REPORT LIFE AFTERREPORT LEVESON THE CHALLENGE TO STRENGTHENLIFE BRITAIN’S DIVERSE AND VIBRANTAFTER MEDIA LEVESON THE CHALLENGE TO Nigel Warner STRENGTHEN BRITAIN’S November 2012 DIVERSE AND VIBRANT MEDIA © IPPR 2012 Institute for Public Policy Research Nigel Warner November 2012 © IPPR 2012 Institute for Public Policy Research ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nigel Warner is a freelance writer and political consultant and an associate fellow at IPPR. He previously served as a government adviser on media policy. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In preparing this report I drew on the expertise a wide range of people with deep experience of the media industry. I would particularly like to thank the attendees of two detailed roundtables held at IPPR – in partnership with MediaGuardian – in May and June 2012. They were: Stephen Abell; Professor Steve Barnett; Baroness Bonham-Carter; Magnus Brooke; Tony Danker; Claire Enders; Lara Fielden; Don Foster MP; Robin Foster; Chris Goodall; Lord Gordon; Helen Goodman MP; Steve Hewlett; Sarah Hunter; Lord Richard Inglewood; Kate McGavin; Sean McGuire; Martin Moore; Mark Oliver ; Mark Pack; Professor Stewart Purvis; Daniel Sandelson; Lord Soley; Tim Suter; Dr Damian Tambini; Steve Unger; Lord Stewart Wood; Chris Woolard. It should be stressed that although the attendees lent their experience and expertise, this does not imply that they agree with the arguments and ideas in this report. These – along with any errors and omissions – are my own. I would also like to thank a number of other people who I talked to in the course of my research for this report including Lord Dubs, Gidon Freeman, Jon Zeff, Ben Fenton, Dan Sabbagh, Damian Collins MP, Therese Coffey MP, Philip Davies MP, Carolyn Fairbairn and Professor Patrick Barwise. In addition, I would like to thank James Purnell, Nick Pearce and Tim Finch at IPPR for their invaluable advice during the writing of this report. The polling for this report was carried out by YouGov plc. ABOUT IPPR IPPR, the Institute for Public Policy Research, is the UK’s leading progressive thinktank. We produce rigorous research and innovative policy ideas for a fair, democratic and sustainable world. We are open and independent in how we work, and with offices in London and the North of England, IPPR spans a full range of local and national policy debates. Our international partnerships extend IPPR’s influence and reputation across the world. IPPR 4th Floor 14 Buckingham Street London WC2N 6DF T: +44 (0)20 7470 6100 E: [email protected] www.ippr.org Registered charity no. 800065 This paper was first published in November 2012. © 2012 The contents and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) only. NEW IDEAS for CHANGE CONTENTS Prologue........................................................................................................................3 Executive.summary.......................................................................................................5 Technology, economics and consumer behaviour ........................................................5 Convergence and media standards .............................................................................5 Convergence and plurality...........................................................................................6 Principles for reform ...................................................................................................6 Key recommendations ................................................................................................7 Introduction...................................................................................................................9 1..The.political.context.for.media.regulation..............................................................11 The end of the deregulation consensus .....................................................................12 Increasing choice and declining trust .........................................................................13 A multiplicity of sources ............................................................................................13 Regulating power and influence ................................................................................14 Proposals for change ................................................................................................16 2..Trends.in.news.and.general.media.consumption....................................................18 Television’s continuing popularity ...............................................................................18 Shifting to online .......................................................................................................18 Declining newspaper circulation ................................................................................18 Follow the money .....................................................................................................18 BBC Online ..............................................................................................................19 New players in the market.........................................................................................19 Internet protocol television .......................................................................................20 Changing consumption .............................................................................................21 3..Convergence,.confusion.and.content.regulation....................................................22 Standards in the press ..............................................................................................22 Broadcasting standards regulation ............................................................................23 Regulation in the online space...................................................................................24 A new approach .......................................................................................................27 4..Plurality:.measuring.power.and.influence...............................................................28 Assessing ‘sufficient’ plurality ....................................................................................28 Newspapers: a national obsession ............................................................................28 Cutting newspaper groups down to size? ..................................................................29 Ofcom’s challenge ....................................................................................................31 The media plurality conundrum .................................................................................32 Factoring in online ....................................................................................................33 1 IPPR | Life after Leveson: The challenge to strengthen Britain’s diverse and vibrant media The role of the BBC ..................................................................................................33 Measuring a range of factors.....................................................................................34 Factoring in economic viability...................................................................................35 Who makes the judgements? ....................................................................................35 5..Challenges.for.policymakers...................................................................................36 Objections ................................................................................................................36 6..Principles.for.a.new.approach................................................................................43 7..Recommendations..................................................................................................48 Structures for content regulation ...............................................................................48 Licensed news services (all platforms) .......................................................................51 The News Publishing Authority ..................................................................................52 General (non-news) content regulation ......................................................................54 Advertising regulation ...............................................................................................55 Public service content ...............................................................................................55 Plurality and competition regulation ...........................................................................56 Conclusion..................................................................................................................60 References..................................................................................................................61 2 IPPR | Life after Leveson: The challenge to strengthen Britain’s diverse and vibrant media PROLOGUE November.2022 You were in such a rush this morning you didn’t take anything to read on the Tube. So you’re forced to look around at what others are watching on their way to work. No one has a ‘proper’ newspaper of course. Even 10 years ago you could get a quality paper delivered to your house. It’s hard to believe. The printed press – millions of throwaway free sheets aside – doesn’t exist anymore. People don’t seem to care. London’s wi-fi delivers 100mbps, even down here, so everyone is using tablets. Just thin pieces of Perspex that do nothing but open the door on a vast cloud of global content.