control and editing of those that exist becomes a matter for greater
public concern. This is especially so when we consider that, in Britain
for instance, satellite television and three of the major national daily
newspapers are all under the control of a company grouping domi-
nated by one man (Rupert Murdoch).
In Britain it has been accepted for many years that, because of their
near monopoly situation, the BBC and ITV television channels
should be carefully regulated to ensure that their output is reason-
ably politically balanced. This has mainly taken the form of ensuring
that the views of the official opposition get exposure in replies to
ministerial broadcasts, party political broadcasts, representation on
discussion programmes, etc. Minor parties and minority groups such
as gays, racial and religious minorities have less institutionalised
exposure, but there is recognition that they should have some access
to publicly financed or licensed communication channels. Further
controls have been thought appropriate in the interests of children
(rules about what can be broadcast before 9.00 p.m.), decency (the
Broadcasting Standards Council) and, formerly, anti-terrorist mea-
sures (no live interviews with the IRA).
In contrast, the newspaper industry has, in most democratic
countries, been thought to be sufficiently ‘regulated’ by the existence
of free competition and the laws of libel. In Britain only the
theoretically unofficial ‘D’ (Defence) notice system can be seen as
attempting to regulate the distribution of politically sensitive infor-
mation – and this is supposed to be restricted to matters vital to the
security of the realm, not politically embarrassing information.
From the left, the present system in Britain seems most inadequate
in its failure to secure political balance – with most national news-
papers up to the mid-1990s clearly editorially favouring the Con-
servatives and only the (wavering) Mirror Group supporting Labour.
Since running a national newspaper is a large financial operation, the
owners and managers of such operations naturally tend to favour
capitalist/Conservative values. However, the Labour government has
received a level of support from most newspapers at various times
since it was elected in 1997, most famously with Rupert Murdoch’s
News International newspapers generally encouraging a Labour vote
in the 1997 and 2001 general elections. From the right, in Britain
anxiety has centred upon ‘irresponsible’ tabloid intrusions into the
private lives of both the rich and famous (including Royalty and200 DEMOCRACY