Government favorite drops his bid to head UK media watchdog

LONDON (AP) — The man who was once Britain’s most powerful newspaper editor has dropped his bid to head the country’s broadcasting regulator. The decision is a blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre was the government’s favorite candidate to be chairman of Ofcom — so much so that when Dacre was rejected by the selection board, the government announced it would rerun the recruitment process. In a letter published in Saturday’s Times of London newspaper, Dacre said he was no longer interested in the job, “despite being urged to (reapply) by many senior members of the government.” Dacre said he believed his conservative views meant he would not be selected.