Owning a major news organisation gives its proprietor something considerably more interesting than another business on a balance sheet. It provides a place within the machinery through which Britain discusses itself. If that media has a right wing leaning, so does the content! That matters because media ownership in Britain is concentrated enough for regulators themselves to regard plurality as a democratic issue.
Ofcom says Parliament's media ownership rules exist to promote a plurality of viewpoints, give citizens access to a variety of news and opinion and prevent “undue influence” by any one, or particular types of, media owner. That is an extraordinary concept when you stop and think about it.
We actually have rules intended to prevent excessive media influence because influence over information can ultimately mean influence over democracy.
So when extremely wealthy individuals invest in news organisations, the public is entitled to ask what makes those investments attractive.
“Billionaires don't need newspapers to get rich. So why do they want to own them?”
Nobody should automatically assume that an owner's personal financial interests dictate what individual journalists write. Newsrooms contain professional journalists with their own opinions and editorial responsibilities. But neither should we ignore, ownership determines direction through their editors.
Consider what newspapers discuss every day: taxation of wealth; energy profits; banking; property; inheritance; employment law; regulation; government intervention; public versus private ownership.
These aren't abstract subjects. Decisions made in those areas can - and does redistribute billions of pounds between different parts of society.
And newspapers don't merely report those arguments. Through headlines, editorials, columnists, story selection and repetition, they can help establish the terms upon which millions of people encounter them.
Who owns the platforms setting Britain's political and economic conversation, and what interests exist around that ownership? There is also a profound change occurring in how this influence operates.
Ofcom has warned that online intermediaries such as social media platforms, search engines and aggregators can act as gatekeepers by curating and recommending the news audiences see.
So Britain increasingly has two power structures operating simultaneously: those producing and selecting news, and those deciding which news reaches us.
That makes transparency, plurality and independent journalism more important, not less.
If newspapers believe politicians, trade unions, corporations and public institutions should face difficult questions about their interests and influence, then powerful media organisations should be open to exactly the same questions.
They are precisely the questions a healthy democracy should encourage its citizens to ask about any institution capable of exercising considerable influence over public interests and who controls it.
TIME TO ASK THE QUESTION UK - DO YOU WANT FAIR BALANCED MEDIA - YES or NO?
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