blistering response to the publication of the interim Digital Britain report, HoldtheFrontPage reports today.
She welcomes the move to review the merger ownership rules (see post below) in the regional newspaper sector but accuses the government of a lack of urgency.
Bailey says: "We, of course, welcome the commitment to investigate the potential for changes to merger regulations in the local and regional media sector. But how long will the process take following the full report in May? One or two years?
"Frankly time is running out. Regional newspaper publishers are facing the most challenging times in their history, mergers and combinations of newspaper groups offer the only chance of survival for some titles. Merger regulations need to change to enable the regional newspaper industry to survive in the digital age, rather than conspiring to strangling it out of existence."
In another broadside, she added: "We are bitterly disappointed that the report makes only passing reference to newspapers - the word is used just four times - and the crushing lack of understanding of the urgency required for changes to merger regulations in the local and regional media sector."
She welcomes the move to review the merger ownership rules (see post below) in the regional newspaper sector but accuses the government of a lack of urgency.
Bailey says: "We, of course, welcome the commitment to investigate the potential for changes to merger regulations in the local and regional media sector. But how long will the process take following the full report in May? One or two years?
"Frankly time is running out. Regional newspaper publishers are facing the most challenging times in their history, mergers and combinations of newspaper groups offer the only chance of survival for some titles. Merger regulations need to change to enable the regional newspaper industry to survive in the digital age, rather than conspiring to strangling it out of existence."
In another broadside, she added: "We are bitterly disappointed that the report makes only passing reference to newspapers - the word is used just four times - and the crushing lack of understanding of the urgency required for changes to merger regulations in the local and regional media sector."
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