Select Committee on Communications First Report


CHAPTER 2: THE STATE OF THE MEDIA

11.  One hundred years ago the primary source of national and international news was the newspaper. The launch of BBC radio in 1922 brought with it regular news broadcasts. Then in November 1936 the launch of BBC television brought the first opportunity to see moving pictures in the home (although cinema newsreels had for some years before that brought news to millions of cinema-goers). Television as a medium really started to gain in popularity with the televising of the coronation of The Queen in 1953.

12.  In 1955 the UK saw the launch of the first commercial television channel, ITV with a dedicated news service provided by ITN. ITV was joined in 1982 by Channel 4 (and in 1997 by Five). Since their inception these three commercial channels, along with the BBC, have all had the status of being Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs). This means that, amongst other things, they have always provided news and current affairs in exchange for their licences to broadcast. The last twenty years have also seen the launch of cable and satellite television with 24-hour news channels. Most recently the advent, widespread availability and increasing popularity of the internet has created new opportunities for news delivery, including minute-by-minute news updates, and participation by non professional journalists in a new "blogosphere". In this chapter we will examine each of these sectors in turn.

The national newspaper industry

13.  Newspaper readership is in decline. As part of our inquiry, we commissioned figures from the National Readership Survey comparing readership of the top ten national daily and Sunday titles between 1992 and 2006 (see appendix five). They show that the overall number of adults reading at least one of the top ten national daily newspapers on an average day reduced by 19% between 1992 and 2006 (from 26.7 million to 21.7 million). If the increase in the adult population over this period is taken into account then the data show a 24% decrease in overall population reach (i.e. the proportion of the adult population who read a national daily newspaper has decreased by 24%).

14.  The same trend is true for the national Sunday papers (see appendix five). The overall number of adults reading one or more of the top ten national Sunday titles between 1992 and 2006 has declined by 21% and the overall population reach has declined by 26%.

15.  The other measure of a newspaper's popularity is its circulation. A newspapers' circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Headline circulation figures can be misleading as they include bulk sales: newspapers paid for in bulk by organisations such as airlines and railway companies and which are then supplied at no extra cost to their customers (who may or may not choose to read them). Readership figures are higher than circulation figures because a typical copy of the newspaper is read by more than one person.

16.  Like readership figures the circulation figures of most national daily papers are decreasing. Between 1995 and 2007 all the national daily newspapers saw a drop in their circulation figures except for the Daily Star, the Daily Mail and the Financial Times. In 1995 the average daily circulation of the top ten national daily newspapers collectively was 13,189,000; by the first half of 2007 it was 11,137,000—a reduction of 22%[1].

17.  The decline in newspaper readership and circulation is not a trend unique to the United Kingdom. In Washington DC we met Professor Tom Rosenstiel, the Director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ). The PEJ is a research organisation that specialises in using empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press. Each year the PEJ publishes a detailed study of the state of the news media in the United States. The 2008 study shows that in the United States, newspapers ended 2007 with an 8.4% decline in daily circulation and an 11.4% decline in Sunday circulation compared to 2001. Readership is also in decline and this is true for nearly every demographic group, regardless of age, ethnicity, education or income[2].

18.  The European market is generally facing similar challenges to the United Kingdom. We took evidence from David Montgomery, Chairman of Mecom, a company which owns newspaper titles in several European countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Poland. He told us that the newspaper markets in these countries are facing tough challenges but that their revenues have been more stable because many European countries have higher levels of newspaper subscription (Q 2307). The subscription model brings more certainty to the market and makes it easier to retain readers.

Why are fewer people reading newspapers?

19.  During our inquiry various explanations for the decline in newspaper readership were put to us.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES

20.  Increased competition from new technologies is undoubtedly one of the main factors. Richard Wallace, the Editor of the Daily Mirror, explained:

21.  So what are these new platforms and how is each one impacting on the newspaper industry?

THE INTERNET

22.  The internet offers an array of ways to access the news from a range of sources. When using the internet it is not even necessary to visit a dedicated news site to be made aware of what is going on in the world. In fact, the homepages of many Internet Service Providers carry news headlines, therefore exposing their subscribers to news whether they choose to visit news websites or not.

23.  Ofcom has identified the internet as "the fastest growing platform for news and other information"[3]. However, the total number of people who use the internet as their main source of news is still small—in 2006 only 6% of UK adults surveyed stated that the internet was their main source of news, up from 2% in 2002 [4].

24.  All the UK national newspapers operate their own news websites in addition to their paper editions. Of the top ten news websites by unique user[5] in September 2006, four were run by national newspapers[6]. The internet is now an important part of the business model of most newspapers. However, a paper copy customer and a website customer are not necessarily of equal value to the newspaper company. This is partly because all but one of the UK national newspaper websites offer web readers access to articles free of charge[7] (some papers such as the New York Times tried to charge for some of their internet content but most, including the New York Times, reversed this policy). Most newspaper companies decided some time ago that it was necessary to have a significant web presence. But, by putting their content on the web they may be jeopardising their own paid-for readership. Alan Rusbridger, the Editor of The Guardian, explained:

    "If you are giving away your product in a very convenient form, completely free of charge, and in some respects a superior form because it is continually updated, there is more of it, it is all free, it is all there, it is not surprising that the bit that you charge for is going to fall off" (Q 210).

NEWS AGGREGATOR SITES

25.  Online news aggregator websites such as Google News and Yahoo! News are also attracting large numbers of visitors. They are popular because they provide an easy and effective way of searching for news stories on particular topics from a wide range of sources. They allow users to compare coverage of a story and they provide greater accessibility of news. However, the existence of news aggregator sites does have implications for traditional news providers.

26.  During our inquiry we visited Google News. Google News works by listing links to other news organisations' sites on its home page. This approach groups headlines from different publications together, providing users with a list of links to multiple sources on any given news event. Having seen the headlines on the Google News site, users can click on those headlines to read the whole article on the website of the originating publication.

27.  The criticism has been made by a number of newspaper editors that these sites attract many users while not investing any money in journalism. Robert Thomson, the then Editor of The Times, argued that sites like Google News "aggregate a lot of our content, generate a large amount of revenue from our content and that of … other newspapers, but do not contribute in any way to the cost of obtaining the content" (Q 280). The Guardian Media Group agreed "Online aggregators, potentially, can have a 'double negative' effect on high-quality, plural news provision: acting as a gatekeeper to multiple news sources, whilst extracting revenue directly from news content, without re-investing in journalism" (p 518). However, the Chairman of the Guardian Media Group, Paul Myners, accepted that there is an element of symbiosis in the relationship between newspapers and news aggregator sites and The Guardian website's popularity abroad is partly due to readers being directed to it by aggregators (Q 2508).

28.  Google's defence is that they do not seek to make any revenue from the Google News site, there is no advertising on the Google News pages and they charge no fees for using Google News. But this is questionable: the Google News site contributes to the profile and popularity of the whole Google brand. Google's overall headline advertising revenues surpassed ITV1's for the first time in the third quarter of 2007[8].

29.  News gathering is becoming more of a problem because it is expensive and traditional news gathering organisations are struggling. News aggregator sites benefit from news gathering done by other organisations but they do not invest in original content themselves. This is an issue of justifiable concern and we recommend that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport should examine the effect of news aggregators and consider how their impact on news gathering might enhance their investment in news.

SMS, NEWS ON MOBILE DEVICES, POD CASTS ETC

30.  The internet is not the only new method of news delivery. When Richard Wallace said that "news is everywhere, all the time now" (Q 472), he was also referring to developments such as the text messaging of headlines to mobile devices (such as telephones and Personal Digital Assistants); web pages adapted for mobile devices (for example The Sun has a contract with Vodafone to provide instant news through Vodafone devices); podcasts of news programmes that can be downloaded and listened to anytime and anywhere; ticker tapes that office workers can download onto their PCs; and large screens in public areas, such as railway stations and airports, that show short news bulletins.

24 HOUR TELEVISION NEWS

31.  Twenty-four hour television news channels provide yet more competition to newspapers. In 1989 the launch of the Sky News channel heralded the dawn of 24-hour news provision in the UK. Since then the BBC has launched BBC News 24 (re-branded as BBC News in April 2008). Sky News and BBC News are both currently available on the Freeview platform. Many digital cable and satellite subscribers also have access to international 24-hour news channels produced abroad such as CNN, Fox News, Al-Jazeera English and others. The interactive "red-button" services available on digital televisions also bring new opportunities to watch television news even when non-news programmes are being broadcast.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES

32.  Proliferation of news sources is not the only reason for falling readership levels. Lifestyle changes mean that fewer people read a newspaper. Rupert Murdoch made this point when he told us that modern life is affecting how people access the news. For example, more women are in work and fewer people work only between the traditional hours of 9am to 5pm. In 2006, the British Journalism Review published a study which found that 36% of those who read a paper less frequently than they had before, said that this was at least partly because they did not have as much time for newspapers as they used to[9].

33.  It is also the case that younger people are less likely to read a newspaper than any other age group. The figures we commissioned from the National Readership Survey showed that overall the number of people reading any one or more of the top ten national newspapers on an average day has declined by 19%, but this decline is much more marked in the younger age brackets. The number of 15-24 year olds reading any one or more of the top ten national newspapers on an average day has declined by 37% and the number of 25-34 years olds doing the same has declined by 40% (pp 582-583).

IMPACT OF DISTRIBUTION METHODS

34.  Methods of distributing newspapers are also relevant. There is some evidence that it is getting harder to get newspapers to customers. Historically the UK has had very low rates of newspaper subscription compared with other countries (particularly European countries). The customers that do subscribe are very important to newspapers because they represent a stable income stream. However, in recent years it has become harder to find people who will deliver daily papers to the door and this is affecting subscriptions. Lionel Barber, the Editor of the Financial Times, a paper which due to its specialist nature has always had a reasonably high level of subscription, told us that "you need to look at the distribution channels. The paper boy is not as ubiquitous in either the village or in the suburb as he or she once was" (Q 561).

35.  Rebekah Wade, the Editor of The Sun, suggested that the disappearance of local newsagents was also a factor, particularly for the tabloid titles which do not traditionally have many subscribers. She said "We sell to the highest percentage of our readers in independent retailers. If you look at the independent retail section … these shops are closing at an alarming rate and are being overtaken by supermarkets. No one goes to the supermarket every day, in the way that they used to go to the corner shop every day" (Q 1518).

THE ADVENT OF THE FREE-SHEET

36.  Free newspapers also provide tough competition for national paid-for titles. Free newspapers are given out on public transport and on street corners. They tend to provide a combination of celebrity news, short articles covering national and international headlines and lots of photographs. The National Union of Journalists told us that "very little" content of free newspapers is unique and most is "culled chiefly from agency copy and slickly packaged" (p 144).

37.  Free newspapers did not have much of an impact on the national market until 1999 when Associated Newspapers launched Metro in London. Metro covers national and international stories and is available in 16 cities across the UK. Other free newspapers which are distributed to a local audience but cover national news have since been launched.

38.  Various witnesses told us that free-sheets have impacted adversely on paid-for newspaper sales, particularly tabloid sales. The National Union of Journalists stated that free newspapers are increasingly replacing more established newspapers as staple reading for millions of people (p 145). Rebekah Wade told us "the one thing that has led to my circulation decline or contributed to my circulation decline are newspapers themselves—in the form of free" (Q 1494). Richard Wallace told us "Frankly, if you have got a fifteen minute journey, getting a free paper … is pretty good value. It passes the time, you can flick through the news, and it does not cost you anything, so why would I buy my daily newspaper now?" (Q 478)

THE DECLINE OF ADVERTISING REVENUE

39.  Newspapers are struggling to maintain historic levels of revenue from advertising. Every daily national newspaper editor we took evidence from told us that they were having to adjust their business model accordingly. For example, ten years ago The Guardian would have derived 70% of its revenue from advertising and 30% from cover sales. Now it is 60% from advertising and 40% from sales because display advertising[10] is "slipping away gradually" while classified advertising[11] is "slipping away faster, about ten per cent a year" (QQ 229 & 230). In 1997 The Times derived 72% of its revenue from advertising, by 2007 paper and print advertising represented only 56% of revenue (Q 278). Robert Thomson told us the most dramatic difference for the business model at The Times over the last ten years has been the "decline of classified advertising" (Q 279). Alan Rusbridger explained that in another ten years he expects there to be an "urgent problem" of trying to fill the hole left by the migration of advertising away from newspapers (Q 231).

40.  One of the major reasons for this is that the internet offers cheaper advertising opportunities that can be neatly targeted at specific audiences. Rupert Murdoch told us that the money he had invested in the internet site MySpace meant that advertisers can now be offered access to thousands of highly differentiated groups. In 2006 online advertising spend overtook national newspaper advertising spend for the first time. The Internet Advertising Bureau reported that the UK spends a bigger share of advertising money online than anywhere else, even the US. In the UK 2006 saw a 41% growth in online advertising spend bringing the online share of the advertising market to 11.4%, compared to a 10.9% share for national newspapers[12].

41.  Newspapers are finding that they cannot make up for the loss in print advertising revenue by attracting new online advertising to their websites. Much of the advertising that traditionally appeared in newspapers has moved to specialised websites. In the case of classified advertising there are many dedicated websites where people can search for things more easily than in the classified section of a newspaper website. On many such sites, individuals can also advertise for free. In the case of display advertising, newspaper websites cannot charge the same for an online advert as they could for a print advert. When we were in the United States, Mort Zuckerman, the Chairman of the New York Daily News, told us that the relationship between revenue from online advertising and print advertising was "substituting pennies for dollars" (see appendix four). Rebekah Wade also said: "At the moment, the economic model of the internet cannot replicate a newspaper, with cover price revenue and advertising revenue coming in so we have to look at the internet and see how we can monetise that" (Q 1494).

How is the national newspaper industry responding to these challenges?

42.  Given the challenges faced by the national newspaper industry a variety of techniques are being employed to attract and retain readers and advertisers and to protect the businesses from the decline in profits.

PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES

43.  Some titles have responded to the challenge of declining circulation by aggressive price-cutting. This is a tactic that has recently been used by both The Times and The Sun. Andrew Marr, a journalist and former editor of The Independent, told us that "Price cutting over a long period does bring in new readers, some of whom will stick" (Q 929). Its obvious disadvantage is that it is expensive and can reduce profits.

44.  "Giveaways" are another technique aimed at attracting new readers. The Guardian has experimented with DVDs, wall charts and add-ons such as booklets containing "Great Speeches of the 20th century" (Q 213). The Mail on Sunday pioneered the use of free DVDs and CDs with each paper. However, there are differing views on how effective such techniques are. The hope is that the giveaway will attract new readers who will then realise they enjoy the paper and will stay loyal once the promotion is over, but Alan Rusbridger suggested that although circulation is boosted with each campaign it "sinks back down again soon afterwards" (Q 214). Richard Wallace explained that the Daily Mirror spends less than some other titles on these promotions because people come for the free "bit of kit" and immediately go away again afterwards. He concluded that the "Here's a car with every paper" mentality was "madness" and made no economic or business sense (Q 475). Andrew Marr agreed "I cannot think of a single promotion that has worked in the longer term beyond price cutting" (Q 929).

45.  However Peter Wright, the Editor of The Mail on Sunday, was more positive "we pioneered the use of CDs and DVDs as a promotional tool. We have tried very hard to maintain quality and to come up with new ideas and new approaches and our circulation over the last year is up a little bit. Other people are down five or six per cent … so we think it has paid off" (Q 517).

46.  In addition to promotional techniques some newspaper businesses are diversifying into selling mail-order products directly to their readers. Will Lewis, the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, told us that a "core part" of the Telegraph's business model is offering its readers a range of goods and services that "make them feel good about the Telegraph" (QQ 1391 and 1394). These goods and services range from armchairs to nights out at the theatre and by providing them the Telegraph hopes to make money and underpin the brand (Q 1396).

VIEWS NOT NEWS

47.  With increasing competition many papers are trying to differentiate their content. There has been much public debate about the move from newspaper to 'viewspaper', and this is one way that newspapers can offer something different from television and radio news which are bound by requirements to be impartial (see para 343). When the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair made his much-quoted speech about the press in June 2007, he talked about the dangers of blurring the line between news and views, singling out The Independent as an example of a viewspaper[13]. We took evidence from the Editor of The Independent, Simon Kelner, who told us that "The idea that a newspaper is the notice board of what happened the previous day is so outdated and is signing our own death warrant … the newspaper has to fulfil a completely different function in our lives, given that so much information is freely and instantly available. A newspaper's role would be to interpret, to analyse, to comment on but, if you like, to provide the views beneath the news" (Q 683).

48.  Richard Wallace talked about making the Daily Mirror "more useful" to readers and explained that to some extent that meant moving towards magazine style content (Q 471). In New York, Mort Zuckerman suggested that in order to survive news providers must find added value: analysis, opinion, parody, something not available elsewhere (see appendix four).

A "SOFTER" NEWS AGENDA?

49.  Some witnesses expressed concern that newspapers are adapting content by focusing on entertainment and abandoning "hard" news. For example, the Goldsmiths Media Research Programme stated that "there has been a decline in expensive forms of news coverage such as investigative reporting or foreign affairs coverage" and "greater 'tabloidisation' of news" with more coverage of sports, crime and entertainment (p 578). Goldsmiths cite a study by McLachlin & Golding published in 2000 which demonstrated that celebrity entertainment stories made up 17% of news in the tabloid press in 1997, up from 6% in 1952[14] (p 578).

50.  None of the Editors we talked to were willing to admit to a shift towards a softer news agenda. When asked what type of story was most likely to boost sales they cited strong news stories such as terrorist atrocities. Rebekah Wade explained "there is still a critical place for newspapers" in explaining very big stories (Q 1527). Nevertheless we note that Ms Wade did admit that even her own proprietor was "dismayed by the amount of celebrity coverage" in The Sun (Q 1487).

MAKING THE MOST OF THE INTERNET AND MULTI-SKILLING

51.  The internet provides not only challenges but also opportunities for newspapers. The internet certainly provides opportunities to reach new audiences and raise the international profile of a news organisation. Robert Thomson told us that thanks to the internet, The Times has "a very rapidly growing international audience. We have several million users each month from India, for example, and I would imagine that our US audience which is now of the order of 3.2-3.3 million unique users each month in five years' time to be in the order of five million" (Q 280). Only a third of visitors to The Times online are UK based (Q 287). Alan Rusbridger told us that The Guardian has "a much bigger readership in America now than the LA Times" (Q 242).

52.  The internet also provides opportunities to measure what readers want and then tailor content to respond to their feedback. Rebekah Wade told us that The Sun can measure what its readers are interested in by looking at discussions on "My Sun", a forum it launched for readers to debate anything in the paper (Q 1516).

53.  But having a web presence also requires more resources. News organisations are responding to this by asking their staff to multi-skill—to prepare content for the paper and web editions and to do so throughout the day. We heard a considerable amount of evidence about the implications of asking journalists to multi-skill. The Goldsmiths Media Research Programme suggested that time pressure means journalists recycle outputs and rely more on news agencies and PR output (p 577). Alan Rusbridger said that although he expects the staff of The Guardian paper and website to be fully blended within the next two to five years he is still wary of integrating the two types of staff because they do slightly different jobs. He explained that an online journalist "is working 24/7 reliant on feed and so on and so forth; the paper relies on context analysis, a bit of thought, reflection" (Q 236).

MAKING SAVINGS

54.  Multi-skilling is not the only way to save on staff costs. Cutting specialist correspondents, foreign bureaux and investigative journalism can bring significant savings. Robert Thomson told us that "The first thing that newspapers do when they are in financial trouble is close foreign bureaux" (Q 297). The implications of such cuts are serious. Robert Thomson went on to explain:

55.  Given the importance of specialists it was disturbing to receive confirmation that their numbers are diminishing. Alan Rusbridger told us that The Guardian now employs fewer specialist correspondents than it used to (Q 222). Richard Wallace told us that the Daily Mirror "cut back on our foreign bureaux ten or 15 years ago purely because the technology enables one to [do so]" (Q 498). Other titles were less willing to confirm that they had made such cuts. However, David Schlesinger, Editor-in-Chief at Reuters, told us that it is a "world wide fact" that newspapers are cutting back on foreign correspondents and using agency feed more (Q 1587).

56.  Newspapers have also been criticised for making savings by using more content derived from the PR industry. During our inquiry a study was published by researchers at Cardiff University which found that nearly one in five broadsheet newspaper stories were verifiably derived mainly or wholly from PR material or activity[15]. Others warned that it was too simple to assume that an increase in PR derived stories was a sign of poor journalism. David Schlesinger explained "the role of the PR companies is very interesting because sometimes it is a shortcut and sometimes it is simply the necessary way to get information, so, as a journalist, you always evaluate whether the person you are talking to has standing to know what they are talking about, whether they have a particular axe to grind …" (Q 1599).

57.  While there is an important role for professional communications in ensuring that the decisions and activities of government, corporations and public bodies are accurately conveyed to the body politic. It does appear, however, that there has been a substantial growth in public relations over the last 20 years which can, if not properly scrutinised by a well-resourced press, potentially undermine accurate and independent journalism.

The regional and local newspaper industry

58.  The evidence we received from the Newspaper Society, which represents the regional and local industry, was very upbeat. They claimed that readership of these papers had increased in recent years: their figures showed that the number of people reading a local paper had increased by nearly a million in the last ten years (p 102). But such figures can be deceptive. Many of the local papers produced today are given away for free while some others are "hybrid" titles given away for free in city centres but sold in the suburbs. The Newspaper Society's data suggests that in the local and regional newspaper industry 55% of weeklies, 42% of Sundays and 17% of dailies are given away for free (p 103). The fact is that the average circulation figures for paid for local newspapers have dropped and city based regional newspapers have been particularly hit.

59.  The regional and local press appears to be facing an even greater challenge than the national press when it comes to attracting advertising revenue. The Newspaper Society told us that 75% of income on a regional paper is traditionally derived from advertising (Q 657). This suggests a new business model is needed given a recent long term forecast by the Advertising Association. This forecast that the press advertising market could shrink by between £700 million and £1.6 billion by 2019, with regional papers taking the biggest revenue hit[16]. In 2006, the Newspaper Society published a report about the local newspaper industry that illustrated the effort that is being put into attracting advertising revenue. The report suggested that there are almost 20,000 employees across the industry, but a high proportion of these (almost 32%) work on the advertising side—with 26.5% working on the editorial side[17].

60.  The internet raises a particular challenge for the local and regional press. Alan Rusbridger said "As societies need news, web-based models will spring up and are springing up in most countries including America which are interesting; they are much more local; they originate from citizens and there are really interesting things happening there which actually may be more reflective of communities than newspapers were. I think that something will always replace it but I do not think that the printed local paid-for newspaper has a very optimistic future" (Q 252).

61.  There has been a steady decline in paid-for local titles over the years. The days when two paid-for evening newspapers battled it out in UK cities have long gone. The survivor of such battles at least had the commercial advantage of being the "only toll bridge in town" but that is no longer the case. Local papers have to compete with new local news providers on other platforms—often more popular than the local newspaper. It is for reasons like this that most commentators believe that local papers face a tough and challenging future.

National television news

THE EVOLUTION OF THE TELEVISION NEWS MARKET

62.  The BBC had a monopoly on news provision until the Television Act 1954 which made the launch of a commercial television channel possible. That Act also established the Independent Television Authority (ITA) which was the body charged with implementing and overseeing a new commercially funded television channel to compete with the BBC (but with a monopoly of television advertising revenue). From the beginning, the new commercial system was devised as a series of regional licences, with separate programme contractors appointed by the ITA to make programmes. There was therefore an inbuilt plurality of ownership of commercial television from its inception.

63.  The terms of the ITA licences with the ITV companies required each to produce local programming and local news as well as national news. National news bulletins were provided by ITN which was founded in 1955 as an independent organisation owned by ITV companies. From the very beginning, as licensees struggled to make money from the news services, they were reluctant to schedule or fund an adequate news service and were eventually required by the ITA to provide a minimum of 20 minutes of news a day. Later the Television Act 1963 gave the ITA increased powers to ensure there was adequate time and finance for daily news. These powers were used in 1967 to impose a half hour news service, starting at 10pm, on ITV licensees. The President of ATV (one of the main ITV contractors), Lew Grade, told a House of Commons select committee four years later "I resisted News at Ten—and I was wrong"[18].

64.  In 1982, further competition arrived in the shape of Channel 4 with a mandate to be innovative and provide an alternative to existing channels. In news terms, this was interpreted from the very beginning as an opportunity to concentrate—for 60 minutes in peak viewing time—on more serious (especially foreign) news and analysis, and to eschew the lighter celebrity, minor crime or royal stories. As a publisher-broadcaster which does not produce its own content, Channel 4 was obliged to contract out its news service. After some hesitation about awarding the contract to the same news provider as ITV, it accepted assurances from ITN that it could indeed provide a very different service to ITV's. ITN has since retained the contract each time it has come up for renewal. Therefore although the launch of Channel 4 brought a greater choice of news programmes and scheduling, and a markedly different approach to news agendas and analysis, it did not increase the plurality of news suppliers.

65.  1997 saw the launch of the fifth terrestrial television channel, Channel 5 (now Five). Five news was also originally produced by ITN. However, in 2004 the Five news contract was awarded to Sky.

REGULATION OF TELEVISION NEWS

66.  Unlike newspapers, broadcast news is subject to a range of regulatory requirements that somewhat mitigate the effects that market pressures can have on content. This is particularly true for news on the PSBs (the BBC and channels 3, 4 and 5).

67.  The Communications Act 2003 sets out the regulatory requirements against which PSB television news operates, including obligations for the quantity, scheduling and quality of each type of news. The Act requires Ofcom to set quotas for UK national news, international news and UK nations and regional news on the commercial PSBs in both peak and off-peak viewing times. The BBC's news output is still the overall responsibility of the BBC Trust, however the Act requires the BBC to consult Ofcom about quotas on its terrestrial channels and seek Ofcom's agreement if any reduction below 2002 levels is proposed. There are therefore specific quotas for the amount of time each of the five terrestrial channels should broadcast each type of news in both peak and off-peak viewing periods. However, only the BBC and ITV1 are required to carry regional news.

68.  The Communications Act 2003 also requires Ofcom to ensure that the news programmes and current affairs programmes broadcast on the commercial PSBs are of "high quality" and deal with both national and international matters. Again, for the BBC this is the responsibility of the BBC Trust.

69.  In the case of Channel 3, Ofcom has powers to ensure that its news programmes are properly resourced. In order to ensure this Ofcom has powers to check the resources available to whichever company is appointed as Channel 3's news provider (currently ITN).

70.  Up until now the commercial PSBs have opted to retain their PSB status, and therefore be subject to these regulatory requirements in return for privileged access to the scarce analogue broadcasting spectrum (and other benefits, see para 297). This has been known as the "analogue compact". This compact is now under threat as the analogue signal will be switched off progressively from this year, with the switchover process complete by 2012. At that point all UK households will have digital television. Digital spectrum is less scarce (although not as plentiful as was once assumed) and its value will therefore be much reduced compared to analogue spectrum. As a result the incentive to retain PSB status and comply with the regulatory requirements set for PSBs will reduce. What this will mean for the future of news is discussed in detail in chapter seven.

71.  In addition to the specific requirements placed on the PSBs, all UK radio and television broadcasts are subject to regulation governing standards of output. These standards relate to impartiality and accuracy, harm and offence and privacy and fairness. Of particular relevance to news broadcasts are the requirements that all news included in television and radio services should be presented with "due impartiality" and "due accuracy". Ofcom publish a Broadcasting Code which explains the definitions of "due impartiality" and "due accuracy" (see para 343).

NEWS BEYOND THE PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTERS

72.  Around 88% of UK households now have access to more channels than just the terrestrial PSBs[19], either through Freeview or cable and satellite subscription packages. There are a variety of news programmes available on the different digital, cable and satellite platforms. On the Freeview platform, which is currently used by 37%[20] of the UK population, there are the two 24 hour rolling news channels: BBC News and Sky News (although we note that Sky last year put forward plans to remove Sky News from the Freeview platform as part of its plans for a pay-per-view service on digital terrestrial television. This proposal is currently being considered by Ofcom). In addition some of the digital off shoots of the terrestrial PSBs also provide news: for example More 4, BBC3 and BBC4 also provide news programmes (More 4 and BBC4 have a particular emphasis on foreign news). Viewers with access to cable, satellite or broadband television also have access to various foreign news channels. The particular channels available depend on the platform but they can include Fox News, Al Jazeera International, CNN, Bloomberg, France 24 and Russia Today. Internet subscribers also have online access to many television channels from across the globe which stream their broadcasts on their websites.

73.  As a result there is now a wider choice of television news providers than ever before. However, although many different UK produced news programmes are available, only three UK companies produce news: the BBC, ITN (who produce news for ITV and Channel 4) and Sky (who produce news for their own channel and Five). Therefore the diversity of news providers is not as wide as it may seem.

THE HEALTH OF TELEVISION NEWS

74.  While the choice of news programmes has increased, BBC1 and ITV1 still attract the largest audience shares for news programmes. An analysis of TV news viewing in October 2006 showed that BBC1 had a 50.6% share, ITV1 had a 26.8% share, Channel 4 had a 4.5% share, Five a 2.8% share and BBC2 a 4.6% share[21]. BBC News 24 had a 5.2% share and Sky News a 4.9% share. These figures may have changed somewhat in the last two years partly because ITV1 reintroduced News at Ten in January 2008 (having moved its late evening news broadcast to 10.30pm in early 2004); and partly because Five significantly boosted its early evening news audience after recruiting the presenter Natasha Kaplinsky in February 2008. Nonetheless the general picture of television news being dominated by the BBC and ITV remains true today.

75.  Although the main terrestrial channels retain a significant audience share, the total viewing of national news on these channels is declining. In 1994 the average individual watched 108.5 hours of news on terrestrial channels, by 2006 that figure was 90.8 hours[22]. Younger people in particular are turning their backs on television as their main source of news. 67% of all adults over the age of 16 use the television as their main source of news about the UK 63% use it as their main source of news about their region, but only 59% of 16 to 24 year olds use it as their main source of UK news and 48% use it as their main source of regional news. This age group are much more likely to say they are not interested in the news and therefore be unable to name their preferred medium for finding out what is happening in the country[23].

76.  The decline in television news audiences is not confined to the UK. An even more dramatic shift has occurred in the US (see appendix four). During our visit we met senior executives from the three big US networks ABC, CBS and NBC. They told us that all the networks are experiencing a decline in news audiences. Ten years ago they would all have expected an average evening news audience of approximately ten million, now CBS attract about six million, NBC attract seven and seven-and-a-half million and ABC attract between seven-and-a-half and eight million. In the US there are also particularly marked declines amongst viewers in the 25-54 age group which is the main target of advertisers.

77.  All the networks cited the same reasons for the loss of viewers in the US and they are broadly similar to the reasons we outline below. However, one is different: in the early nineties the US networks moved their evening news bulletins earlier to 6.30pm, partly in response to pressure from advertisers to move news out of peak time. This marked the end of peak time news on the main networks. As a result fewer viewers are at home when the US networks televise their main evening bulletins. This could not currently happen in the UK without regulatory approval due to the scheduling requirements to which the PSBs are subject. However, in the UK, the rescheduling of the BBC nine o'clock news in 1999, following ITV's decision to move News at Ten, disrupted long-established viewing patterns and removed all terrestrial television bulletins from the middle of the peak-viewing period.

WHY ARE TELEVISION NEWS AUDIENCES IN DECLINE?

78.  Some of the reasons for the fall in television news viewing are the same as those responsible for the fall in newspaper readership: such as more competition from new technologies and lifestyle changes. Almost certainly, however, the major reason is the proliferation of television channels, the growth of the internet, and the increasing technological opportunities for personal scheduling or non-linear viewing. When the majority of households only had access to four channels there was a higher rate of incidental news consumption, determined either by the lack of anything interesting on other channels or "inherited" viewing from the previous programme. Now 86% of UK homes are multi-channel and news programmes face very stiff competition to hold viewers attention. This is compounded by the advent of Personal Video Recorders (such as Sky+, V+ on Virgin, Freeview boxes with hard drives or Tivo) and on-demand download services all of which mean that choice of viewing is much less constricted by television schedules.

HOW IS THE TELEVISION NEWS INDUSTRY RESPONDING TO THESE CHALLENGES?

79.  Like newspaper companies, television news providers are developing a multi-platform presence. The BBC website, the centrepiece of which is news, is the third most used website in the country. It is only just behind MSN (the Microsoft Network) and Google (Q 1300).

80.  Broadcasters are also seeking to make savings. Peter Phillips, Partner in Strategy and Market Developments at Ofcom, told us that part of the response to these challenges has been a cut in the number of foreign correspondents "What has been seen right around the world from commercial broadcasters is an increasing reliance on material from the news agencies to report international stories … it is the reliance on pooled material which has been the biggest trend in that area within the UK" (Q 883). A reduction in investment in foreign coverage by television and newspapers is of particular concern as it has an impact on democracy and can create a more inward looking nation.

Regional television news

81.  Just as local and regional newspapers are facing greater commercial pressures than their national counterparts, regional television news is under particular pressure.

82.  Since the fifties, there have been two providers of regional television news in the UK: the BBC and channel 3. The BBC currently provides distinct news programmes for 12 English regions and for the other UK nations. ITV has 17 regional news rooms. Each channel 3 region produces its own local news programmes, except for London whose local news is produced by ITN. The BBC and ITV continue to be the main source of regional television news in the UK although there are now some other local television channels such as Channel M which is run by the Guardian Media Group and is available in the Greater Manchester area.

83.  Research conducted by Ofcom shows that national and regional news is valued by viewers. When asked "Which type of news are you personally interested in?" the most popular answer was "Current events in the UK" (55%) but the second and third most popular answers were "current events in my region" (50%) and "current local events where I live" (48%) (respondents could give more than one answer). These responses beat weather, crime, world events, sports, human interest stories, UK politics, entertainment and celebrity behaviour[24].

84.  Television is the second most popular source of local news. When asked where they get local news and information 45% of respondents cited television, compared to 46% for local free newspapers, 41% for local paid for papers, 28% for radio, 21% for word of mouth and 8% for the internet (again, respondents could give more than one answer)[25].

85.  In 2006 the BBC's early evening regional news bulletin attracted an average audience share of 28%/29%, this made its regional bulletins the most watched regional news programmes for television. ITV's average audience share of viewing for its early evening regional news was 19%/20%. However, the viewing figures for regional news on both ITV and the BBC declined marginally between 2002 and 2006[26].

86.  Despite its popularity, the provision of regional news on ITV is in question unless new forms of support are found (for further discussion of the threat to regional news see paras 329 to 332). Ofcom has warned that "Whilst no form of television news in the UK currently pays its own way, the economics are particularly stark for nations/regions news and it will require regulatory intervention if its long-term presence is deemed important on commercial PSBs"[27].

87.  Since Ofcom's report, ITV has announced its proposal to reduce regional news services from 17 to 9 (from 2009 and subject to the approval of Ofcom). Michael Grade, Chairman of ITV, told the Committee that these cuts would hardly be noticed by viewers:

    "I do not think the viewers will notice much, if any, difference because the newsgathering on the ground is what counts. The fact that we do not have a building in this town or that town is neither here nor there" (Q 1017).

Since Michael Grade's evidence, ITV has announced a modification to its plans and the introduction of 18 new "sub-regional services" so that news to existing regions will not disappear altogether. Ofcom will soon consult on these proposals.

88.  At the same time as announcing its desire to cut regional television news, ITV is looking into ways to exploit broadband technology and break into very local news provision. Michael Grade told the Committee that "What we are working on, which I think will cut through that problem for all time, is a broadband delivery of ITV local, which we have now, through our website, ITV.com, rolled out which is very locale-specific" (Q 1022).

89.  Our reaction to ITV's proposals will be discussed in chapter seven.

Radio news

BBC RADIO

90.  The BBC was a monopoly supplier of radio news from its inception in 1922 until the first commercial radio station, LBC, went on air in London in 1973. Commercial radio was therefore a very late starter in the UK, and until relatively recently remained localised and fragmented. As part of the UK's public service legacy, news was an integral (and mandated) part of commercial radio's output, and remains an important component of most stations' formats. However, the number of people who cited radio as their main source of news fell between 2002 and 2006 from 16% to 11%[28]. Although there is now considerable choice of radio channels, on both analogue and digital platforms, according to RAJAR data for the fourth quarter of 2007, the BBC dominates the market, accounting for 55.4% of all radio listening[29].

91.  The BBC has five national analogue channels (Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Live) and all of them carry news bulletins. Jenny Abramsky, Head of Audio and Music at the BBC, told us that news is "the spine of all our radio networks with one exception and that is Radio 3" (Q 1135). The BBC World Service also provides regular news bulletins aimed at an international audience (but also transmitted in the UK). The BBC has seized the opportunity provided by DAB to launch five national digital-only radio channels, these are genre specific and on the whole do not broadcast specific news bulletins.

92.  In addition to its national stations the BBC has 40 local radio stations in England, and six dedicated stations for Ulster, Scotland and Wales/Cymru. This local network is continuing to expand. All the BBC local stations have regular news bulletins and programmes.

COMMERCIAL RADIO

93.  There are three national commercial radio stations: TalkSport, Classic FM and Virgin. Under their licence agreement with Ofcom they are each required to broadcast news. The commercial radio sector is mainly local in nature; there are approximately 320 local commercial analogue radio stations across the UK. News obligations vary depending on the licence of each station but in the main they also have licence obligations to broadcast both national and local news. The commercial radio industry is small. The total turnover for the sector is about £600 million across all stations (Q 2026).

94.  Radio Centre, the industry body which represents commercial radio, also stated that the overall amount of news on commercial radio is growing, its members broadcast 5.6 million minutes of news, travel and weather information in 2000 and this number had increased to 10.4 million minutes by 2004, an increase of around 85% (p 403). The evidence also cites a 2005 study of local news output amongst stations owned by several different groups, 65% of stations who responded were broadcasting more local news than was required by their format. We note that Radio Centre's figures for time spent on news broadcasts include the time spent on travel and weather broadcasts and therefore do not necessarily give a clear picture of how much actual news there is on commercial radio. The Government told us that BBC local radio is far more news and speech-oriented during its main programming than its music-based commercial competitors (p 492).

National commercial radio news

95.  The three national and 320 local commercial radio stations all broadcast national news bulletins. In its written evidence to us Radio Centre stated that about half of news on local commercial stations was national in nature. However, this does not mean that there is a wide range of voices being broadcast. Almost all stations source their bulletins from one of two companies: Independent Radio News which has contracts with about 80% of the stations and Sky which covers the other 20%. Usually stations are not charged for these bulletins, they are provided in exchange for the advertising time around each bulletin.

96.  The content of the national news bulletins on commercial radio is quite limited given the very short slots that most stations dedicate to national news. The focus of the bulletins also tend to be on "softer" celebrity stories. Jon Godel, the Editor of Independent Radio News, told us that "entertainment news and showbiz news is very important for a commercial radio station as well as sport, hugely important". However he went on to add that "there is no desire within our client base of 250 stations for us not to be doing what you term as hard news. What we provide is a social passport in the morning. If you listen to one of our radio station clients and you hear an eight o'clock bulletin, our job is to provide all the information and all the news that you would hear pretty much anywhere else, probably with less analysis" (Q 1203).

97.  The launch of the second commercial national digital multiplex in July 2008 will add to the number of providers of national radio news bulletins. Three of the ten new digital stations will be run by Channel 4 Radio (a 55% shareholder in the group that won the multiplex licence and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Channel 4 Television). Channel 4 Radio indicated that the news service for all three Channel 4 Radio Ltd stations will be provided by a radio news team that will have access to Channel 4 Television News' existing staff and bureaux and its international network of journalists. The new digital multiplex will also provide the first national commercial radio station dedicated to 24 hour news. This will be provided by Sky News Radio (a 10% shareholder in the group that won the multiplex). The Sky News Radio team will draw on the resources of Sky News (p 462).

Local commercial radio news

98.  Local news bulletins are usually produced by the individual stations. For smaller stations the cost of news production is a considerable chunk of their budgets. Therefore the scope and depth of their bulletins are limited. Radio Centre's written evidence states that a significant proportion of local news consists of 'diary' items (i.e. stories which are known about in advance). In general, the proportion of diary stories rose as the size of the station fell (p 403).

99.  One response to the costs of news gathering has been for radio groups to seek Ofcom's permission to introduce news hubs, which allow stations in a similar geographical area and/or under common ownership to share news reading and writing resources, enabling locally-based journalists to focus on newsgathering (p 405).

100.  To an extent the impact that market pressures can have on news is mitigated by content regulation, as in the case of television. Commercial radio news is protected by Ofcom and the quantity and scheduling of news on each channel is dictated in each station's licence to broadcast. Like TV, radio news is subject to the fairness, accuracy and impartiality requirements set out in Ofcom's Broadcasting Code. However, there is no requirement for sufficient resourcing of news and there is some evidence that the industry is responding to market pressures by reducing news staff. Ofcom told us that:

News and the new media

101.  The impact of new media and particular the internet on traditional media has already been discussed in previous sections. In summary the internet provides access to constantly updated stories from news organisations across the world. All major news supplies are now moving to multi-platform delivery of their products and the internet also provides increased opportunities for user input in the form of feedback and user generated content.

102.  However, it is important not to overestimate how many people currently use the internet as their primary source of news. Statistics show that very few people (6% in 2006) use the internet as their main source of news. Ed Richards, the Chief Executive of Ofcom, told us that he believed the internet would continue to have a supplementary, rather than dominant, role in news provision. "I am sure it will change a little more over time, but I think that the finding about the significance of television news compared to the supplementary role—the important supplementary role—that the internet is playing, we may see as a resilient finding in the years to come" (Q 863).

103.  During this inquiry there have been those who have argued that the proliferation of news sources, especially on the internet, is an argument against regulation to maintain plurality of ownership of traditional news media. Rupert Murdoch told us that the UK Government was "ten years out of date" in being exercised about ownership levels because there are now so many news outlets for people to choose from (see appendix four).

104.  However, in the case of the internet, although there are many news sites, there are very few new organisations that invest in journalism and news content production. Websites that provide news online are usually provided by either: existing broadcasters and newspaper companies that have moved to multi-platform distribution; news agencies; news aggregator sites that link to the content of two previous two categories; or blogs which comment on the news but rarely engage in investigative journalism or news gathering.

105.  It is therefore the case that so far, not many new news organisations are appearing online and the proliferation of news sites is not matched by a proliferation of journalists or investment in news.

106.  However, news websites have pioneered some new news collection techniques. One such example is the use of User Generated Content. This is content provided by the public, often recorded on the cameras or video functions of mobile telephones. The term also encompasses users providing comment and "analysis of stories on web based news" sites. Professor Stewart Purvis, Professor of Television Journalism at City University, suggested that "unmediated content is back to the printing press in the first place. It is about people putting forward their views; it is about citizens having a voice suddenly. If we do not like what they say, that is a small price to pay for the freedom those people are being given to air their views" (Q 722). However, in its analysis of the state of the US news media in 2008, the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that "The prospects for user-created content, once thought possibly central to the next era of journalism, for now appear more limited, even among "citizen" sites and blogs. News people report the most promising parts of citizen input currently are new ideas, sources, comments and to some extent pictures and video. But citizens posting news content has proven less valuable, with too little that is new or verifiable"[30].

107.  The internet also provides opportunities to break news as it happens. As with 24 hours news channels, internet sites do not have to wait until the next scheduled news bulletin, or the next print run, to bring new news to consumers. Because of this consumers now expect instant updates and a wide choice.

108.  Unease about the provenance, accuracy and trustworthiness of new internet sources was raised by several of our witnesses. Websites that allow users to contribute data are particularly at risk from inaccuracies. This is a problem both for the public who are not always clear what information they can trust, and for news organisations which are introducing training for journalists on how to use internet sources. Pierre Le Sourd, the London Bureau Editor for Agence France Presse, told us:

    "We have a written rule inside our company which forbids any journalist from using Wikipedia. We have the same thing, which has been updated last week, for Facebook because there was an incident last week with Bilawal Bhutto in Oxford where some newspaper picked up some pictures on the Facebook site about Mr Bhutto which turned out to be fake, so we are trying to be vigilant about it, but obviously every day you have new possible virtual sources where we have to be very careful and journalists have to recruit their sources normally, so he cannot follow only one source" (Q 1600).

109.  David Schlesinger suggested this reinforced the importance of known news brands "You go to sources who have standing, who know what they are talking about" (Q 1599).

Conclusion

110.  There is no doubt that the traditional media are under very considerable competitive pressure. Newspapers, television and radio are losing advertising revenue to the internet, with the result that costs are being cut and economies are being made in traditional news gathering, ranging from journalists based overseas, to local journalists at home.

111.  At the same time, there have been changes affecting the nature of journalism. 24-hour television news and other technological advances have meant that up to date news can be provided virtually as it happens, direct to the public. Newspapers can never compete with this speed of communication. Speed, however, can have its dangers and risks compromising accuracy.

112.  Alastair Campbell, press secretary to Tony Blair between 1994 and 2003, was particularly concerned about this development. He told us that the speed with which news now has to be put out can have "an impact on any real interest in whether the story is right or wrong" (Q 1893). The Media Standards Trust agreed stating that "News agendas evolve much more rapidly than they did, partly due to ease of publishing, and to multiplication of news outlets" and concluding that "there is less money, fewer people and less time, constraining journalists' ability to travel or meet people" (p 142).

113.  Nevertheless, there is a danger in taking a too apocalyptic view of the state of the traditional media. Fifty years ago, it was predicted that the creation of television would mean the death of newspapers. Although newspapers, both national and regional, have declined they have not died and even with the expansion of the new media, we do not believe that they are in such imminent danger. The UK has one of the highest levels of newspaper readership in Europe and newspapers are the second most used source of news behind television[31].

114.  A number of our witnesses from newspapers (who admittedly have an interest) recognised the challenges but believed that the industry would cope. Rebekah Wade said she was "quite upbeat" about the future of newspapers (Q 1494). Richard Wallace argued "there is a great press tradition in this country which we can maintain not only off-line, as they call it in newspapers, but on-line" (Q 494). Simon Kelner told us that "My belief is that newspapers still do have a future role to play in a modern democracy" (Q 683). All agreed that newspaper companies would need to accommodate the electronic media. Alan Rusbridger summed this up:

    "I am not too gloomy about the future. A lot of it is out of our hands and, as an editor, all you can do is to make sure that the digital version of your product is as good, if not better than your print version so that it is ready for whatever technological or economic changes await round the corner" (Q 234).

115.  As for television, it remains the most important force in the provision of news. Ed Richards underlined this "if I were to pick a single statistic out of our New News, Future News report which struck me as crucial, it would be the answer to the question that we posed people, "What is your primary source of news?". The finding, which I did not anticipate, was that television news—the share of that—was, first, two-thirds of people and that, secondly, it had remained stable. Despite this glut of new information and access to the internet, the significance of television as the primary source of news had remained stable" (Q 861).

116.  In summary then, we believe that the traditional media companies remain of vital importance in delivering news and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Television news programmes are watched by millions of people every day; national newspapers are seen by governments and oppositions as crucially important in the political debate; regional and local newspapers continue to have substantial influence in their areas; and radio news has both national and local importance. The ownership of these dominant news providers still remains an issue of public importance.


1   Figures taken from the Guardian Media Guide 1996 and 2008. Back

2   The State of the News Media 2008: an annual Report on American Journalism, The Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2008. Back

3   New News, Future News: The challenges for television news after digital switchover, Ofcom, 4 July 2007, para 3.105. Back

4   Ibid, fig 3.1. Back

5   Unique user = A measure of the number of people who visit a website. Users may share the same IP address, the same computer, or the same web browser. The unique user measurement attempts to count these people separately. Back

6   Ibid, fig 3.11. Back

7   All of the UK top ten national daily and Sunday newspapers provide free access to their online content, except for the Financial Times which offers only a limited amount of content for free before users are asked to pay a subscription charge. Back

8   Dan Sabbagh, Google Shows ITV a Vision for the Future, The Times, 30 October 2007. Back

9   Steven Barnett, Reasons to be Cheerful, the British Journalism Review, Vol 17 No 1, 2006, pgs7-14. Back

10   Display advertising = large adverts that take up a significant proportion of a page and often feature graphics. Display advertising space is expensive and is usually bought by large companies. Back

11   Classified advertising = usually small text based adverts that appear in a dedicated section of a newspaper. Classified advertising space is cheap and is often bought by individuals who wish to buy or sell goods or seek services. Back

12   http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/iabadspend2006.mxs Back

13   The full text can be found in The Political Quarterly, Vol 78, Issue 4, 2007, pp476-480. Back

14   Shelley McLachlan and Peter Golding, "Tabloidization in the British Press: A Quantitative Investigation into Changes in British Newspapers, 1952-1997" in Tabloid Tales, eds Colin Sparks and John Tulloch, Rowman and Littlefield, 2000, pp75-89. Back

15   Justin Lewis, Andrew Williams and Bob Franklin, A Compromised Fourth Estate? UK news journalism, public relations and news sources, Journalism Studies, Vol 9 No 1, 2008, pp1-20. Back

16   Long Term Advertising Expenditure Forecast: Forecasts from 2007-2019, the Advertising Association in conjunction with the World Advertising Research Center Ltd. January 2008. Back

17   Analysis of the Regional Press Survey Findings for 2006, Newspaper Society, para 5, p.3. Back

18   Quoted in Geoffrey Cox, Pioneering Television News, John Libbey and Co, 1995, p185. Back

19   2007 Communications Market Digital Progress Report, Ofcom, Q4, para 1.3. Back

20   Ibid, para 2.6. Back

21   New News, Future News: The challenges for television news after digital switchover, Ofcom, 4 July 2007; fig 3.2. Back

22   Ibid, fig 3.4. Back

23   Phase One: The Digital Opportunity, Ofcom's second public service broadcasting review, 10 April 2008, figs 5 and 6. Back

24   Ibid, fig 3.7. Back

25   Ibid, fig 3.8. Back

26   Ibid, para 3.52. Back

27   Ibid, para 1.49. Back

28   Ibid, fig 3.1. Back

29   RAJAR figures for Q4 2007. Back

30   The State of the News Media 2008: An annual report on American Journalism, The Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2008. Back

31   New News, Future News: The challenges for television news after digital switchover, Ofcom, 4 July 2007; fig 3.2. Back


 
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