The Newspaper Publishers Association has taken on agency support as
the Communications Bill makes its way through Parliament.
Major NPA concerns over the Bill are too much content regulation and
ambiguity over the role of the proposed communications super-regulator
Ofcom.
Bell Pottinger Public Affairs has been hired to handle the NPA public
affairs account, with a focus on the Bill's transition. BPPA managing
director Peter Bingle leads the account, reporting to Steve Oram, NPA
director.
Although the NPA represents all national newspaper publishers, Bingle
denied the agency will be working for individual publishers' concerns,
such as a bid by Rupert Murdoch to build a stake in terrestrial TV.
The Government indicated last week that competition regulations are
still set to prevent the media mogul's BSkyB from investing in ITV or
Channel 5.
