News Corp will be investigated by Ofcom to see if it is fit and proper broadcaster

Calcutta News.Net
Monday 11th July, 2011

Ofcom, the United Kingdom’s media regulator, has announced it will conduct its own investigation into News Corp to assess whether the company is “fit and proper” to be a broadcaster.

News Corp, the owners of News of the World, want to buy the 60.1% of BSkyB that they don’t already own.

BSkyB is one of the largest broadcasters in the UK and the deal has raised serious questions about the power of the Murdock corporation over British media.

The illegal phone hacking scandal at News of the World, a popular UK tabloid, significantly undermined News Corp’s efforts, prompting Rupert Murdoch, who owns News Corp, to have the paper shut down.

Now, Ofcom (Office of Communications) has indicated it will look into whether News Corp, and its directors and shareholders, is “fit and proper” to hold a broadcast license in the UK.

Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards has reportedly written to the relevant authorities asking to be “kept abreast” of developments, but emphasised he would not begin Ofcom’s investigation into News Corp until the police had finished their investigation into the phone hacking scandal that has rocked UK journalism to its core.

News Corp is the second largest media conglomerate in the world, second only to the Walt Disney Corporation in terms of sales, although News Corp owns hundreds of newspapers and magazines around the world, including the Wall Street Journal and the major US broadcaster Fox Network.

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