Prof Mr. Dr. Madeleine de Cock Buning sppech at Pan‐ European Forum on Media Pluralism and New Media une 27th 2012, European Parliament, Brussels

1. Media Monitoring Media Authority
Prof Mr. Dr. Madeleine de Cock Buning
A. Setting the stage (current framework)
Until January 1, 2011, specific rules existed with regard to a media companies’ share in one or more
media markets (i.e. the newspaper, television and radio market). With the repeal of the Act on media
concentration, thresholds to a media companies’ market share are fully subject to general competition
law.
The Dutch Media Authority provides transparency into the ownership relations of media organizations
and their market shares by means of monitoring since 2001. Monitoring is an important tool for
signaling trends and developments with regards to media concentrations. The Dutch monitoring
system is based on the supply chains of the media production process. Relating to this, four different
types of media concentration (or diversity) can be identified that may occur in media markets, namely:
a) supplier concentration,
b) editorial or programming concentration,
c) concentration of media content and
d) audience concentration.
Supplier concentration, editorial concentration and content diversity are concepts that refer to the
supply side of media markets whereas audience (or exposure) concentration relates to the demand
side of the market.1
Regulating and monitoring of media concentration all focus on external pluralism.2 The Dutch Public
Broadcasting Services (PSB) however furthermore contain a system for the safeguarding of internal
pluralism. The broadcast of different voices, targeted at various societal/religious groups in the
Netherlands, is built-in the PSB’s highly democratic model.
B. Today’s challenges
- Is a platform approach to media concentration regulation still appropriate?
The media landscape is traditionally segmented by medium type, with each type being characterized
by specific (technological) features. This typology is echoed in policies that are structured along the
lines of traditional media types like print, radio and television. For newspapers circulation criteria are in
use, for television there are either audience measures or the maximum number of licensees is limited.
For Internet similar restrictions, such as number of websites, can hardly be applied.
The ongoing technological developments have enabled true convergence between all sorts of media
types and continue to create new features which integrate one medium with another. The different
platforms are therefore no longer a profound basis for distinction.
A platform approach that focuses on the various distribution channels through which information is
disseminated is made redundant since convergence disregards the distribution technique and shifts
attention to the content itself.
1
In some countries we find in addition the concept of opinion power (e.g. Germany).
2
Internal pluralism reflects how social and political diversity are reflected in media content. External pluralism
covers the number of owners, media companies, independent editorial boards, channels, titles or programmes,
this type of pluralism is also known as the 'plurality' of suppliers. The Dutch Mediamonitor uses the more
statistical terms diversity and concentration. Diversity (a near synonym is variety) is the antonym of concentration,
if concentration is highest (e.g. 100 %) diversity is lowest and vice versa. “Concentration is the more common
term in certain areas of ecology (e.g., species concentration), economics, and quite naturally, studies of media
economics. Diversity is the more likely term in sociology, ecology, and most areas of communication.” (McDonald
& Dimmick, 2003, p. 60) McDonald, D. G. & Dimmick, J. (2003). The Conceptualization and measurement of
diversity. In: Communication Research, 60-79.

2. -Is a national approach still appropriate?
The media environment is rapidly changing: national boundaries are disappearing due to media
companies which have become increasingly internationally oriented. The largest media companies in
the Netherlands are for example the German Bertelsmann, Finnish Sanoma, Belgium Persgroep and
British Mecom. Media concentration policies therefore have a Pan European effect.
-Liberalization of media concentration law
In reaction to developments of convergence, the European scale and furthermore to help the
publishers of newspapers that severely suffer from loss of (advertisement) incomes, a ‘wave’ of
liberalization of media concentration law is started in The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and the UK. Acts
on media concentration are repealed and until today, not replaced by European media concentration
law.
C. Tomorrow’s solutions
-The question however is whether at this stage specific media concentration law should be made
European or liberalized further and include a monitoring system throughout Europe?
Based on our Dutch experience we believe that fixed thresholds to a media companies’ market share
are not necessary the most appropriate way to safeguard content diversity on a European level at this
stage. We can imagine a flexible model, such as the Dutch model on a European level: An effective
competition law that is able to react on strong signals/advices based on regular monitoring. Such a
model also leaves room to react with specific legislation if necessary at a later stage.
- European Monitoring
The objective of the European “Study on Indicators for Media Pluralism in the Member States -
Towards a Risk-Based Approach” under the lead of Peggy Valcke3 was to develop a monitoring tool
for assessing risks for media pluralism in the EU Member States and identifying threats to such
pluralism based on a set of indicators. This set of indicators could form a basis of a European
monitoring system. A less extensive monitoring design might however improve the willingness of
countries to participate and will enhance the reliability and comparability of the national results. It will
enable a long term monitoring.
- Focus on news and opinion function
In our view at least one of those indicators should be the focus on the news and opinion function of the
Media. The Scientific Council for Government Policy of the Netherlands suggested a future-proof
functional approach in its report “Media policy for the digital age”. Instead of a media type-driven policy
which is continually challenged and finally outdated by reality – and therefore of limited use – the
Council has taken a different approach by asking the question: what is the role or function that media
play now and are expected to play in our society in the coming decade?
The Council introduced a new policy paradigm that takes media functions as a strategic starting point.
One of the most prominent functions of media is - and remains - news and opinion (including current
affairs and debate).4 The Council provided estimates of the risk to society regarding different values
and came to the conclusion that diversity and independence of news is most important. Research
shows that news media have a strong impact on public opinion.
In an information society were the World Wide Web is an infinite space, the supply of diverse news
media is only the necessary condition for diverse news consumption. For these reasons, we favour a
monitoring tool which approaches news content from both the supply and demand side. The Dutch
Mediamonitor already introduced such a pilot study for monitoring opinion power. As there are
currently no longer regulations on media concentration in the Netherlands, the importance of signaling
concentration of power in public opinion formation has become even more important.
3
see: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/media_taskforce/pluralism/study/index_en.htm
4
Other functions defined by WRR were special b. information, c. culture, arts, education, c. entertainment and d.
Advertisements, persuasive information and other forms of commercial communication.

3. I come to a conclusion:
The traditional mindset of defining media solely in terms of medium types no longer provides an
appropriate perspective on the media landscape. Instead of distribution technique and supplier,
content and user are becoming increasingly important and are expected to become even more so in
the near future. Regulation of media concentration in a changing media landscape, is shooting at a
moving target.
European wide monitoring can provide a first safety net. For this we suggest using easy to assess
indicators including audience concentration (e.g. reach) and a focus on news media to monitor opinion
power on a European level.5 The Dutch Mediamonitor invites colleagues from monitoring departments
of the different European Media Authorities to work together on a pilot of a European monitoring
program.
5
A practical solution would be to include a set of questions on news consumption in the regular Eurobarometer
surveys of the European Commission to obtain data on a European scale, see
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm