Next-gen and the media

The ongoing scrutiny into press ethics in Britain is a serious affair no doubt, but the Leveson inquiry turned into a next-gen meeting this week, when the sons of three of the biggest owners of media groups showed up at the High Court in London.

Aidan Barclay, son of billionaire father Sir David Barclay, who has owned the Telegraph Media Group since 2004, turned up at the Leveson inquiry on 23 April. He was followed by fellow next-gen Evgeny Lebedev, the offspring of Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev.

Thirty-one-year-old Evgeny runs the family’s UK-based media operations, which includes top newspapers such as the London Evening Standard, The Independent, and The Independent on Sunday. His father bought The Independent for just £1 (€1.22) back in 2010.

And not far from the limelight was James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive and chairman of News Corporation. James was questioned the day after about the deal with BSkyB – News Corp has a big stake in the group – and his links to British politicians.

It seems in the world of media, next-gens are all the rage...