Murdoch's Scandal - Lowell Bergman (the journalist portrayed by Al Pacino in The Insider) has investigated News Corporation for PBS Frontline [transcript]. He depicts Rupert Murdoch's British operation as a criminal enterprise, routinely hacking the voicemail and computers of innocent people, and using bribery and coercion to infiltrate police and government over decades. Enemies are ruthlessly "monstered" by the tabloids. Bergman also spoke to NPR's Fresh Air [transcript]. But the hits keep coming: in recent days News Corp has been accused of hacking rival pay TV services and promoting pirated receiver cards in both the UK and Australia. With the looming possibility of prosecution under America's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, how long will shareholders consider Rupert Murdoch irreplaceable? [Previous 1 2 3 4]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Mar 28, 2012 - 58 comments

As the empire of Murdoch begins to fall, descriptions of the harm his empire has caused are appearing.
posted by bitmage on Aug 1, 2011 - 49 comments

A charity auction whose grand prize was a business lunch with Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch has been won by David Brock. Brock is the CEO of Media Matters, a group consistently critical of Murdoch.

Auction site Charity Buzz described the auction as a "once in a lifetime chance" to sit with Murdoch "face to face over a friendly lunch and get his feedback firsthand on your proposed business ideas." It said it was valid for a total of six people and would be held in New York at a "mutually convenient" time with Murdoch covering the cost of lunch. "Winner will be subject to security screening and background check," it stipulated.
Media Matters founder and chief executive David Brock expects the lunch to go ahead. "I look forward to this opportunity to have a friendly lunch with Rupert Murdoch, along with five of my invited guests," Brock said in a statement. "I will soon contact Mr. Murdoch's office to determine a mutually convenient time and place in New York," he added.
posted by Jon_Evil on Nov 11, 2010 - 33 comments

Ricken Patel, of Avaaz vs. Kory Teneycke, VP Development of Montreal-based Quebecor Media (15-second commercial before TV-debate). Quebecor's lawyer's are now threatening to sue Avaaz if they do not withdraw their online petition to keep Sun Media (owned by Quebecor) from getting a "must-carry" license for a proposed news channel being referred to as "Fox News North". [more inside]
posted by molecicco on Sep 9, 2010 - 41 comments

Live footage (in Georgian) as special police forces shut down dissident Georgian TV station IMEDI amid Tbilisi protests; the anchor staunchly trods on (transl. English by RussiaToday). IMEDI TV is co-owned by News Corp.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 7, 2007 - 28 comments

Newsfilter: Murdoch Buys The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones After some protests from editors about what sort of control News Corp. would have over the paper, a deal has been reached with the Bancroft family that runs the paper to sell for $5 billion. Murdoch gave up some demands for editorial control but still has the ability to hire and fire editors at will, making this the same sort of fig leaf agreement he made with the Times of London.
posted by destro on Jul 6, 2007 - 53 comments

Wall Street Journal owners officially considering joining the Borg
Minority owner Jim Ottoway vehemently opposed. One wonders what the opinion of a Senator from New York is?
posted by specialk420 on May 31, 2007 - 27 comments

Rupert Murdoch Is the CEO of Fox News's parent company, News Corp., and owns a controlling interest. So it might surprise you that he's hosting a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. Is he simply rewarding a reliable big-business vote, Or does he see a change in the winds? He tends to support who's ever in power, including "Liberal" Tony Blair and the Chinese Government. Or maybe he's just being friendly.
posted by delmoi on May 19, 2006 - 42 comments

Notice: henceforth, the Minister of War shall address the people only through the Ministry of Truth. The story-behind-the-story of the Vice President's hunting mishap is the denigration of the MSM^TM as the traditional proxy of the public interest, says NYU journalism professor and media critic Jay Rosen. "It strikes me that the Corpus Christi Caller-Times is just as valid a news outlet as The New York Times is," Cheney told cherry-picked Fox "News" correspondent Brit Hume yesterday. GOP spokesperson Mary Matalin underlined the point by saying that Cheney considered holding a news conference, but that "would have meant a lot of grandstanding" by reporters; Donald Rumsfeld often goes even farther, claiming that terrorist organizations manipulate the American press directly through "media committees." Judging by the administration's contempt for the Fourth Estate, says Rosen, "The public visibility of the presidency itself is under revision. More of it lies in shadow all the time. Non-communication has become the standard procedure, not a breakdown in practice but the essence of it." Even arch-conservative pundits like George Will are starting to get nervous about the lack of check and balances under the current regime. There's no doubt that the White House press corps seems angrier these days -- but are they missing the bigger stories by focusing their wrath on Scott McClellan's birdshot spin?
posted by digaman on Feb 16, 2006 - 34 comments