Corporate governance issues have risen to prominence in recent years as a result of corporate scandals and misbehavior of executives. The U.S. cable TV operator Adelphia was driven into bankruptcy in 2002 and its controlling family forced out of the company following disclosures of questionable financial transactions between the company and family members. The French firm Vivendi Universal in 2003 paid $50 million in fines for misrepresenting its condition in accounting and financial statements. Time Warner in 2004 agreed to pay $510 million in fines to settle charges of securities fraud involving accounting irregularities in AOL. Shareholder lawsuits charging boards and executives at media companies with ignoring interests of shareholders have been filed against most major media companies in recent years, including Bertelsmann, Walt Disney Co., CanWest, and Belo Corp. Such developments have focused attention on the need for transparency and trust between firms, investors, and the public. They have raised governance issues related to representation on boards of directors, authority and responsibilities of directors, independence of directors, independence of financial auditors, clarity and independence in determining executive compensation, and relations between boards and executives. Debates over corporate governance are fundamentally related to concepts of capital, ownership, control, and management and the importance of governance issues are increased when companies offer shares on stock markets. Corporate Governance: Issues and Challenges - Robert G. Picard
What is a monopoly? - exists when a specific individual or an enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it Why is it important to ensure that no single media producer in the UK has a monopoly? Monopolies derive their market power from barriers to entry - circumstances that prevent or greatly impede a potential competitor's entry into the market or ability to compete in the market. Why is consumer choice important? – Consumers should have the right to access or purchase goods or services which are relevant and/or required. Human Rights (EU) Law. What is censorship? the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society. Not all censorship is equal, nor does all arise from government or external force. People self-censor all the time; such restraint can be part of the price of rational dialogue. Why do some people think there is a fine line between censorship and protecting the public interest? The rule historically has been, and continues to be, repression and suppression of disfavored ideas. The one redeeming fact is that, in most parts of the world, the ideal of liberty is embraced at least theoretically, and no state openly claims a commitment to religious, intellectual, artistic, or political censorship. The universal philosophical embrace of free expression is reflected in the many covenants and declarations that have been passed in support of freedom and human rights; these include the UN Charter (1945), the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the UN Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966), the European Convention on Human Rights (1953), the Helsinki Final Act (1975), and the American (Western Hemisphere) Convention on Human Rights (1978). These documents form the basis of the hope that the Internet might yet succeed in realizing its promise of providing a free and unencumbered flow of information throughout the world. Why should under 18s be subject to particular consideration by regulators? Concerns about children’s viewing vary amongst parents and carers. Most, however, agree that children under 10 are the most vulnerable and so in need of protection . Viewers and listeners make a distinction between channels which appeal to a wide- ranging audience, including children, and those that attract a smaller, niche audience, unlikely to appeal to children. Although broadcasters of these niche channels still carry a responsibility towards a potential child audience, the majority of homes do not contain children and viewers and listeners have a right to expect a range of subject matter. (Ofcom)
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