What Are Media Mergers and Acquisitions?

The media industry is quite developed in the UK. In a country like Britain with a population of 60 million, media such as newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio, and various audiovisual products are almost ubiquitous in people's daily lives. Moreover, due to the leading role of English in today's international communication and the unique role of Britain in the international community, British news products and English programs have spanned and occupied most of the corners of the world media landscape and enjoy an unshakable position. With the development of media technology, the media not only provides news, information and leisure to the public, but also becomes an important means of wealth creation and an important component of GDP.

British media

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The media industry is quite developed in the UK. In a country like Britain with a population of 60 million, media such as newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio, and various audiovisual products are almost ubiquitous in people's daily lives. And due to the dominance of English in today's international communication and the British

There are more than 1,400 types of newspapers nationwide, and 12 national newspapers. More than 7,000 magazines. There are 2,400 publishing houses, most of which are non-commercial publishing houses that publish yearbooks, with a certain scale. There are only 380 publishing houses that publish more than 40 books annually. We can see from the above data that the British media industry is a strong and complete network with international influence. We know that in the western capitalist countries in the information age, the media industry is an expanding pillar industry, which accounts for an important proportion of the GDP of each country. This is particularly evident in the United Kingdom. Some data say that the British media industry's output value accounts for 5% of GDP, employs 1 million laborers, and creates wealth of nearly 33 billion US dollars each year. When the production of news works and cultural goods became a huge global industry, the supply of information had important economic significance. This industry occupies a lot of human and financial resources and enjoys a high social status. Throughout the world, top newscasters, show hosts, and newspaper columnists have both the charm of a movie star and the influence of a politician. At the same time, the quality of news services is not only a criterion for self-judgment by media units, but also a criterion for audience consumption choices. Britain has used various measures to develop the media industry, from just a few television stations that provide news services to a media empire with more than 400 channels. For example: BBC International Publishing Company not only has television and radio, but also owns books, magazines and audiovisual products. Reading books and reading newspapers is an indispensable way for British people to spend their leisure time and is an important source of information. There are 12 national newspapers and 15 million copies of periodicals. The largest circulations are tabloids "The Sun", "Mirror" and "Daily Mail". Tabloids dominate the newspaper market on Sunday. Because five of the ten best-selling newspapers appearing on the Sunday market are tabloids. Ownership of newspapers distributed throughout the UK is mostly in the hands of some publishing institutions. The largest news international company is owned by Murdoch. His three Times and Sunday newspapers account for 32% and 39% of the country's total circulation, respectively. The Mirror Group was originally owned by Latter Robertville, and is now administered by a banking union and other financial organizations, accounting for 22% and 26.5% of the Times and Sunday market circulation, respectively. The development of the British print media is mainly cross-news , Weekly, bi-monthly, and monthly magazines across the boundaries of entertainment, business, and business. There are 7,000 magazines in circulation and new magazines are still appearing. This shows that magazines are growing rapidly as part of the media industry. Magazines, like newspapers, are mostly in the hands of several large publishing companies. With a scale of 380 publishing houses, the annual turnover accounts for more than 95% of the country's book exports. 40 of them publish more than 100 titles each year. The publishing houses are mainly located in London, followed by Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford and Cambridge. The major large publishers are Baconman Publishing Company, Longman Publishing Group Company, and Michael Millen Publishing Company. The main government publishing agency is the Royal Publications Board. Well-known university presses are Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. About 40,000 books are published every year. Nowadays, the development of British media has reached a relatively stable stage under the operation of capital and an orderly market. Different media products such as television, radio, newspapers, books, periodicals, and audio and video in the media field are reasonably positioned in the segmented market, and have developed into a pillar industry under the stable consumer groups and perfect organizational forms, becoming the world's information. , Media power.

Under the conditions of a complete market economy, in the face of such a large media industry, apart from relying on capital operation and market operation, it is not as uncontrolled and completely free of development as some people think. On the contrary, both the government and the media emphasize management and control.

British Media Government and Law

The British government has a Ministry of Culture, Media and Sports to manage and control various media matters. Within the framework of the law, they have realized the management and control of the media through means such as strengthening administrative management, strengthening tax management, strengthening services and supervision. The legislation on media industry in western countries is quite complicated. Both British and American laws stipulate that all media have no freedom to damage the image of the state; no freedom to divulge state secrets; no freedom to publish obscene books; and not to maliciously slander anyone and other legal provisions. In addition to various basic legislation, the British Parliament often legislates for special events to control the media industry. Well-known events such as the 2002 British Parliament specifically amended the Media Mergers and Acquisitions Act to prevent Murdoch Group from "cannibalizing" the British media industry. Because in any modern country, the role of the news media in political life is very important. Since the media does not live in a vacuum, it cannot be depoliticized. In the UK, the mainstream media that influence the political tendencies of the news media are highly concentrated in the hands of owners and governments. The need to maintain national security and public order, as well as to protect the privacy and reputation of individuals, is often greater than the benefits to the public that the media need to obtain certain information. In order to safeguard the above-mentioned interests, the United Kingdom has imposed restrictions on the media through laws and regulations. However, before these restrictions apply, the media requires the government to prove that it is necessary to limit the media and at the same time to keep it to a minimum. Governments outside the legislation who arbitrarily interfere in the media will be blamed. For example, in 2004, when the fans of Beckham became a scandal because of cheating on their wives, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a speech in the House of Commons that he hoped the outside world would respect Beckham's privacy and was criticized by the media as "ignorance". In an ICM poll, nearly 70% of Britons demanded legislation to protect the privacy of celebrities, members of the House of Commons demanded Blair to legislate, and Blair, who refused to legislate, said: "I just want everyone to understand that being so violated by privacy would be frustrating. And I don't think it has anything to do with the public interest. "Of course, if the media violates the legal norms, the responsibility to be assumed is significant. Such cases are endless. In 1987, the British military intelligence service built a reconnaissance satellite for 500 million pounds. According to British law, the use of funds by any government department must be approved by the parliament. The matter was disclosed by the BBC television. The government was so annoyed that it forced BBC president Alyssa Meln to resign. In addition, the United Kingdom has strict and detailed regulations and review systems for commercials inserted in commercial television programs. Strictly review the time and content of the broadcast; wine and color must not be too explicit; sports advertising is also limited; junk food advertisements are prohibited. When the government cannot rely on it, it can also find the basis for management and control in the form of proposed legislation. The amendment to the Media M & A Act of 2002 was made by the House at the time under pressure from the Ministry of Trade and Culture. Here the order is manifested by law, and of course the law represents the interests of the ruler and the state.

British media self-restraint

Although the media are not restricted by law, it is still not easy to avoid criminal and civil liability. Every year, media editors spend considerable time and energy to resolve legal issues caused by investigations and reports. The major media in the UK employ experienced journalists. Provide legal space for sensitive issues at any time. All media journalists should conduct legal training to try to keep the media from avoiding unnecessary legal issues. Example: The Sun and its editors were fined £ 100,000 in 1994. The reason for this is that they inadvertently publish the circumstances of the defendant in the murder case, which will appear in the recognition queue two days later. The court reasonably determined that the publication seriously affected the reliability of this key practice. In general, the media industry in the UK, like other highly developed capitalist societies, is a dynamic and strong part of the economic industry and is undergoing rapid development, but legal and government control is also widespread. Existence, even to a certain extent, is being strengthened step by step, which is also not transferred by people's will. In today's thriving capitalist society, the market (readers) is the main driving force of the media, and the purpose of control is to make it more in line with social norms and contribute to the stable development of society. (Author: Pauline / Qingdao Publishing An article published in the "media" 2006.4)