It's still at the discussion stage, so it'd be no great surprise if pressure from the Murdoch or Packer empires killed the move, BUT ... at least Australia is discussing what should be the most urgent task for Media regulators, namely tackling concentration of ownership and monopolistic practices.
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| Full article here. |
They are rather modest proposals, but as Murdoch has already stated his opposition, expect the flak to fly in a country which had a notorious history of press influence over government - look up the shady history of Gough-Whittam, viewed as too left-wing by the US, being forced out as Australian PM.
We get quite the opposite in the UK. The ITC began the great deregulatory shift, while the 2003 Communications Act makes deregulation a legal duty of the super-regulator OfCom, and a right-wing government with a friendly press behind it is hardly likely to tighten ownership laws. Indeed, C4 faces forced privatization and some feel the BBC is being run down to prepare public opinion for its eventual sale too, in the manner of the Post Office.
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