Media ownership and the exploitation of media power for corporate self-interest: a case study of News International's coverage of the BBC and OFcom

This work examines whether there is an agenda on the part of the newspapers owned by News International (Rupert Murdoch’s UK media company) where reporting on matters with regards to the British Broadcasting Corporation and Ofcom. The agenda, examined via the content analysis of the relevant articles published in three Murdoch owned newspapers compared with three non-Murdoch owned newspapers of equal standing, proves an already existing theory discussed by the press and academics alike that Rupert Murdoch is particularly hostile towards both bodies; the BBC because it is a rival news provider, and a prominent, trusted voice in Britain; and Ofcom, because of its role as a regulator that has often stood between Murdoch and his commercial expansion plans.

The research answers three key questions: to what extent News International’s newspapers seek to undermine organisations and competitiors that in some way interfere with the company and/ or proprietors expansion plans; to what extent this
agenda is manifested in News International’s newspapers; and to what extent these compare with equal-standing, non-News International owned newspapers. The findings identify a clear bias in the reporting, demonstrating for the first time that
Murdoch exploits his newspapers in pursuit of commercial self-interest.

This work demonstrates how the news agenda can be deliberately manipulated to suit the commercial self-interest of dominant owners, and provides evidence of the way in which proprietors such as Murdoch can exploit their dominance of media markets mthrough the distorted or biased coverage of rival institutions or regulators in a bid to influence both popular opinion and the decisions of politicians and policymakers, thus undermining the democratic process.