UK Publishing Media - an £18bn alliance
Thursday 25 January 2001. The UK's £18bn publishing industries have today announced the formation of UK Publishing Media - a new alliance to ensure positive recognition of the expanding role of publishing and its associated businesses in the development of the knowledge and information economy. The alliance is intended to increase the representational effectiveness of the publishing sector in the context of convergence and also competition with other interests.
Four major associations covering national, regional and local newspapers, magazine and business to business media, books and journals are leading the alliance.
The creation of UK Publishing Media reflects the rapidly evolving nature of publishing into a range of connected and overlapping businesses, from conventional (print on paper) publishing to on line services and business information to exhibitions and events. Collectively the sector is one of the largest investors in the information society and many leading websites are among the more than 3,000 coming under the new umbrella.
In a joint statement issued today the four organisations made it clear that they would maintain their individual identities while being committed to working increasingly closely together in areas of common interest.
The statement said:
"The associations forming UK Publishing Media have traditionally represented the main print on paper publishing sectors. These are now increasingly engaged in interactive media development and are major investors in the Information Society.
"This process of transition has prompted the repositioning of the publishing sector as primary players in a rapidly evolving interactive industry. The alliance serves the objective of securing the government's recognition of this role and a corresponding involvement in the policy making process.
"The creation of UK Publishing Media will increase the representational effectiveness of the publishing media sector, recognising convergence and community of interests.
"The objectives of UK Publishing Media will be to develop stronger representation for example to government and be able better to balance the competing or conflicting interests of other major lobby groups on matters ranging from IT development, regulation and competition issues, freedom to publish, freedom of information, copyright and data protection.”
The four organisations have agreed that their involvement in UK Publishing Media will be based on the principles of sovereignty, subsidiarity and proportionality” - principles which will enable a flexible approach to working practice enabling the most appropriate organisation to lead or co-ordinate on a given issue.
Ends
Further information from:
David Newell, The Newspaper Society, Bloomsbury House 74-77 Great Russell Street London WC1B 3DA Tel: 020 7636 7014
Ronnie Williams OBE, Publishers Association, 1 Kingsway, London WC2B 6XF Tel: (020) 7565 7474
Steve Oram, Newspaper Publishers Association, 34 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9EU Tel: 020 7207 2200
Ian Locks, Periodical Publishers Association, Queens House, 28 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JR Tel: 020 7404 4166
