‘Press Freedom’ Triumphs; Government Turns to Spin

Abstract

Despite being set up by the government to confirm its suspicions about the malign effect of press barons and the corrupting influence of commerce and therefore to justify positive action, the Royal Commission ended up doing the exact opposite. Not only did it decide against recommending radical changes to the industry, but when the Commissioners eventually issued their report they had become extremely sceptical about the benefits of any positive action by the government. They came down heavily on the side of maintaining free market mechanisms. ‘In our view’ they said, ‘free enterprise in the production of newspapers is a prerequisite of a free press’.¹