The proposals would allow ‘greater scrutiny’ of deals thatinvolve the sale of UK online news publications and news magazines, it has been announced.Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said yesterday that the media merger laws had not ‘kept pace with technology’ or ‘evolving news consumption habits’. Under the current regime, the Culture Secretary can intervene in mergers and acquisitions involving broadcasters, UK daily and Sunday print newspapers and local newspapers.
The deal would be scrutinised if it were felt it might ‘adversely impact accurate reporting, freedom of expression and media plurality’.Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy, arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street The Government is claiming the rules are being ‘modernised for the digital age’. It adds that the measures would ensure that the public interest can be ‘safeguarded across these popular sources of news content’. The Culture Secretary would be able to ‘intervene where necessary’ to protect the availability of ‘a wide range of accurate, high-quality news’, particularly for younger audiences.