Ofcom wants regular reviews of media groups The periodic review would cover all news and current affairs outlets, including the BBC, and would examine their combined power in print, online and broadcasting on radio and television. It would take into account the "availability, consumption and impact" of those sources of information, measuring "volume" and "reach," under the regulator's proposals. Ofcom submitted its blueprint for tighter media regulation to Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, yesterday, in response to five questions he put to the regulator last November, amid widespread concerns that Rupert Murdoch had been allowed to have too much influence over the British media. The questions followed the collapse of News Corporation's £8bn bid to take full ownership of BSkyB, the pay-TV broadcaster in which it already has a 39pc stake. Mr Hunt is currently facing calls for his resignation over his handling of the deal and accusations that he acted as a "cheerleader" for Mr Murdoch's plan to merge the two companies. The periodic review of media influence proposed by Ofcom could sit alongside existing powers to block any mergers or acquisitions between media companies that threaten effective competition. However, the regulator called on Parliament to work out the detail of how this might be achieved. It also raised the prospect of introducing an "exit trigger," which would grant Ofcom the powers to review media ownership if a significant media owner sold part of its estate, thereby rebalancing the media landscape. Ofcom stopped short of recommending a specific cap to how much media any one organisation should control, for fear that it could be ruling out future deals that might help ensure the survival of some media sectors that are currently struggling. "A market share prohibition is simple to understand but it is also inflexible," Ofcom said. Setting absolute limits leaves no room to take account of the broader context.