Sir Alex Ferguson says television has too much power
This round-up of Tuesday's main media stories focuses on the relationship between TV and football.
Sir Alex Ferguson has accused football of selling its soul to television and claimed that broadcasters do not pay enough money given the amount of control they exert over the game, reports the Guardian. It says: "The Manchester United manager used his first in-depth BBC interview for almost a decade to berate the corrosive influence of television on the fixture list, despite the hundreds of millions of pounds it contributes to Manchester United's bottom line." http://
The BBC adds that in an exclusive interview with BBC North West Tonight, the Manchester United Boss claimed clubs did not have enough say when it came to fixtures and, as a result, those sides competing in Europe were worse off.
Journalists guilty of gross malpractice should be struck off a professional register to prevent them working in news, the shadow culture secretary will suggest at the Labour conference, reports the Guardian. It says today Ivan Lewis will propose a "system of independent regulation including proper like-for-like redress which means mistakes and falsehoods on the front page receive apologies and retraction on the front page".
ITV bosses have come under fire after "cramming a huge amount of adverts into Downton Abbey for a second week running", reports the Daily Mirror. It says: "Sunday's episode was watched by 9.6 million people. But more than 20 minutes of its 9pm to 10.15pm slot was filled with ads, leaving 54 minutes of drama." ITV said the cash generated from the ads allowed the station to produce quality programmes and the scheduling was within official Ofcom guidelines.
Richard Kay says in the Daily Mail a prominent London law firm is experiencing an unusual surge in divorce business from BBC employees, linked to the move to the new broadcasting centre in Salford. He quotes BBC Breakfast sports presenter - and former Strictly Come Dancing star - Chris Hollins: "This is an enormously emotional time for everyone involved. Going to Salford is a huge upheaval and people are not talking about the effect it is having on their lives."
Tuesday's newspapers reflect on day two of the Labour Party conference and look ahead to leader Ed Miliband's important speech on day three, as reported in the BBC's newspaper review.