of the struggle in the print industry. Its workers are the shock troops of the NGA. Its employers pour out propaganda every day anti-union of the week. It faces one of the greatest threats the technology. But who owns tain's newspaper giants?
The number of newspapers has shrunk steadily since the 1920s. As a result, people are more dependent on the national press for their daily paper and they have virtually no choice left as to the local daily they buy.
The national papers disappeared have tended to be those on the left, notably the Daily Herald and the News Chronicle.
This means the national press more conservative than it was with less representation of views. Not surprisingly, many people views are not adequately reflected in the major nationals.
Total circulation in the two major press sectors — national dailies and national sundays — is heavily controlled by three concerns: News Corporation (Robert Murdoch's Australian holding company, Reed Fleet Holdings.
Together they. account for 75 per cent of all the national dailies sold and 85 per cent of all the national sundays. Rupert Murdoch's company alone controis almost a third of the circulation in both sectors.
This is not a new situation. Britain has had a highly concentrated national press since the last war.
In addition to controlling the national press, companies who major national dailies or sundays also have a significant degree of control over the regional and local press.
The leading national chains have increased their share of circulation in the regional press since 1947, with a particularly marked increase local weeklies, traditionally the most diversely controlled.
Control At present, IWO publishers of weekly titles are both national publishers as well: S Pearson & Son and Reed Internationa The concerns strongly represented in the market for regional dailies. Three of the 10 best selling titles are controlled directly by companies publish Reed, Associated Newspapers Fleet Holdings.
Two others are published by concerns with connections publishers: BPM Holdings (in which S Pearson holds a 38 per cent stake in the ordinary shares) and Fleet Holdings.
Fleet Holdings, which controls the Express group of papers, was demerged from the Trafalgar House shipping and property conglomerate Trafalgar House does not have a direct stake in the new company but there are still close links.
The shares in Fleet Holdings were distributed on the basis of one for every four Trafalgar shares investors held, so there is a good deal of overlap in the ownership of the companies.
In addition, of founders of Trafalgar, Lord Matthews, installed chairman Holdings for five years.
The national press companies' inBriis Rupert Murdoch publish wide range of activities.
The large among the media sectors.
The include largest The Economist also children's books.
nationals: Cinema has a 25 per cent stake in national Television, ship which cinema and video release.
1982. ment in Sir box office hit Ghandi.
the two sports service.
Fleet Socialist Action 16 December 1983 terests in the regional and weekly press is part of a wider pattern of diversification whereby companies extend their range of interests from their original base to other areas of activity. This process produces congiomerates - companies with a collection of interests in a newspaper publishers show a marked tendency towards conglomeration. Several also have significant interests in a range of other key example is S Pearson, which controls the Financial Times and the largest chain of weekly papers in the Pearson's other media magazines The Banker, Apollo and a 50 per cent stake and books:
Longmans, Penguin (the largest paperback firm in the country and Ladybird books, the world's biggest publisher of In audio-visual industries, Pearson Yorkshire leading role the Golderest films and television partnerproducing Tor Golderest helped to put together the financial package for Chariots of Fire and is partner with the Indian governRichard Attenborough's Pearson also operates Fintel, which provides business news and financial information for the Prestel system run by British Telecom. BPM Holdings, in which Pearson has a significant stake, is also a major information provider on Prestel through its Viewtel 202 system which provides a national news and In addition, Pearson has important interests in general leisure, through its control of Madame Tussauds, the LonСвятамий не let Murderh Ma lee Tem ва віние MAG The first dar of the rest
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Royal roman FLEET STREET is the sharp end