A new report says control of the UK media is concentrated in the hands of just a few large corporations, threatening news plurality at an “endemic” level.
The 20-page report released by the Media Reform Coalition titled “Who Owns the UK Media?” says there are dangerous concentrations of ownership “by a handful of giant corporations” across the UK media market, from news websites to TV channels and internet search and newspapers.
It also reveals that just three companies — Sun and Times owner News UK, Daily Mail publisher DMGT, and Daily Mirror owner Trinity Mirror— control 71% of the national newspaper market.
The MRC argues that just six major regional newspaper groups own 81% of local newspapers, with the remaining 56 publishers in the UK accounting for 19% and this has created regional “news deserts”, where professional journalists have been drained away by cuts and closures, and local monopolies or duopolies.