News Warp: Rupert Murdoch’s Crime Drama Plot Thickens

The corruption and criminality threatening to sink Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is growing into a monstrous story throughout the world. One place you won’t hear of it is on Fox News’ own “News Watch.” This may be the most shocking media story in a century and the only half hour on Fox News dedicated to reporting about the media completely ignored the international scandal even as new revelations have emerged. In just the past 48 hours:

  • James Murdoch, Rupert’s heir-apparent, announced that the News of The World would stop its presses forever (although they may just be moving the operation to the offices of Murdoch’s other British tabloid, The Sun).
  • Andy Coulson, the former NotW editor and former press spokesman for conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, was arrested by British police.
  • The scandal escalated from one of phone hacking to one that alleges paying off police to acquire information for stories.
  • Rupert Murdoch flew to London to personally take charge of the damage control.
  • Investigations are underway to determine if company executives unlawfully deleted millions of emails related to the controversy in an attempt to obstruct Scotland Yard’s inquiry.
  • News Corp stock plummeted 7.6%, losing more than $1.5 billion in market value.

None of these factors were deemed significant enough to warrant a mention on News Watch (which last week devoted half the show to blasting Media Matters). Just as his minions are attempting to subvert justice in the UK, the Murdoch gang is plainly trying to hide the evidence of their guilt by silencing their domestic reporters. They have provided only the most perfunctory coverage of the affair on Fox News, and nothing at all on Fox Nation.

This deliberate effort to cover up the scandal affirms my speculation that the worst is yet to come. Murdoch would not have shuttered a 168 year old newspaper overnight – one of the largest circulation papers in the UK – unless there were some dreadful consequences looming. Remember, Murdoch stuck with Glenn Beck for two years as his audience was cratering and advertisers fleeing in droves. He has stuck with the New York Post despite a decade of losses that total more than half a billion dollars. Why would he suddenly turn to mush and jettison a profitable enterprise like NotW without even putting up a fight? There’s trouble-a-brewin, you can rest assured.

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5 thoughts on “News Warp: Rupert Murdoch’s Crime Drama Plot Thickens

  1. I’m a Brit and when I lived in the UK it was well known that the News of the World was aimed at the British low life. This story is amazing. I watched Fox Watch today and they talked about Casey Anthony etc. The British story is the first one they should have covered. They didn’t touch it. This story will blow across the pond into the US and I predict the shares in News Corp will tank and his empire around the world will become contaminated. They hacked the cell phone of a murdered 13 year old girl and even deleted some of her voice mails to make space for other calls therefore confusing the police into thinking that she was still alive. False hopes for her parents? Disgusting. You won’t hear much of that story on the pathetic Factor or Hannity. But the man behind the curtain in Britain is the same man behind the veil at Fox News. What goes around, Rupert Murdoch, comes around.

  2. This week in Parliament the Labour party will be tabling a vote that potentially stops the News International BSkyB buyout dead in its tracks. The vote may also split the ruling coalition, weakening its hold on power. Public anger at the buyout is now at tsunami level.

    The result is allmost inevitable. The NI buyout will be halted. Once that happens NI shares will go into freefall.

    Wednesday is the day to watch newswise.

  3. According to the UK Guardian, not only were News of the World “journalists” and hired hands hacking into the cell phones and email accounts of the rich and famous, including celebrities, the royal family, public officials and politicians (and bribing police), they hacked into the phones of missing children, the phones of veterans’ families (those killed in the Mid East wars), and families of the deceased who lost their lives in terrorist attacks… at last count, some 4,000 individuals are thought to have had their privacy invaded in this way.

    The internet is fairly ablaze with Brits fuming over the audicity of it all… and if Murdoch and crew were caught red handed doing this in the UK, just imagine what they’ve been up to in the U.S.

    The latest: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/08/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-scandal

    My the man and his propaganda empire rot in peace…

      • No surprise here. So, it remains to be seen if our shores can muster a response equal to that of the Brits and journalism on par with the Guardian.

        I’ll begin holding my breath… now.

        P.S. Looks as though you had already covered the bases in my previous comment… arrived late to the News Corpse party it seems.

        Good on ya and love your style.

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