The Effect of the Wapping Revolution on British Journalism...

The Effect of the Wapping Revolution on British Journalism In 1986, when Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News International, moved production of his major titles (The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and The News of the World) from Fleet Street to Wapping, he set about an irreversible chain reaction in the structure of journalism in the UK. Although I believe that some kind of major political and technological change in the press was inevitable and arguably overdue by 1986, this essay will argue that the Wapping Revolution itself was bad for British journalism. Rupert Murdoch began monopolizing the UK news market when he bought The News of the World in 1968, followed soon after by The Sun, now†¦show more content†¦The first issue of The Sun contained a photograph of the Rolling Stones accompanied by a naked female and within 100 days the papers circulation leapt from 850,000 to 1.5 million. Women were routinely degraded through page 3 photos of nudes or near nudes. (Source: Despite The Sun -Spectacle productions, 1987) Stephen Koss, author of The Rise and Fall of the Political Press in Britain described Rupert Murdochs genre of newspaper proprietor as a businessman first and foremost. Koss argues that politics were less of a motive for the actions of newspaper owners and more of a method for achieving financial success. Unlike some of the UKs previous press barons, Murdoch was not driven by some altruistic or solely political motive in his acquisition of British newspapers. He is an entrepreneur, and his drive for media domination was predominantly financial: he wished his media investments to be safe, and hoped to achieve this by dominating the market. Until 1986, most of the major London-based newspapers were operating directly out of Fleet Street. The newspaper industry continued using printing methods which had remained largely unchanged since the birth of the printing press itself hundreds of yearsShow MoreRelatedThe News Corporation - Strategic Analysis7537 Words   |  31 PagesMurdoch, is known for his â€Å"strategic gambling† on investments there is a high chance that he gambles too much money away. But this has already been the case and due to his expertise this is not the most awful scenario. The revolution in the print sector does have an even worst effect, when Murdoch does not catch up. If he does not change or innovates his business unit he might lose competitive advantage or even has to sell other units to save his print unit. Introduction With several media divisionsRead MoreEdexcel Igcse Economics Answer49663 Words   |  199 Pagesproduct will also be low. If there are no bids at all this means that there is no demand and the product will go unsold. Sometimes on eBay there may be lots of people selling the same or very similar products. This means that supply is high and the effect will be to lower prices. Chapter 2 Getting started: (a) According to the table, when the price of fleeces is $50, 5,000 fleeces will be purchased per week. (b) As the price of fleeces goes up the number purchased per week falls. For example