• Subscribe to our newsletter
The Media Online
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
The Media Online
No Result
View All Result
Home Press Newspapers

Newspaper ownership: political influence trumps the promise of profits

by Anton Harber
July 28, 2015
in Newspapers
0 0
0
Newspaper ownership: political influence trumps the promise of profits
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Financial Times, one of the great global journalism institutions, has been sold by the Pearson Group to the Japanese media company Nikkei. Anton Harber takes a look at what this means.

This ends 60 years of benign custodianship, which has allowed the pink paper to be one of the more successful of the newspapers dealing with the challenges of the internet. The 127-year-old FT now has 70% of its audience paying to read it online and made a £25m profit this year.

The FT is looking healthier than most newspapers, partly because it occupies a valuable niche, but also because it has had the shelter of a large parent company. Now the Pearson Group says it wants to concentrate on its core educational publishing business.

Nikkei chairman Tsuneo Kita – who paid a whopping £844m for the FT – was quoted reassuring staff and readers: “We share the same journalistic values.”

So a major British institution becomes Japanese. Or does it? Is this a recognition that the FT is now truly global? Does the identity of the owner make a difference?

Why ownership matters

Of course it does, but not always in the obvious way. There is no reason to believe that Nikkei is going to turn things on their head. After all, they know this business well and will be fully aware that the best thing to do with a successful media product is allow it to continue on its track.

But there will come a time when they have to appoint a new editor, and that is when an owner exerts the greatest influence. The most respected owners choose someone they trust and let them get on with it, giving them the freedom to interpret their mandate, knowing only that they can be fired if they go beyond it. The Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian of London, famously instructs its editors only to continue “as heretofore”.

Other owners are famous for interfering. Rupert Murdoch ensures his many editors follow his political choices. He uses his newspapers to give him political clout, and uses his political clout to manipulate governments and regulators to the benefit of his broadcasting interests.

Clearly the power to hire and fire the key editorial decision-maker gives a great deal of power to the proprietor in whatever form they choose to exercise it.

When the going gets tough

In recent years, we have seen that in a time of financial pressure on the industry a key factor in ownership is not just the individual in charge, but the structure of the company. In the good times, those newspapers that were part of listed companies made good money for shareholders. In tough times, though, the ones surviving best are those with ownership structures that lend themselves to the pursuit of long-term goals, rather than the relentless cycle of short-term results demanded by the stock exchange.

The best example of this is the trust-controlled Guardian. During the boom years when newspapers were making huge margins, The Guardian’s cautious trustees were considered something of an albatross around the newspaper’s neck. Now, in tough times, the Trust has been able to sell other assets to build a war chest of more than £650m. This has allowed The Guardian to pour money into building a global internet audience and keep access to its site free and open.

They have gone from being a relatively small British left-leaning paper to a leading global brand which measures its audience in tens of millions. They have carried serious losses to achieve this (about £30m last year), but these appear to be decreasing. The hands-off approach of the Trust has also allowed The Guardian to take serious risks on recent stories, such as the Wikileaks and Edward Snowden revelations.

In the US, many of the papers have been controlled by families, and the best of these recognise their ownership as a public trust rather than as a source of quick profit. Although the New York Times is a listed public company, it has been protected by a family which has taken a long view on their investment, even with a falling share price.

The problem with family control, however, is when things get tight families can run out of money, or squabble. This is what happened at the Washington Post, where they sold to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who had the deep pockets to sustain it, and the Wall Street Journal, which was sold to Murdoch.

This points to another form of ownership: newspapers which are part of large conglomerates where other lucrative media – such as pay television – can sustain the newspapers in difficult times. This has its limits, though, as shareholders question the wisdom of carrying low-profit newspapers when their other assets are pumping money. Murdoch was forced to move his newspapers into a separate company.

Similarly, the Media24 group in South Africa, – which owns papers such as the Daily Sun, City Press and all the Afrikaans language titles – is part of the giant Naspers group. The fortune Naspers is making from pay television across Africa and its internet investment in China could sustain its newspapers, but shareholders – particularly those around the world who have no reason to care much about one country’s newspapers – are likely to question why they are holding low-performing assets.

Naspers, though, is firmly controlled by its South African directors, notably chairman Koos Bekker, and this may offer medium-term protection. It has certainly enabled them to experiment on the internet more than their rivals.

Most other South African newspapers are part of listed companies, forcing management to chase short-term results. Independent Media is not listed, but its new owner carries a huge debt which is likely to constrain spending.

A return to where it all began

The bottom line is that most newspapers are no longer the lucrative investment they once were. There are a few owners (and even fewer in South Africa) who do it because they believe their papers play an important role in a democracy, and treat it as a public trust. Others will do it for the political clout it gives them.

This is, oddly, a return to where newspapers began a couple of hundred years ago, before advertising made newspapers so lucrative.

Anton Harber is Caxton Professor of Journalism at University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Read the original article.

IMAGE: Wikimedia / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

 

The Conversation

Tags: Anton HarberFinancial TimesFTindependent mediaKoos BekkerMedia24Naspersnewspaper ownershipnewspapersRupert MurdochScott TrustSouth African mediathe Guardianworld newspapers

Anton Harber

Anton Harber is the Caxton Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and director of the Journalism Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Harber has had a long career in journalism, media management and the training of journalists. After graduating from Wits University in 1980, Harber began his career as a cadet journalist on The Springs Advertiser, before moving to the Sunday Post. He later took part in the launch of The Sowetan as deputy chief sub-editor. He joined the Rand Daily Mail in 1981 and was political reporter of the paper when it closed in 1985. He was then part of the small group of journalists who pooled their retrenchment pay to start The Weekly Mail.

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

March 22, 2024
Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

May 17, 2023
Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

April 23, 2023
Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

February 22, 2018
Sowetan proves that sex still sells

Sowetan proves that sex still sells

105
It’s black. It’s beautiful. It’s ours.

Exclusive: Haffajee draws a line in the sand over racism

98
The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

44
Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

41
South Africa’s commerce media moment has arrived

South Africa’s commerce media moment has arrived

May 30, 2025
Seven Days on Social Media: Child Protection Week, #MyDisappointment and a soppy seal

Seven Days on Social Media: Child Protection Week, #MyDisappointment and a soppy seal

May 30, 2025
Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

May 29, 2025
The marketing mission remains clear

The marketing mission remains clear

May 29, 2025

Recent News

South Africa’s commerce media moment has arrived

South Africa’s commerce media moment has arrived

May 30, 2025
Seven Days on Social Media: Child Protection Week, #MyDisappointment and a soppy seal

Seven Days on Social Media: Child Protection Week, #MyDisappointment and a soppy seal

May 30, 2025
Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

May 29, 2025
The marketing mission remains clear

The marketing mission remains clear

May 29, 2025

ABOUT US

The Media Online is the definitive online point of reference for South Africa’s media industry offering relevant, focused and topical news on the media sector. We deliver up-to-date industry insights, guest columns, case studies, content from local and global contributors, news, views and interviews on a daily basis as well as providing an online home for The Media magazine’s content, which is posted on a monthly basis.

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads

ARENA HOLDING

Editor: Glenda Nevill
glenda.nevill@cybersmart.co.za
Sales and Advertising:
Tarin-Lee Watts
wattst@arena.africa
Download our rate card

OUR NETWORK

TimesLIVE
Sunday Times
SowetanLIVE
BusinessLIVE
Business Day
Financial Mail
HeraldLIVE
DispatchLIVE
Wanted Online
SA Home Owner
Business Media MAGS
Arena Events

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

 
Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?