Posted on 08/30/2009 10:22:46 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The British Broadcasting Corporation has been described by Rupert Murdoch’s son as a threat to independent journalism and democracy.
James Murdoch, the 36-year-old head of News Corp in Europe and Asia, said the BBC, as part of a state-sponsored journalism network, was threatening the "plurality and independence of news provision."
The BBC is funded by the British government through television licenses.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp controls British Sky Broadcasting Group, one of the BBC's main competitors in Britain.
Speaking in Edinburgh, Scotland, Murdoch said that British broadcasting policy had failed to keep pace with changes, relying on state regulation rather than the involvement of consumers.
Referring to a passage from George Orwell’s dark novel "1984", he said: "To let the state enjoy a near-monopoly of information is to guarantee manipulation and distortion."
The BBC responded by saying Murdoch's argument was "fundamentally flawed" and probably the result of the Murdoch empire being hampered by lower advertising revenue.
how was it fundamentally flawed? Do BBC ever worry about lower ad revenue?
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