The Power of The Owners

Throughout the century,newspaper owners have wielded tremendous influence.These proprietors have determined the political stance taken by  their papers.And,by choosing what to print and what not to print,they have controlled the flow of information to their readers.In 1947,the United States Commission on Freedom of the Press reported that free speech was not in danger from the government but from those who controlled access to the media.

In the United States the press has generally tried to appear impartial because its owners have been afraid of narrowing the readership by clinging to one political party.Many European newspapers,however,have made no attempts to disguise their political leanings.In Great Britain in 1914,Conservative Central Office provided nearly half the money to buy thr Observer.In the 1930s,Lord Rothermere used the fourteen newspapers he owned,which included the Daily Mail,as outlets for his support for European fascism.

After its defeat in World War II,Germany was divided into zones controlled by different allied powers.The differences between U.S. and British journalism became clear from the different press structures that were set up .In the British zone,newspapers were licenced to groups supporting one of the new legal political parties.In the U.S. zone,each paper had to have an editorial committee of all available parties – including,sometimes,Communists.

Traditionally most of the popular British papers,such as the Daily Express and Daily Mail,have supported the Conservation Party,a few,like the Daily Mirror,have supported the Labour Party.The sun newspaper supported the Labour Party until it was bought by media magnate Rupert Murdoch in the 1970s.It then became a rabble-rousing right-wing paper,strongly supporting the Conservative.When Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party in 1994 he decided that he needed the support of the Sun to oust the Conservation from power.He succeeded  in wooing Rupert Murdosh to the Labour cause and went on to win the 1997 general election.

At the begining of the century,most newspapers were family business.Now they are often part of national,or even multinational,media empires.Enormous influence rests in the hands of a few people.In Germany in 1978,the Springer organization had a huge influence on the press.In some areas of Germany it controlled sixty percent of the circulation,and on Sundays it had a complete monopoly.It owned both the powerful Die Welt and the largest circulation tabloid Bild-Zeitung.In the United States,at the end of the century,fewer than twenty corporations controlled most of the nation’s mass media.Five organizations dominated the World media,with Time Warner Inc, battling Rupert Murdosh’s News Corperation for the top slot.