Ofcom’s Report on Measuring Media Plurality – The Outstanding Questions

(by Michael Harker) On 19 June, Ofcom published its report on the future of the media plurality rules. The process began in October last year, with the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt asking the regulator a series of questions including: the metrics for the measurement of media plurality across platforms, the use of absolute limits on news market shares, and controversially whether there should be provision for a plurality review in the absence of a merger trigger.  Against the backdrop of the derailed News Corp/BSkyB merger, and the Leveson Inquiry’s probing of the Culture Secretary’s role in that bid, the Report and its recommendations may have important implications for the way in which media plurality is secured in the UK.