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Blog, Comment, Media plurality, Media policy

Government’s focus on measurement runs risk of neglecting crucial media plurality issues

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Media coverage following Maria Miller’s appearance in front of the culture, media and sport select committee in December 2013 focused on press regulation, but she was also asked about the government’s progress on media plurality, in light of Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations.

The Secretary of State’s comments, reproduced and highlighted in red below, indicate that the government is focusing on the development of a measurement framework and runs the risk of neglecting broader issues of media plurality.

In written evidence to the government’s consultation, Professor Steven Barnett raised his concern that while the consultation paper started with the broad-brush approach of the Leveson report, it then appeared to limit its scope to issues of measurement and consumption.

This focus does not allow for what the eminent American political scientist, Edwin Baker, called “communicative power”. While undue concentration of media ownership is certainly unwelcome because of its potential influence on diversity of news, information and ideas in a democracy, there are other potentially harmful consequences for democracy.

A measurement framework which is constructed purely around statistical models of consumption or “share of references” by definition takes little account of opinion-forming impacts of different media forms.

Furthermore, the government must look at the current policy regime around plurality – in particular, the Public Interest test – which we suggest is not fit for purpose.

These and other concerns are also addressed in our recommendations to the House of Lords select committee inquiry on media plurality.

Extract from oral evidence by Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to the Culture, Media and Sport committee, 18 December 2013:

Q49 Mr Bradshaw: Not quite. I had one other question on Leveson. What progress has your Department made in implementing Sir Brian’s recommendations on media plurality?

Maria Miller: Mr Bradshaw is absolutely right to say that media plurality was another aspect of Lord Justice Leveson’s report. A consultation on plurality closed on 22 October, and we are due to publish the consultation report early next year. I think that that will give us a foundation from which we can move forward on that really important issue.

…..

Q51 Chair: On Mr Bradshaw’s first question about media plurality, your communications and creative industries Minister said to the Lords Communications Committee that it is unlikely that there would be any legislative measures taken on media plurality in this Parliament. I take it you would agree with him on that.

Maria Miller: What we are focusing on, Chair, is the importance of understanding how we deal with media plurality in what is a very different and ever-changing environment. Our consultation has been seeking views on the scope of a measurement framework, and then, when we have got through that particular part of our deliberations, we intend to commission the development of a clear measurement framework and work that up in partnership with the industry.

This is a highly complex area which is, frankly, only getting more complicated, but at the heart of our approach is ensuring that British people have the ability to access a wide range of news and views, and information about the world in which they live. We believe that that plurality of information is at the heart of having a healthy and vibrant democracy.

Q52 Chair: From what you say, it sounds as if it is unlikely that it will be in the next Parliament either.  It is going to take a long time.

Maria Miller: Again, I think it is important that we get it right. I think the Committee would be urging us to get it right and it is certainly a complicated area.

 Chair: Let us move on to something completely different.

Blog, Media plurality, Media Plurality series, Media policy

Launch of new media plurality blog series

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Since the publication of the Leveson Inquiry report just over a year ago, the formation of a new self-regulatory body for the press has dominated the policy debate about its implementation. However, Inquiry proceedings and the report’s recommendations also highlighted another important area for policy reform: the control and measurement of media plurality and ownership.

Although outside the limelight, policymakers have paid attention to Lord Justice Leveson’s suggestions in this area.  The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched a media plurality consultation on 31 July and is expected to respond in the coming months. The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications also just finished hearing evidence in its inquiry on the same issue. The time seems ripe for a thorough debate leading to possible reform of media plurality policy, assuming the consultation and inquiry are not just going through the motions.

In the interest of opening up the debate beyond Whitehall and Parliament, the LSE Media Policy Project and the University of Westminster’s Media Power and Plurality project have teamed up to produce a special blog series on media plurality. The series of posts will be jointly curated by Sally Broughton Micova (LSE MPP) and Judith Townend (University of Westminster) and will appear on both blogs.

Media plurality policy is not just about ownership limits and concentration. Cross-media ownership rules and other competition based-policies are challenged by convergence within media industries. At the same time, changing audience and advertising patterns are threatening traditional business models.

In this series authors will cover issues such as the implications of convergence, options for stimulating plurality in the current environment, and the mechanisms with which to measure ownership and plurality.

There will also be discussion of some of the specific proposals that have been made to the inquiries, which are expected to report early next year.

The series has no set number of posts, and we would be happy to accept further contributions, so please feel free to get in touch with us at LSE MPP or the Westminster Media Power and Plurality project with your ideas. And, of course, you can join the debate in the comment section beneath the posts, or on Twitter: @LSEMediaPolicy and @mediaplurality.