Critics say move will help president's media friends · Advisers study BBC model in drive to improve quality Nicolas Sarkozy was accused yesterday of lining the pockets of his media tycoon friends and exerting a Berlusconi-style grip on the airwaves, after he announced a plan to ban advertising from public television and revolutionise French state TV along the lines of the BBC. Sarkozy, who moves in a circle of wealthy television owners and press barons and counts "Télépresident" among his numerous nicknames, surprised even his own culture minister this week when he announced...
photo: AP/Virginia Mayo
