The first (1947–49) proposed the creation of a General Council of the Press to govern behaviour, promote consumer interests and conduct research into the long-term social and economic impact of the print industry.
The second royal commission (1961–62) studied the economic and financial factors affecting the press, whilst the third (1974–77) proposed the development of a written Code of Practice for newspapers.
"[2] The commission was founded amidst public concern that a concentration of ownership was inhibiting free expression, leading to factual inaccuracies and allowing advertisers to influence editorial content.
According to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), such changes had led to 'a progressive decline in the calibre of editors and in the quality of British journalism'.
The members of the commission were appointed by royal warrant on 14 April 1947, with Sir William David Ross – the pro-vice chancellor of the University of Oxford and fellow of the British Academy – chosen as chairman.
The other members were Ernest Darwin, Baron Simon of Wythenshawe; Sir Charles Geoffrey Vickers; Sir George Alexander Waters; George Malcolm Young; Hubert Hull; John Benstead; Eirwen Mary Owen; Melbourn Evans Aubrey; Neil Scobie Beaton; Lady Violet Bonham-Carter; Robert Charles Kirkwood Ensor; John Boynton Priestley; Wright Robinson; Gilbert Granville Sharp; Reginald Holmes Wilson; and Barbara Frances Wootton.
[6] However, the commission did not believe that the United Kingdom's media could be characterized as being a monopoly and dismissed claims that advertisers had undue influence.
The second Royal Commission on the Press was established "to examine the economic and financial factors affecting the production and sale of newspapers, magazines and other periodicals in the United Kingdom, including (a) manufacturing, printing, distribution and other costs, (b) efficiency of production, and (c) advertising and other revenue, including any revenue derived from interests in television; to consider whether these factors tend to diminish diversity of ownership and control or the number or variety of such publications, having regard to the importance, in the public interest, of the accurate presentation of news and the free expression of opinion.
[13] The commission chair proposed the development of a written Code of Practice, saying "it is unhappily certain that the Council has so far failed to persuade the knowledgeable public that it deals satisfactorily with complaints against newspapers".