A MAJORITY of the commission has recommended the Government should consider extending the powers of the Minister for Enterprise and Employment to regulate ownership in the newspaper industry not only in relation to the acquisition of shares, but also to the control of newspapers by companies by other means.
However, the commission said the Minister should assess the implications that any intervention would have for the strength of the indigenous industry against British titles.
The report argues that the concentration of ownership does not necessarily lead to a monolithic view. While plurality of ownership can lead to diversity of editorial viewpoints, the reverse is not always the case. A large number of titles controlled by the same interest could express a diverse range of views if editorial independence was maintained.
The alternative to creating the right market conditions for diversity would be a "negative procedure of curbing the growth of indigenous newspaper enterprises by prohibiting mergers, takeovers or other procedures for the acquisition of control by one company over another."
The potential for limiting the diversity of views and opinions also applies to a concentration of ownership between TV, radio, magazines and newspapers.
The commission noted that many other countries had adopted special legal schemes to deal with issues of media ownership, including newspapers. "The tests applied to other products or services in relation to distortion of the market, abuse of a dominant position in the market, or any other anti competitive conduct, are not necessarily appropriate to apply to newspapers.
The commission found that, given its scale, the Irish market is well served by a range of daily and weekly national newspapers. These newspapers reflect a satisfactory range of viewpoints and cultural content, although there is a perception that women, minority groups, and those outside mainstream views are not represented.
The four daily, three evening and four Sunday indigenous newspapers were in competition with 10 daily and nine Sunday British newspapers. British newspapers could contribute to the diversity of viewpoint and cultural content when they took an editorial interest in Irish matters.
However, the report concluded that the democratic ideal of a free press would be better served by an indigenous newspaper industry which fully reflected a diversity of views.
A free and fair market was essential to the maintenance of this indigenous industry, the report said. And some commission members said they believed the ownership by Independent Newspapers of the Sunday World and its half share interest in the Star had helped curtail the dominance of British tabloids.
The recent disappearance of the Irish Press titles was a blow to editorial diversity and any further reductions in the number of Irish titles could severely curtail Irish media diversity.
The best guarantee against a further weakening of these diversities would be to strengthen competitiveness against the challenge of imported titles, maintain fair competition in the industry and promote favourable trading conditions.
The commission also recommended that attention be paid to the distribution methods and sales displays for competing newspapers.
