The sale of the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator

[two sheds]

Ahhh but it's the Telegraph that fed you stories on the SNP in the first place

You'd have been a communist if it weren't for the british media.

 

[kabbes]

No. They are not. My vote is cast in favour of who can beat the SNP, which in this constituency is Labour.

And how did you get to the point where you believe it is the SNP that needs beating? Did you go and do all your own investigations? Search out all the economic data through your personal household Bloomberg terminal, did you? Go and personally choose who to interview about crime or taxes or whatever else is relevant, and then personally conduct and analyse those interviews? You committed your own polling to determine what was affecting people’s lives? And then personally go and gather the data to understand what was driving that?

No. You read newspapers. You watch television. You listen to the radio. It’s the people in charge of those things who decided what stories were worth telling. The agenda was set for what you should form an opinion about long before you even knew there was something to have an opinion on. If they’d told stories about different things instead, you wouldn’t even know it.

 

[Dogsauce]

This is what puzzles. Over a billion quid to buy 'influence'?

I read the physical Telegraph for over thirty years, then a change of editor and the disappearance of things I liked put me off it. I wrote to them telling them why I was binning it after three decades, and got a phone call with an offer of money off coupons from the then editor Tony Gallagher.

They never influenced my vote, I've been solidly Labour for a long time.

The kind of influence they will be looking for is on climate change issues. States that depend on oil for their wealth such as gulf states and Russia are looking to skew this debate, and promote Right wing / conspiracy idiots that believe anthropomorphic climate change is a myth. The telegraph and spectator already have a record for platforming climate ‘skeptics’ and other contrarian ringpieces so it’s a good fit for their agenda.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

This is beautiful. The editor of The Spectator demands the government intervenes in the free market to prevent the magazine being gobbled up by the UAE.

Strange that the cheerleaders for the selling off of steel, coal, water, electricity, gas, post and railways to the highest bidder don’t like it when it happens to them:

 

[cupid_stunt]

This looks like some good news.

The government is expected to commit to banning foreign governments from owning British newspapers and magazines, effectively blocking an Abu Dhabi-led takeover of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and Spectator magazine.

Sky News understands the commitment will see the government pledge to ban the foreign state ownership, influence or control of newspapers and news magazines in the UK.

The commitment, expected to be set out in the House of Lords this afternoon, will come in an amendment to the third reading of the Digital Markets Act, currently making its way through Parliament.

Foreign governments face ban on owning British newspapers - effectively blocking Abu Dhabi-led Telegraph takeover

While the Telegraph sale is on course to be blocked in its current form, it could potentially still get the go ahead if a different ownership structure is agreed.

news.sky.com

 

[MickiQ]

This looks like some good news.

Foreign governments face ban on owning British newspapers - effectively blocking Abu Dhabi-led Telegraph takeover

While the Telegraph sale is on course to be blocked in its current form, it could potentially still get the go ahead if a different ownership structure is agreed.

news.sky.com

What about foreign billionaires?

 

[cupid_stunt]

What about foreign billionaires?

Sadly a bit late for that.

 

[DaveCinzano]

BRITISH MEDIA EMPIRES FOR BRITISH BILLIONAIRES!

 

[cupid_stunt]

GB News' main backer, Paul Marshall, has managed to buy The Spectator, no mention if he's still in the running to buy The Telegraph.

GB News backer Sir Paul Marshall has acquired The Spectator media business in a £100m deal.

The acquisition has been completed through the hedge fund entrepreneur's Old Queen Street Ventures company, news agency PA has reported.

The Spectator and sister business Telegraph Media Group were both owned by the Barclay family until last year, but were put up for sale to help pay off debts from the family to Lloyds Bank.

https://www.insidermedia.com/news/national/sir-paul-marshall-completes-acquisition-of-the-spectator

ETA - apparently there's a new deadline for Telegraph bids of 27th Sept., Marshall is still in the running, as is National World, the regional newspaper group owned by David Montgomery, at least one other party whose identity has yet to be disclosed publicly, and separate bid orchestrated by Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor.

 

[PR1Berske]

Grim.