Concentration of ownership is a widely discussed issue in today's society and has been looked and written about by a wide number of people.

Colin Seymour-Ure tells us that "Concentration is normally measured by number of newspaper titles or market share." (1997, 118) Ownership concentration depends on the control of leading press groups, also how their market shares affect certain aspects.

In 1945 there was a lot of speculation about the increases of shares in the newspaper market. Curran explains that "Between 1947 and 1989, the three leading press groups increased by over one-third their share of the newspaper market." (1997, 77) Therefore the situation occurring is the narrowing of ownership; this was said to be a concern for the Royal commission in 1947. Snoddy says,

"In 1947 the main motivation for a Royal Commission was a fear that a small number of proprietors were gaining too much power over too many newspapers." (1992, 74)

In the early days of ownership it was pointed out that people such as Lord Rothermere, Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Kemsley had the power to distort the news, it was also concern about their 'monopolistic

So the concern against concentration of ownership is that press proprietors influence editorial content therefore influencing the way in which public are told information. This can either prove to be bias providing us with false images and also showing that the public is not the proprietor's main concerns.

Although there is concern over standards of tabloids, when questioned Murdock did not see a problem with his paper The Sun. Snoddy tells us that "He is proud of The Sun and everything it stands for" (1992, 124). Should we therefore be concerned that if the ownership concentration also starts to apply to television, that the public will be forced to watch lower standards there? Should the public therefore push for press and broadcasting ownership to be kept separate?

The business potential in Press Empire is great and we know that there can always be an increase in wealth earning potential.

(1997, 72) Harold Evans backed up this statement by saying that he could only recall one time in fourteen years as being editor that Lord Thomson politically guided him.

For Rupert Murdoch the development of press ownership has led onto a great Media Empire that includes things such as television; books and magazines, even film companies. So we can see the power and influence that Murdock has on what the public read and see on screen.

Curran believes that journalists should have a greater say and control in the press, he quotes "Journalists should be allowed to participate in a meaningful way in the appointment of editors"(1997, 367). He tells us "It is in the interests of the public that journalists in the monopolistic press should have more control over what they do"

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sun Snoddy, Robert Maxwell, Lord Matthews, Colin Seymour-Ure, Kemsleys Snoddy, Reynolds Labour, Media Empire, Power Responsibility, Sport Snoddy, , concentration ownership, editorial content, press ownership, political views, today's society, lord matthews, concern concentration ownership, interventionist proprietors, media empire, curran quotes, lord thomson, influence editorial content, proprietors influence editorial,
Approximate Word count = 1546
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)