Who owns your local media?
Research: Alec Saelens
Design: Laurence Ware (laurenceware.tumblr.com)
Photo: Mat A (de-mystify.co.uk/pics)
A look at the ownership structure of Trinity Mirror, the company behind Local World and Bristol Post…
View as a pdf
Surprise, surprise. A glance up the ownership ladder shows the top nine companies, who hold 59% of the shares in Trinity Mirror, are in the business of asset and investment management.
From the financial markets to the pages you read in your local paper, the likes of Schroder, JP Morgan and Blackrock see your media as just another investment.
Can we deny the impact on the quality of our news when treated as a financial asset by firms with sometimes questionable track records?
Report a comment. Comments are moderated according to our Comment Policy.
It’s bloody depressing, but blaming the capitalists is a little misguided in my not necessarily humble opinion. There is a reason why local papers aren’t locally-owned businesses any more, and you can see it any day on any bus or in any café – the number of people in any crowd (always at least 50%) looking at little hand-held screens. Print media has become a business that is only viable as a co-op like ours, or a multi-masthead operation employing large economies of scale. an advertising team selling space in a dozen papers, centralised printing, and more.
Want to see strong, independent print media? Start buying newspapers. Become a £5 Guardian member. Join the Cable. But mostly, use the product.
It’s not going to happen of course. Twitter rules. Euuurgh. So tasteless. So crass.