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12 February 2021updated 16 Feb 2021 12:52pm

Four men own Britain’s news media. Is that a problem for democracy?

The power of private owners has long been debated in British society, and – even after a decade of digital disruption – remains controversial.

By Dominic Ponsford

In March 1931, a few days before a by-election, Stanley Baldwin – the then leader of the opposition – gave a speech at the Queen’s Hall in London in which he lambasted the country’s biggest newspapers for their attacks on him, calling them “engines of propaganda for the constantly changing policies, desires, personal vices, personal likes and dislikes” of their owners, Lords Beaverbrook and Rothermere. 

Today, judging by recent disclosures about media meetings with ministers, one could be forgiven for thinking that little has changed.

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