Saturday, July 16, 2011
Rupert’s scandal – and the familiar ideological fault lines
Reading, watching and listening to all the discussions about the scandal swirling around Rupert Murdoch, it’s interesting (though not terribly surprising) how the controversy has become a hot ideological topic. For the record, let’s see if we can all agree on a few points:
-- Of course the voice-mail hacking/bribery/invasion-of-privacy charges are serious and shocking.
-- Of course liberals, including many MSM journalists, are taking particular glee in seeing Rupert’s conservative-media empire taking a beating.
-- Of course conservatives, including many bloggers and pundits, are trying to change the subject and/or downplay the controversy.
-- Of course the reaction of liberals and conservatives would be exactly reversed if such a scandal hit NPR or the New York Times.
OK, finished. Just straightening out and clarifying the ideological battle lines.
Btw: Small confession - I initially felt an odd sense of satisfied awe (not to be confused with glee) in seeing the News of the World closed. It was tied to a sense of justice, i.e. NOTW had it coming. It's behavior was that egregious. But I think the empire bashing should end there, assuming no similar allegations emerge involving Rupert's other holdings. Does anyone really want the Times of London to close? The NY Post? The Wall Street Journal? Fox News? OK, so some would want to see the entire News Corp. empire collapse or seriously weakened (see ideological fault-line clarifications above). But Rupert has created and saved more journalism jobs in recent years than most other media companies combined. The money-losing Times and Post are alive today for one reason and one reason alone: Rupert keeps them going as trophy holdings. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs at stake. Eliminating them is not something to cheer for.
Update -- Obviously, I should have also pointed out Rupert's local holdings: The Cape Cod Times, The Standard-Times (New Bedford), The Portsmouth Herald (N.H.) and a slew of weeklies in southeast Massachusetts. His News Corp. also owns WFXT-Channel 25 in Boston. ...
Mort Zuckerman, who owns the rival New York Daily News, made a good point last night on the McLaughlin Group that U.S. television licenses stipulate they can't be held by convicted criminals. If Rupert or his company is ever criminally convicted in the U.K., News Corp.'s broadcast TV empire here could be in jeopardy, Mort suggested.
Reading, watching and listening to all the discussions about the scandal swirling around Rupert Murdoch, it’s interesting (though not terribly surprising) how the controversy has become a hot ideological topic. For the record, let’s see if we can all agree on a few points:
-- Of course the voice-mail hacking/bribery/invasion-of-privacy charges are serious and shocking.
-- Of course liberals, including many MSM journalists, are taking particular glee in seeing Rupert’s conservative-media empire taking a beating.
-- Of course conservatives, including many bloggers and pundits, are trying to change the subject and/or downplay the controversy.
-- Of course the reaction of liberals and conservatives would be exactly reversed if such a scandal hit NPR or the New York Times.
OK, finished. Just straightening out and clarifying the ideological battle lines.
Btw: Small confession - I initially felt an odd sense of satisfied awe (not to be confused with glee) in seeing the News of the World closed. It was tied to a sense of justice, i.e. NOTW had it coming. It's behavior was that egregious. But I think the empire bashing should end there, assuming no similar allegations emerge involving Rupert's other holdings. Does anyone really want the Times of London to close? The NY Post? The Wall Street Journal? Fox News? OK, so some would want to see the entire News Corp. empire collapse or seriously weakened (see ideological fault-line clarifications above). But Rupert has created and saved more journalism jobs in recent years than most other media companies combined. The money-losing Times and Post are alive today for one reason and one reason alone: Rupert keeps them going as trophy holdings. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs at stake. Eliminating them is not something to cheer for.
Update -- Obviously, I should have also pointed out Rupert's local holdings: The Cape Cod Times, The Standard-Times (New Bedford), The Portsmouth Herald (N.H.) and a slew of weeklies in southeast Massachusetts. His News Corp. also owns WFXT-Channel 25 in Boston. ...
Mort Zuckerman, who owns the rival New York Daily News, made a good point last night on the McLaughlin Group that U.S. television licenses stipulate they can't be held by convicted criminals. If Rupert or his company is ever criminally convicted in the U.K., News Corp.'s broadcast TV empire here could be in jeopardy, Mort suggested.
