Following the money

Throughout most of Labour’s time in office the British government was the world’s largest advertising spender, bigger even than Reckitt and Coleman. Newspaper revenue comes mostly from advertising, the cover price hardly covering even the costs of printing and distribution. Newspaper executives knew they had to bid for and win the government’s advertising money to stay in business and the Labour party knew they could use the advertising budget to persuade the newspapers to help keep them in power, threatening to withhold ad placement from newspapers who were not “with the project”. They stroked their single best customer with gusto. Their hospitality departments would have delivered smiles, free meals and parties, tickets to prestigious events, time at health spas, luxury holidays, maybe even cash in hand and share tips. There were suggestions that the Labour party took a hand in selecting newspaper editors, placing individuals they thought would be supportive of their “project”.
In the light of this week’s news it could be inferred that newspapers wanted more than money in reciprocation for political support, they wanted unfettered access to information to generate headline-selling scoops. They wanted and apparently got access to government ministers and departmental in-trays, freedom to bribe police officers, and to hack phones and computers, without fear of investigation and prosecution. A symbiotic relationship became established between government and the press funded with taxpayers’ money in chunks big enough to recapitalise a minor High St bank.
In between the government advertising placement department and the newspapers looking to pick up the contracts were a set of PR agencies who creamed off huge amounts in commission for placing advertisements, one of which was owned and run by the woman who went on to marry the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Tales of 6 figure payments for deals to promote the existence of benefits office schemes to help the poor abounded, at taxpayers’ expense.
One has to ask if the government is still placing advertising expenditure with News International but the continued existence of the Times Educational Supplement tells us that it does.