There was fun of sorts at Independent News & Media's annual meeting on Wednesday at the Park Lane Hotel on Piccadilly. The ever-engaging Sir Anthony O'Reilly nearly handed a gift to his critics by reminiscing in bufferish style that he had stayed in the hotel before departing for the 1955 British Lions tour of South Africa.

Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian Prime Minister, who now adorns the board, waxed far too lyrical in defence of the newspaper group's governance.

An agreeably glitzy video defending the long-suffering Independent featured turns from Sir Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, Kirsty Young, the television newsreader and, best of all, Kevin Spacey, the actor, all praising the long-struggling, fourth-ranked quality newspaper, a publication that even Simon Kelner, the outgoing editor, conceded “punched above its weight”.

Spoiling the party were the men sent by Denis O'Brien - the Irish telecoms billionaire, who is an unhappy shareholder in Independent News & Media - to ask a string of hostile questions.

They tried, but their attacks on management continued to miss the point, allowing Sir Anthony to get away with far too much. Sadly, in the battle between the two Irish businessmen, neither, for the moment, is clearly in the right, which does not serve well those in the middle, whether newspaper readers, employees or shareholders.

The problem for Mr O'Brien is that his campaign lacks credibility. He starts with 25 per cent of the shares, and could defeat the board if he was able to persuade the unaligned to join his camp. Yet, apart from saying Sir Anthony is too old, and should sell the loss-making Independent in London, there is little substance.

It is far too easy for the company's spin machine to say that Mr O'Brien is motivated by anger - that, in particular he does not like the way the Independent titles in Ireland have reported the long-running Moriarty tribunal, which is seeking to establish whether ten years ago Mr O'Brien paid a bribe to Michael Lowry, the Energy and Communications Minister, to secure the second Irish mobile phone licence. The resulting phone business, Esat, was later sold to BT and is the basis of Mr O'Brien's wealth. He denies any wrongdoing.

It would be better if Mr O'Brien spelt out a full alternative strategy for the Independent group, or offered investors a straight choice by putting up his own directors. Relentless carping suggests he has no better ideas. Meanwhile, Sir Anthony's contact book and adept negotiating have helped the company to expand in South Africa, Australia and latterly India and Indonesia. While most newspaper groups in the developed world are in some sort of crisis, Independent News & Media looks like a growth stock because it has chased markets with long-term prospects.

Yet, Sir Anthony shows signs of arrogance too. There are 20 people stuffed on to Independent News & Media's board. Too many for a company turning over only €1.67 billion (£1.3 billion). Six are executives - too many again - and, outrageously, three are sons of the big man, only one of whom, Gavin, works for the company.

Some of the non-executives have been in place since the 1980s, but the suggestion at the annual meeting by Brian Hillery, the chairman, that long service makes somebody more, not less critical, is nonsense. Old friends get cosy instead.

In addition, the collection of trophy names, Ken Clarke, Baroness Jay and Brian Mulroney - all doubtless very able - smacks of Hollinger International under Lord Black of Crossharbour. Politicians, in particular, should know that perception matters - and non-executives are not there to be entertaining over lunch.

Sir Anthony does not need to do much. He should clear out the board and recruit more people with global experience. He might also weigh up his time commitment to Waterford Wedgwood, where he is chairman, and ask whether it interferes. Too much, in practice, is left to Gavin, who is chief operating officer, and perhaps the real boss. If that is so, then a promotion is due.

Independent News & Media is still a fairly successful business. But failing to sort out its obvious weakness in the way it is governed gives Mr O'Brien a partial legitimacy that his scattergun campaign does not deserve. One day, if he is ever outvoted, Sir Anthony might rue not introducing a few reforms himself.

Gannett is the US regional newspaper group that publishes the Glasgow Herald, and is one of the big four regional publishers. Calls to Gannett are seldom returned; in the UK its bosses make recluses look sociable, and the Americans seem uninterested in pesky Brits.

For years Gannett enjoyed high margins, like Johnston Press, and like Johnston it never really invested in digital. Now though, in the face of the decline in advertising, it has lopped more than £1 billion off the value of its UK papers. Executives say it does not mean the UK newspapers were bad buys, although the accountants seem to be saying they are worth little now. Is that a penalty for years of easy profit and under-investment? It certainly looks like it.

dan.sabbagh@thetimes.co.uk

Times Recommends

• London plunges as banks pump in billions
• Iceland halts trading in six deposit-takers
• Balfour Beatty gives up £2.25m after SFO probe