Should foreign governments own UK newspapers?
Spectator (UK)Feb 02
UK: Telegraph Back Up for Sale After UAE-Backed Takeover Blocked
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The Facts
The Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph, and the Spectator Magazine are once again up for sale, after an acquisition of the media outlets by an investment firm with ties to the royal family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was blocked by the UK government.
RedBird IMI — a partnership between Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s vice-president, and the US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners — gained de facto control of the Telegraph titles in Dec. 2023, after settling a £600M ($749M) debt owed by the Barclays family.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The proposed RedBird IMI acquisition of the Telegraph titles forced the UK government and public to think about the extent to which national infrastructure — including its newspapers — should be in the hands of foreign governments. Clearly, having one of the UK's biggest titles under the control of a dictatorship, which restricts press freedom among its own people and journalists, isn't the best idea.
Establishment-critical narrative
While there are legitimate press freedom concerns about a UAE-backed investment fund owning a major British newspaper title, most of the discussion around this reeks of self-interest and hypocrisy. The UAE backers are in large part more respectable than many UK newspaper owners, and their deep pockets would likely make the Telegraph titles thrive again. Commotion by competitors over this sale can easily be reduced to fears over the media group’s revival.