Media Ownership

What are the problems with 'big media' according to Free Press?
Free Press claims that government officials and corporations have made "corrupt media policy behind closed doors". They state that this has led to "corporate control" over our media, which can only be changed if the public are allowed a say when media policies are made. They have 4 goals to achieve internet freedom:
- to work for "true net Neutrality"
- strong protection for phone users
- public use of public airwaves
- universal access to high-speed internet
Therefore, they have identified these things as problems and are aiming to combat them to ensure freedom for all. In addition to this, they claim that it's easy for broadcast companies to use more free airspace while doing less to serve the public with the aid of lobbyists. So they're not fulfilling the programming needs of the community even though the broadcasters make billions in profit and use the broadcasting airwaves for free.

Summary of 'Is the British Film Dead':

The UK Film Council boasted about the amazing success of British films - however none of these allegedly successful films were British; instead they were made by foreign studios.
Hollywood Accountancy:
This is where Roosevelt launched a propaganda campaign to encourage the American people to call for a war, after he couldn't get the Congress to support him in helping Britain in WW2. Studio moguls agreed to produce anti-German films in return for financial control exemptions. Thus, Hollywood Accountancy.
Some say work is provided for UK film-makers because foreign film distributors assign productions to the UK. Conversely, it has been stated by John Peters that American films are produced here because the British are more obedient and it's 30% cheaper.
Today the Hollywood Six (see left) control 84% of our domestic market; with this and the fact that the French company Pathé controls around 12%, the UK industry is left with about 4% market share. A national film industry doesn't exist until it has at least 20% of its home market - therefore meaning that it's not a national industry in the UK. When JK Rowling was approached to sell the rights to her Harry Potter books she wanted them to go to a British studio but there wasn't one so she sold them to Warner Bros. So they weren't even made by a British studio despite what the UK Film Council says about it's success.
People say that Britain cannot afford to produce such movies like Harry Potter - however, this is not the case because banks are investing billions everyday into different things.
There is a law that if a foreign production company wants an American star they must pay a tariff - this is the star's price multiplied by 3 (a.k.a Working Title rate). It's known as the Working Title rate because Working Title was the first to pay this tariff.