Ireland to introduce cross-media ownership rules
Denis OBrien - Irelands wealthiest individual in Haiti in 2010. Photograph: Antonio Bolfo/Getty Images
Ireland, a country where one man dominates the media (and it isnt Rupert Murdoch, by the way), has finally drawn up guidelines on media ownership.
They say, according to an Irish Times report, that it is undesirable for one person, or a single business, to hold excessive influence. And they advise the introduction of a public value test for future media industry consolidation.
The draft guidelines, which will be published today by Irelands communications minister Alex White, will apply across print, broadcast and online.
They will set out thresholds that specify how many shares or holdings are needed to be able to influence the direction or policy ... with regard to news, current affairs or cultural content.
Doubtless to the relief of the man who bestrides the Irish media landscape, Denis OBrien, the rules will not apply retrospectively.
So he will not need to divest any of his holdings. He is the biggest shareholder in Independent News & Media (INM), which publishes Irelands two largest selling titles, the Irish Independent and the Sunday Independent.
Although he has only a 29.9% stake, he effectively controls INM. Through another company, Communicorp, OBrien owns two popular national radio stations, Today FM and Newstalk. The latter supplies news bulletins to some 20 local stations around the country.
Under the draft guidelines, his INM stake would be deemed as a controlling entity. The guidelines say that a holding or voting strength of more than 20% ... will generally constitute a significant interest, while a 10% share could also constitute a significant interest.
A significant interest is defined as having sufficient voting, financial or ownership strength to influence direction or policy.