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News Corp head sees Facebook as a competitor and wants publishers to create alternative 'networks'

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

July 1, 2016 | 2 min read

Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, has expressed a fear that media groups must create their own networks in order to compete with Facebook which is making its ecosystem slightly less publisher-friendly in a push to emphasise user content.

Robert Thomson

Robert Thomson

Earlier this week Facebook said it was going to show users “more posts from your friends and family” with a tweak to its algorithm. This of course means that media outlets will have a harder time reaching their followers with contributions to the company via post boosting.

Speaking in the aftermath of News Corp’s acquisition of Wireless Group, owner of Virgin Radio and TalkSport, Thomson, said: “Media platforms need to extend their reach to compete more forcefully with the likes of Facebook.

“The dependency on those dominant social platforms show it is imperative for media companies to create their own network effect.”

He said the company wants to create a competitor network of its own, as Facebook looks set to “reduce the prominence, if not remove, various news sources”.

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