Sunday 10 July 2011

News of the World

Rupert Murdoch’s media empire may be stirred, but is not shaken – yet. Last week’s events in the UK has implications on three continents, where his tentacles have got hold of the media.

Peter Oborne, Chief Political Commentator of The Daily Telegraph, wrote a scathing analysis on Mr. Murdoch’s influence on Britsh politicans Phone hacking: David Cameron is not out of the sewer yet

"For more than three decades the most powerful man in Britain has not been a politician; it has been the brilliant but ruthless US-based media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, who burst on to the scene with the purchase of the News of the World in an audacious takeover bid in 1968. Within barely a decade he had built up a controlling interest in British newspapers.

"But he did not just control our media. He dominated British public life. Politicians – including prime ministers – treated him with deference and fear. Time and again the
Murdoch press – using techniques of which we have only just become aware – destroyed political careers. Murdoch also claims to determine the results of general elections.

"Rupert Murdoch’s empire has been a spider at the heart of an intricate web that has poisoned British public life.

"Murdoch used his power to immense effect, undermining and attacking our greatest public institutions – above all the monarchy and the judiciary. His employees believed they were above the law and could act with impunity".

3 comments:

Nuno Castelo-Branco said...

mr. Murdoch, the global bandit.

Adminstrator said...

I think Murdoch's company certainly turned a blind eye to a number of unethical practices but I think the whole media in the UK does so as well. I think the real reason for the focus on Murdoch is his influence with British PMs and of course on politics in the US with Fox News.

Adminstrator said...

Btw, as a monarchist myself I'm not certain that Murdoch's company specifically targeted the Royals for tabloid journalism anymore than they did any other public figures. In otherwords, I don't know that Murdoch is a republican trying to put the Royals into disrepute so much as his company allows employees to write sensationalist stuff on the Royals just to sell papers - as all the tabloids in Britain do!