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No final decisions have yet been taken, but Department of Culture, Media and Sport officials are working very hard on the SMG solution on cross-media ownership rules, and some think it is the favourite.

It proposes a two-stage approach. There is the 'crude' share of revenue stage where anyone can own up to 30% of the revenue of a single medium, but no more than 25% of total media revenue.

Then there is the all-important 'subjective' stage. On top of the revenue test SMG has proposed there are media properties that because of their national reach or special influence should be deemed prime media assets.

No firm could own more than five of such prime assets.

If the scheme passes the test-to-destruction phase and makes it into the draft bill expected by the end of next month, then it will do so for one very particular reason.

While all the others pursued naked self-interest, SMG tried to solve a difficult problem for the government - how do you allow consolidation in the media without endangering diversity and plurality of opinion? The approach makes a virtue of an apparent weakness, by recognising that subjective judgements are inevitable when dealing with subjective concepts such as plurality.

There is a precedent. While recognising that the market was opening up for TV sports rights, the government took a subjective decision that some events could not be removed from national terrestrial TV.

SMG's initial stab at assembling a list of prime assets is interesting.

It includes all the national newspapers except the Daily Star, The People and The Sport. The Evening Standard in London is included.

Four big ITV franchises are listed - Carlton, LWT, Central and Meridian - plus the ITV Digital platform - which would enable one ITV. There are judged to be four prime radio assets - the three national stations plus Capital.

Under this scheme News Corporation is hit particularly hard. Apart from the four national papers, not just the Sky platform is included, but also Sky One, Sky News and Sky Sports 1, holders of FA Premiership rights.

The inclusion of a loss-maker such as Sky News could be a life-threatening issue.

Such a scheme, however, would not prevent News Corp expanding in regional newspapers, radio or magazines as long as it does not account for more than 25% of all media revenue in the UK.

If the government adopts the concept, it will be a double win for the canny Glaswegians. They will have the pleasure of knowing they have shaped part of the government's communication policy.

Then there is the coincidence that SMG owns only one prime media asset - Virgin Radio. It will therefore be able to expand in the media until the cows come home after Granada has taken it out of commercial TV.