Media must be allowed to merge to take on tech giants Google and Facebook, former press watchdog warns
THE media must be allowed to merge to take on tech giants Google and Facebook, a former press watchdog has warned.
Reform of media ownership rules is needed to allow the industry to unite as tech giants 'vacuum up' advertising revenue, argued Tory peer Lord Wakeham.
Publishers 'need the strength to be able to take them on and not each other', the former Conservative Cabinet minister argued, as he called for government action.
Speaking at Westminster,Lord Wakeham said: "Times have changed but one thing remains constant - the crucial importance of a free press in a democracy.
"I've learnt over many years that you cannot have a free press unless you have one that is commercially viable.
"Newspapers have to be able to make profits to survive. And that is what is in jeopardy now.
"The press is under greater commercial pressure than at any time in its history."
QUALITY JOURNALISM
Lord Wakeham who previously headed the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), spoke out as the House of Lords debated the Government's response to a review which examined the sustainability of quality journalism in the face of declining newspaper sales and falling revenues.
The review, commissioned by the then prime minister Theresa May, argued that online platforms like Google and Facebook should have a "news quality obligation" - overseen by a regulator - to improve trust in the content they host.
The Cairncross Review called for ministers to look at new tax breaks for "public interest" journalism, with direct funding for local public interest news.
The revenues of traditional newspaper groups have been slashed as online platforms have "taken a bigger and bigger share of the advertising market", he told peers.
Newspapers have to be able to make profits to survive. And that is what is in jeopardy now
Lord Wakeham
Lord Wakeham said: "That cannot go on. We must ensure support of the industry as it consolidates, which it surely must.
"There must be further rationalisation if publishers are to have the strength to take on the competition."
Tech giants "are vacuuming up the advertising market at an ever increasing rate", he said.
Lord Wakeham added: "Publishers need the strength to be able to take them on and not each other, and that strength comes from the combined weight of consolidated, strong and successful companies.
"That needs a thorough review and reform of the media competition and ownership regime that allows newspaper publishers to reduce costs, increase revenues and invest in the journalism that will allow them to take on the global competition without any impact on media plurality.
"One of the great dangers is where legislation lags behind the reality of the market.
'SWIFT ACTION'
"Our legislation in this area is ages old and I hope the Secretary of State will look at swift action in this area.
"It would help as much in saving a free press. If we don't it may be too late."
Pressing for Government action to support the industry, Conservative peer Lord Black of Brentwood, deputy chairman of the Telegraph Media Group, said: "The grim truth is that help is needed now if many local newspapers are to survive, while they bridge the gap between print legacy and digital future."
Culture secretary Nicky Morgan said the Cairncross review had outlined the threat to high quality journalism in the country, with the print circulation of daily national newspapers and local newspapers falling.
Lady Morgan of Cotes said the main driver was a rapid change in how people consumed content with a rise in reading news online, which threatened to undermine the financial sustainability of journalism.
She hailed public interest journalism as an essential component of democracy and a vital tool in holding the powerful to account.
Lady Morgan said the Government supported the majority of the recommendations, apart from the proposal to establish an institute for public interest news.
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"The Government has decided it is not for the Government to take that recommendation forward," she said. "There may well be a very good argument for an institute."
But it may be for another body to take the recommendation forward, she told peers.
Lady Morgan said ministers had committed to review how online advertising is regulated, adding: "We are committed to getting this work right so that future generations can be inspired and engaged by a free and vibrant press."
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