Murdoch attacks BBC and regulators

NEWS Corporation chief James Murdoch last night called for a radical overhaul of broadcasting in Britain to preserve journalistic independence and fuel innovation.

Mr Murdoch gave the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival — 20 years after his father, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, delivered the event’s keynote speech.

Mr Murdoch, who is chairman and chief executive, Europe and Asia, of News Corporation and non-executive chairman of BSkyB, said that boundaries between previously separate forms of communication such as TV, newspapers and publishing have eroded, creating an “all-media market”. He highlighted the scale of the BBC as a “threat” to independent journalism and hit out at its governing body, BBC Trust, and media regulator Ofcom, which he described as “unaccountable”.

Mr Murdoch, 36, said: “In this all-media marketplace, the expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision, which are so important for our democracy.”

Referring to George Orwell’s 1984, Mr Murdoch said the book’s message was more relevant than ever. He said: “As Orwell foretold, to let the state enjoy a near-monopoly of information is to guarantee manipulation and distortion... The only reliable, durable and perpetual guarantor of independence is profit.”

Mr Murdoch described Britain as “the Addams family of world media”, unhappy in every way, and that “dumping free, state-sponsored news on the market makes it incredibly difficult for journalism to flourish on the internet”. He also said broadcasting policy still relied on regulatory controls and state intervention.

News International has recently announced plans to start charging for access to its news sites within a year. Ofcom, meanwhile, said it remained committed to protecting consumers’ and viewers’ interests.