ISBA Urge Tighter Controls On Media Ownership

The deadline for responses to the Department of Heritage’s review of cross- media ownership was Friday. The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers wrote to the Department calling for increased competition and also some controls in media ownership and media services. The ISBA says this would be preferable to a policy which encourages mergers and limits ownership and competition in the media field.

ISBA expressed its concern over the recent high activity and asked that the government review the circumstances in other countries which have led to precautions to stop individual groups of media owners from dominating press television or radio.

ISBA confirmed its belief that viewers as well as advertisers want a broad range of programmes; Kenneth Miles said, “We believe that public policy should be directed towards enabling partnerships and mergers where they make commercial sense but not positively encouraging them in the belief that they must be right.” Whilst ISBA is against the existing restrictions on overlap between radio stations and local newspapers, a liberalisation would need to be strictly controlled.

The ISBA letter to the Department also deals with cable and telephone networks which are becoming involved in information and entertainment, and calls for the goverment to consider these implications.

Kenneth Miles 071 499 7502.