To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to monitor the effects on the media industry of patterns of ownership in that industry; and what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and (b) the Office of Fair Trading on the effects of patterns of ownership on the newspaper and broadcast media industry. (275106)

We are examining the media industry as a whole, including the current ownership structures, in the lead up to the Final Digital Britain Report, which will be published in the summer. In the Interim Digital Britain Report we invited the Office of Fair Trading, with Ofcom and other interested parties, to undertake an exploratory review across the local and regional media sector and make appropriate recommendations. We expect the results of that review to be available alongside the Digital Britain Report, which is a joint project between my Department and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

In addition, Ofcom are conducting a statutory review of ownership rules and should report back to me by the end of the year.