Home Secretary warns BBC’s internet dominance damages local media
Home Secretary Theresa May has warned that the BBC’s dominant position on the internet poses a threat to both local and national media.
Addressing the Society of Editors May criticised the unfairness of a situation whereby the broadcaster was able to subsidise its online coverage with the license fee, thus squeezing out smaller operators.
Acknowledging that local newspapers were enduring a ‘particularly hard time’ May said: “That’s partly been the result of the BBC’s dominant position on the internet and its ability to subsidise the provision of internet news using the license fee. This makes it enormously difficult for local newspapers to compete. If the BBC can, as they do, provide all the locally significant news, what is left to motivate the local community to buy a paper?
“It’s destroying local newspapers and could eventually happen to national newspapers as well.”
May continued: “No single source of news can possibly represent the variety of opinion that is in this country. A monopoly news provider would be far too easily captured by special interests.”