Lord Black Explores Press Freedom in Oxford

By Matthew Adeiza

The greatest threat to British newspaper is not necessarily government control but the challenge of maintaining financial profitability.  If newspapers are not financially sustainable their freedom will be seriously curtailed. Lord Guy Black took this position while giving a lecture on the invitation of Oxford Media Society at Queen’s College, November 17, 2011. 

Lord Black, Executive Director of Telegraph Media Group, traced the origin of government efforts to control the press to the Licensing of the Press Act 1662 which sought to control the publication of seditious and libellous materials. The Act expired by the 1695 and was not renewed by the Commons. 

He noted that a renewed effort to curtail media excesses towards the end of the last century due to the perceived role of the paparazzi in Princess Diana’s death has not been significantly successful because of changing media technologies that make statutes obsolete before they can be reviewed. 

Drawing from his extensive experiences in media and politics, Lord Black submits that emphasis on self-regulation by media organizations and journalists rather than strict government regulation is the best solution to public concern about media excesses. 

He reasons that if the media are constrained through laws not to freely perform their duties democracy will suffer with its attendant consequences. This is particularly important in the digital age where there is a crisis of trust of online information. The traditional media continue to provide a source of authoritative information people can rely on.

The Telegraph boss concludes that despite general concern, which he shares, about government initiatives, especially after the phone hacking scandal, media organizations must solve their financial problems by taking advantage of digital opportunities to expand their reach and flow of income. He acknowledges that it is a herculean task as some smaller newspapers have already closed down but insists that papers need to survive to ensure the plurality of voices that characterises democracy.   

Lord Black also answered questions from the audience on a wide range of issues especially the values that have stood the Daily Telegraph out in a challenging media environment. In response, he explained that his paper’s success is due largely to “authoritative, vigorous and comprehensive journalism”.

The lecture was the last in the series organised by the Oxford Media Society for Michaelmas Term. It was also the last for Timothy Williams as the president of the society, after a successful tenure from March - December 2011.

On the whole, it was a wonderful way to end what proved an exciting term that brought us in intellectual contact with some of the best journalists and media executives in the UK. A peep into next term planned activities shows a more loaded time ahead.

Lord Black to Speak at Oxford Media Society

By Matthew Stokes

Lord Black

Three weeks ago, the Oxford Media Society hosted Andrew Mullins, MD of The Independent and The Evening Standard. If you were there you will know the enormous challenges which print media are currently facing. If not, you will nevertheless realise that the traditional newspaper is facing a task of Herculean proportions to hold its own in this age of digital media.

One title on the newsstands that is holding its own while adapting to the new climate is The Daily Telegraph. The widest-circulating quality daily, it sells over 600,000 copies a day (The Times, in second place, does not break the 500,000 barrier). The Sunday Telegraph, while losing to The Sunday Times, is also weathering this seemingly endless storm remarkably well. Circulation has fallen by just over 5% in the past year; The Sunday Times has lost a tenth of its readers over the same period.

Something, clearly, is being done right. Few people are better placed to tell us what this is than Lord Black, Executive Director of Telegraph Media Group, which owns both newspapers, as well as Telegraph.co.uk and their respective mobile and tablet versions. He will be speaking to Oxford Media Society on Thursday, November 17, 2011.

Lord Black has had a long and distinguished career in the press and media. After graduating from Peterhouse, Cambridge, with a double first in History and winning the Sir Herbert Butterfield Prize for History, he joined the Conservative Party Research Department for three years, before working as Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Energy.

After the 1992 election, he worked for the lobbying firm Westminster Strategy and PR consultants Good Relations. Four years later, he became Director of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). Following the death of Princess Diana, he tightened constraints on the Press, specifically to control intrusion on the young princes’ privacy. When the Human Rights Act was enacted in 1998, Black lobbied to protect freedom of expression in the press.

Seven years later, Black became Director of Communications for the Conservative Party, and was also Press Secretary to then-leader Michael Howard, before joining Telegraph Media Group in 2005, the post he still holds today.

Lord Black holds several other notable positions both within and outside the media sector. Since 2009, he has been Chairman of the Press Standards Board of Finance, which funds the PCC, and also sits on the Advertising Standards Board, which funds the Advertising Standards Agency. As Chairman of the Commonwealth Press Union Media Trust he works to maintain and enhance press freedom throughout the Commonwealth. He is also a Trustee of the Imperial War Museum and sits on the Council of the Royal College of Music.

In 2010, he was made a peer in the House of Lords as Baron Black of Brentwood. Despite his life in media, his first speech was on the role of older women in civic society and the particular problems of osteoporosis.

His diverse background is particularly relevant at this difficult time for the press. As well as the difficulties of new media, Lord Black will undoubtedly have much interesting insight into the PCC, which is currently being scrutinised by the Leveson inquiry.

Lord Black will be speaking to the Oxford Media Society this Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 8pm, in the Shulman Auditorium, The Queen’s College. If you will be attending, please indicate on Facebook  by clicking here.

Everyone is more than welcome, though it costs £2 for non-members while being free to members. Annual membership fees cost £10 only. Hope to see you there!