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Making the news

24 March 2011 / Tom Robinson , Conor Quigley KC
Issue: 7458 / Categories: Features , Media , Commercial
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Tom Robinson & Conor Quigley QC provide a guide through the maze of competition & media plurality

In the UK, News Corp already has a huge role in the reporting of news and, hence, the way in which it is portrayed. The Sun and The Times are among the most widely read newspapers in the country and, while News Corp currently does not wield this comparable control in broadcasting, it now appears this is going to change.

News Corp’s proposed takeover of BSkyB, of which News Corp currently owns 39.1%, has come under intense public scrutiny with, initially, concerns over competition issues such as product bundling and, more controversially, issues of media plurality. The transaction was signed off by DG Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, who said he was “confident that this merger will not weaken competition in the UK”. The issue of media plurality though, he left to the UK authorities to decide—as he is obliged to do.

Merger controls

Merger controls exist to stop the formation of firms which can

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
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