British Media

The attempt, essentially by the United Arab Emirates, to take control of the Daily Telegraph and Spectator, causes me to give some consideration of the British media more generally at present, as I read both publications along with The Times newspaper or very occasionally, the Daily Mail - the latter mainly for its busness news at weekends.

The Telegraph/Spectator take-over proposals even in their altered form, seem unpopular with much of the British establishment, though the government suggests that there is not much that can be done about that  within existing UK law. 

However an MP Labour I believe, is proposing that the law be changed, with a new Act of Parliament. Over 100 Tory MPs seem likely to support such a change. Thus  the  proposed new Act of Parliament may yet prevent ownership slipping  out of Britsh hands, essentially to those  of a foregn government albeit a company has since been introduced to the mix. 

Interestingly, the foreign bidders, have repaid  the large debts by the existing holders of those publications, who are or were, as one of the brothers has died, the Barclay brothers, of the Channel island, Brecou off Sark. Whether that payment has to be repaid if the take-over does not succeed, is unclear, but Lloyds Bank from which much was apparently borrowed by the brothers, was  clamouring for its repayment prior to the UAE bid. Lloyds Bank I am sure will be relieved that their loan book  to Barclay Bros. may now  largely be closed.

My understanding is that no state, as distinct from corporate entities, owns a British newspaper although some TV channels appear to be at least influenced, by foreign states. The Times is foreign owned though  not by or through, a foreign government.

Although British media generally is sometimes criticised for being too right wing, this criticism seem to me to be becoming less and less true, perhaps because of the unpopularity of the current Conservative government, which itself today, leans rather less to the political right, than did Tory governments of my youth.

Again in my view, BBC TV and Radio have moved politically to the left, in recent years even to the extent of refusing to call 'Hamas' terrorists despite government rulings that they are terrorists, both in the UK and abroad. 

The only  UK TV news channel that  currently appears to be right of centre politically, is GB News. Yet GB News is frequently referred to the British broadcasting watchdog OFCOM, though for nothing  that seems to me at least,  to be as serious as that  for example, of the BBC's Martin Bashir on that station's Panorama programme concerning the late Lady Diana, where allegations about cooking up of alleged facts were made.  

As a reader of The Spectator (see above) I hope that that weekly magazine remains in British hands.