Stop Rupert Murdoch Dominating The Media

Rupert Murdoch is on a fast track to control over half of this country’s newspapers and television. This week is our chance to tell regulators to stand up for a wide choice of news, and defend our democracy. Berlusconi dominates the media in Italy, lets not go even further down that path.

Britain loses if Murdoch wins. With all of the BSkyB TV network his massive dominance of our media would become further entrenched, extending his power and political influence. Here and elsewhere Murdoch has used his reach to promote conservative political candidates, the persecution of minorities, climate change denial and the dangerous lies that led to the invasion of Iraq.

We have until Friday to stop this! Let’s flood the regulator with thousands of submissions saying why we feel this deal is against the public interest. We’ll deliver tens of thousands of comments in boxloads to Ofcom’s offices on Friday, making a media splash. Send yours now via the link below, and encourage everyone you know to do the same today.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/ofcom_no_bskyb_takeover/?vl

Murdoch’s News Corporation already owns 39% of the BSkyB television company and four of our best-selling newspapers. His new expansion bid rides roughshod over the ‘media plurality’, which the government has a legal duty to uphold. Regulator Ofcom is accepting public comments on Murdoch’s plans for just a few days.

This deal would allow Murdoch to cross-promote his different outputs and increase his political roles. For 30 years no British political party has won an election without Murdoch's blessing. This ability to get voters’ attention gives him frequent access to the prime minister - hence his nickname the ‘24th member of the cabinet’.

This is a fight for the soul of British democracy. We cannot afford to have one company dominate half of our TV, newspaper and online news. From illegal spying at the News of the World here to his hate-filled Fox News empire in the U.S., Murdoch’s media erodes the values we hold dear and shows few scruples when attacking political or commercial rivals - now including the BBC.

The Avaaz movement in Canada recently proved that determined campaigning can block conservative media takeovers. Let’s do it again here. Ofcom has given until this Friday for anyone to submit comments on whether this deal is in the public interest. Let’s send a message today and tell everyone we know.