Google backs local newspaper mergers in the UK

Google will on Tuesday argue that UK publishers such as Trinity Mirror and Johnston Press should be allowed to merge, because of the competition they face from the search engine giant and other Internet companies. A Google submission to the Office of Fair Trading will say that the competition authority should relax existing rules that have prevented a coming together of any two of the "big four" publishers — whose ranks also include Daily Mail and General Trust and Gannett's Newsquest. In the letter, Matt Brittin, the managing director of Google UK, said: "Google supports the position of many newspapers for the need to allow for a 21st century merger regime, allowing local and regional news services to merge and consolidate in order to create...competitive news offerings".