IRONY ALERT: Murdoch attacks BBC for being too "dominant" (4)

1 Name: Unverified Source : 2009-08-29 14:54 ID:Im7lmbtx

So basically James Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch) of News Corporation bitches that the BBC is being too dominant and expansionist in the markets, and that that threatens independent broadcasters, such as Sky (which is owned by his father). He also wants people to pay "a fair price" for their news.

This is incredibly ironic, of course, since News Corporation itself is a huge corporation with many publications and TV channels.

What I'd say is "chilling" is the extent of the media News Corp owns, which you might very well describe as "expansionist" and "dmoninant." Have a look for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_News_Corporation

What the BBC owns and controls is nothing compared to that.

The article is in the next post.

2 Name: Unverified Source : 2009-08-29 14:58 ID:Im7lmbtx

News Corporation's James Murdoch [Rupert Murdoch's son] 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," he told the Edinburgh Television Festival.

The scope of the BBC's activities and ambitions was "chilling", he added.

Organisations like the BBC, funded by the licence fee, as well as Channel 4 and Ofcom, made it harder for other broadcasters to survive, he argued.

'Chilling'

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

News Corporation, which owns Sky television, 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.

Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, told the BBC's World Tonight that Mr Murdoch had underplayed the importance of Sky as a competitor.

"Sky continues to grow and get stronger and stronger all the time so this is not quite a set of minnows and a great big BBC," Sir Michael said.

"The BBC has a very strong competitor in Sky, and not one to be ignored."

Free news

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.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8227915.stm

3 Name: Unverified Source : 2009-11-06 04:25 ID:Heaven

Big news carrier wants to get bigger and richer. Nothing new here.

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

Good. I hope their sales plummet even further.

4 Name: Unverified Source : 2009-11-30 09:13 ID:bIBtFbDA

During my latest fit of paranoia, I had convinced myself that Rupert Murdoch had sent Tom Cruise and his minions to kill me for disagreeing with him whilst holding a subscription to Sky TV. Man, am I glad that's no longer one of my deepest-held beliefs. Been hitting the marblecake too hard ... I hope.

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