52 December-January 2014
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
T
HE Bell Telephone Company was
born out of the great communi-
cations revolution at the end of
the 19th century, and dominated the
American business landscape for a cen-
tury, until it was broken up by the US
Justice Department in 1984. In its place,
the ‘Baby Bells’ were left to compete both
with each other and with new upstarts
entering the no longer monopolistic
marketplace.
The resulting competition has been
credited with multiple innovations in
communications technology including
mobile wireless service, fibre optics,
microprocessors, internet protocol,
Wi-Fi, landline broadband, and wireless
broadband.
It’s difficult to imagine the same
break-up happening today. Ronald
Reagan may be venerated by US neo-con-
servatives, but they show little inclination
to prevent monopolies forming, still less
to break them up.
The prospect of any White House
administration (either Democratic or
Republican) trust-busting a modern
communications giants such as Google
or Apple is slight. Any justice department
plan to do so would quickly be vetoed by
the West Wing.
The same reluctance may be behind the
slow-motion roll-out of proposed guide-
lines on media mergers in Ireland, with
the political will blunted even more by the
target, the media outlets which can make
or break political careers by the tone of
their coverage. An advisory panel was
first set up to look at media mergers in
March 2008.
The Competition and Consumer
Protection Act puts the recommenda-
tions of the group into law, and moves
responsibility for media mergers away
from Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
to Communications and Natural
Resources.
Submissions on the draft guidelines
under the act are invited before 22
January 2015, but in truth, the entire
effort is a soaking squib.
In a speech in early 2012, the then
minister Pat Rabbitte spoke about
media diversity at a conference organ-
ised by Nessa Childers MEP. But unlike
recently retired Press Ombudsman Prof
John Horgan, who last May identified
the elephant in the room in any discus-
sion on media in Ireland as ownership
concentration, Rabbitte identified a dif-
ferent species of elephant: the internet,
one conveniently for him whose regula-
tion he could do little about.
Rabbitte’s speech, which was long on
the business difficulties facing media
owners both from recessionary mar-
kets and new online competitors, said
little beyond broad statements of prin-
ciples about how media diversity might
be ensured, save that it required both
diversity of ownership and diversity of
content.
The draft guidelines, prepared by a
new minister, follow much the same
tone. “Significant interest” in a media
company is defined (“generally” as more
than 20% of voting strength, although it
“may” be significantly less, at 10-20%).
The Minister can turn down a proposed
merger if it is “contrary to the public
interest in protecting plurality of the
media”. However, importantly, there
are no iron-clad definitions of what con-
stitutes “significant interest” across
multiple media organisations. And
of course – conveniently for Denis O’
Brien – the Fine Gael-led government
didn’t even consider making the legisla-
tion retrospective so ensuring diversity
under the status quo would be assessed.
It’s very definitely about ‘mergers’ not
‘ownership’.
History suggests this will lead to
a benign regime of non-regulation.
Ownership regulations laid down when
local radio was legalised and licensed
were progressively stripped away over
the years as media groups accumulated
properties.
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
decided in 2012 that there was no rea-
son to investigate whether Denis O’Brien,
owner of several radio stations and major
shareholder in Independent News and
Media, had excessive influence. There
is little evidence of any political will to
stop the same process continuing in and
across Irish media today. When the final
decision is made by a minister, whether
Alex White or his successors and not by a
politically independent statutory regula-
tor (though the Broadcasting Authority of
Ireland advises), the chances of upheaval
are even less likely.
At the heart of this non-regulation is a
singular failure of will.
Rabbitte noted in 2012 that with diver-
sity of content essential to ensuring that
the full spectrum of views, interests and
concerns prevalent in Irish society is rep-
resented fully in media. “This plurality is
the key metric – and the one that should
concern us most”, Rabbitte intoned. But
by not defining the “key metric” in the
legislation, the government has ensured
that any concerns over future merger
proposal can be fudged.
In this respect, the internet is a handy
scapegoat. Don’t be surprised to hear
mergers defended with arguments to
the effect that a newspaper/broadcast-
ing consolidation cannot pose a threat to
diversity of content, because anyone with
a smartphone can set up a blog. •
Submissions on
draft guidelines on
media mergers now
invited. By Gerard
Cunningham
Diversity
delusion
There are
no iron-clad
definitions
of what
constitutes
“significant
interest”
across
multiple media
organisations.
And of course
– conveniently
for Denis
O’Brien – the
Fine Gael led
government
didn’t even
consider
making the
legislation
retrospective
“
the unacceptable face of
concentrated ownership
December-January 2014 53
BRENDAN O’CONNOR MEDIA
W
HILE Village can do serious
analysis of serious talk radio,
we can also get down with the
celebrity stuff that people crave, openly
or in secret.
In this issue, we turn our attention
to the Irish television talk show, and
Brendan O’Connor’s ‘Saturday Night
Show’ in particular.
O’Connor occupies a unique slot in the
Irish media world as a talk-show host
who has developed a crackling synergy
between the reality TV of the nation’s sta-
tion RTÉ and the celebrity culture of the
nation’s favourite newspaper, the Sunday
Independent. His profile has risen on the
tide of celebrity culture that has stead-
ily filled the TV schedules. When there’s
space to fill on television or in print, and
there’s nothing obvious to run with, there
will always be a celeb available, the only
issue is: A, B or C List?
RTÉ1 is home to Ryan Tubridy’s
‘Late Late Show’ on Friday and Brendan
O’Connor’s ‘Saturday Night Show’, with
O’Connor’s show lagging slightly behind
in the ratings, and much else. Both shows
promise nat iona l and intern at iona l celeb -
rities, music and comedy, with the ‘Late
Late’ offering the additional attraction of
Brendan O’Connor
in your Saturday
I’m a celebrity: get me out on here. By Rónán Lynch

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