MASS MEDIA IN GREAT BRITAIN

- Trend towards concentration of newspaper ownership began in the early 1900s

- Monopolies and Mergers Act (1965): government is allowed to intervene if a paper is to be transferred to an owner whose papers have a daily circulation of 500,000 or more:

- a national industry

- former centre: Fleet Street, London, now Docklands

- very high circulations

- strong influence on public opinion

- mainly financed by advertising

- in the hands of a few big commercial enterprises

- Censorship:

1) no control or censorship by state

2) letter to the editor as the most common form to express one's opinion about an article

3) Press Council:

* set up of equal number of professionals mailers and non professional members

* functions:

prevention of unreasonable behaviour and untruthful reporting defence of the freedom of the press

maintenance of certain professional standards

deal with complaints against newspapers and periodicals

- Dailys and Periodicals

1) Quality papers (The Times, The Guardian)

* appeal to an educated readership

* national and international news

* great variety of topics of general interest

2) Popular papers (Today, Daily Mirror, The Sun)

appeal to everyday people

sensational news