RUPERT MURDOCH’S planned takeover of Sky is a threat to “journalism, media plurality and democracy,” union leaders said last night.

Media regulator Ofcom closed its consultation yesterday on the planned merger of the Australian-American tycoon’s 21st Century Fox group with Sky PLC.

Fox already owns almost 40 per cent of the Sky business. But in a joint submission to the consultation exclusively seen by the Star, 13 British unions have urged the regulator to put the breaks on.

Those speaking out include the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Prospect’s Bectu sector, which represents technical broadcast staff.

Union leaders including Unite’s Len McCluskey and GMB’s Tim Roache say the deal would mean “the Murdoch family will effectively become the largest newspaper provider, the third-largest TV provider, the second-largest provider of radio news content and the fourth-largest online news provider” in Britain.

The general secretaries argue that the merger would worsen a lack of pluralism in the British media, which is already among “the most concentrated media environments in the world.”

Drawing on research by the Media Reform Coalition, they note that Britain already has just three companies controlling 71 per cent of national newspaper circulation and five companies in command of 81 per cent of local newspaper titles.

In a report last month, the campaign group warned the takeover would “consolidate control over a substantial share of wholesale news provision within and across all news platforms.”

The NUJ said the merger had “implications for every citizen and for the shape of our democracy.”

The union’s acting general secretary Seamus Dooley said: “The support of sister unions for our opposition to this merger is very welcome. While media unions have been to the fore in highlighting this issue, media ownership and diversity is not just of interest to those working in our industry.

“There is widespread concern across the UK at this latest attempt to strengthen the Murdoch empire. Trade unions do not need to be convinced that Murdoch and those who dance to his tune are bad for workers, bad for journalism and bad for democracy.”

The proposed merger was referred to Ofcom by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley earlier this month. The regulator’s duty is to investigate whether the Murdoch empire is “fit and proper” for full control of Sky.

In a separate public interest test, it will assess whether the merger would serve “the need … for there to be a sufficient plurality” of media control, as well as whether 21st Century Fox shows a “genuine commitment” to broadcast standards.

Labour MP and former BBC journalist Clive Lewis said the balance of media ownership was already “completely” out of control.

“If you consider the media to be the fourth estate, and oil in the wheels of democracy that enables citizens to make informed choices, it’s quite clear that handing it over to a small elite is not in the best interests of democracy,” he told the Morning Star.

“Rupert Murdoch should not be in a position where he can dominate so much of our media.”

Trade unions issued a joint statement condemning the move:

We oppose  the merger because it will have a damaging impact on journalism, media plurality and democracy.If the merger goes ahead it will mean the Murdoch family will effectively become the largest newspaper provider, the third-largest TV provider, the second-largest provider of radio news content and the fourth-largest online news provider. The merger would make Rupert Murdoch the only person ever to control a substantial share of wholesale news provision on all the main news platforms and be a strong presence on leading third-party sites, such as YouTube and Yahoo, further extending the company’s reach. Sky News online is the most widely featured news source on Yahoo’s UK news page, accounting for more than 25 per cent of articles in February 2017 and more than 50 per cent of headlines.Free, independent journalism and media diversity are crucial to our democracy. We believe the risks posed by further concentration of media ownership fundamentally undermines the public interest.

 

Ronnie Draper, BFAWU

Kevin Courtney, NUT

Bob Monks, URTU

Steve Gillan, POA

Ian Lawrence, Napo

Manuel Cortes, TSSA

Len McCluskey, Unite

Mick Cash, RMT

John Smith, Musicians' Union

Tim Roache, GMB

Gerry Morrissey, Bectu sector, Prospect

Mark Serwotka, PCS