Rupert Murdoch doesn’t even have to ask to get what he wants. George Monbiot reports.

In a lecture to students at the University of East London Nicholas Jones considered whether Britain is governed more effectively because of the power and patronage exercised by the news media. To what extent, he asked, does the British press serve the democratic process and help deliver better government?

Mike Jempson, Director of the MediaWise Trust, looks at some of the results of a recent research project into the quality and independence of British journalism.

In his new book, Flat Earth News, award-winning journalist Nick Davies argues that the main threat to truth-telling journalism has moved from propagandist proprietors such as Lord Beaverbrook to the corporations and their commercial interests exemplified by business magnate Rupert Murdoch.