{"id":1193,"date":"2009-02-06T18:32:15","date_gmt":"2009-02-07T02:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1193"},"modified":"2009-02-13T13:47:21","modified_gmt":"2009-02-13T21:47:21","slug":"good-news-and-bad-news-for-news-corp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1193","title":{"rendered":"Good News And Bad News For News Corp"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a fairly busy news day for the man who owns the news. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp released its quarterly earnings report<\/a> and is still smarting from the smack it received by the marketplace. While the economy overall is in a dismal state, and particularly media enterprises, News Corp has suffered a loss that exceeds all of their competitors. Murdoch acknowledged the significance of their record-setting $6.4 billion loss, saying the pitiful results were…<\/p>\n

“…a direct reflection of recession that is deeper than anyone predicted. Indeed this is the worst global economics crisis we witnessed since NewsCorp was established more than 50 years ago.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Almost every division, film studios, TV stations, Internet, and especially, newspapers, suffered steep losses. The company wrote down $3.6 billion on the Wall Street Journal alone. And going forward, News Corp advised Wall Street that income will decline another 30% for fiscal 2009. By way of explanation, Murdoch confirmed a theory<\/a> that I set forth last year. He revealed that the loss of advertising revenue from auto manufacturers was the “thing that really is killing us.”<\/em> That’s not surprising when you note that four of the top five advertisers are car makers. Murdoch also revealed something with which regular viewers of Fox News should be well acquainted:<\/p>\n

“Even on [finance] terms, we have never been a company that tolerates facts.”<\/span> [Some reports now say that Murdoch said “fat” not “facts”]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The good news is that the cable group was not amongst the contributors to the downside. Part of the reason may be that Fox News recently renegotiated their carriage agreements with cable operators, which likely produced a favorable comparison to the previous year’s income.<\/p>\n

In addition, Fox News seems to be enjoying a ratings revival<\/a>. For the two weeks following Barack Obama’s inauguration the network performed markedly better than the two weeks prior. However, it appears that the bulk of the improvement came from just two programs – the newly launched Glenn Beck and the reconstituted Hannity (minus Colmes). So the Fox strategy of doubling down on the neanderthal conservatism may be paying off.<\/p>\n

I would conclude that this bump was the result of frightened and depressed right-wing viewers huddling in the warmth of the channel where they get the most comfort. It must be a lonely and harrowing experience to have witnessed the election of a Socialist Muslim who was born in Kenya and refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The red glow of the Fox “Breaking News”<\/em> graphic is soothing in a way that can only otherwise be achieved with an abundance of prescription drugs. I would just like to remind the Fox Junkies that there will always be a morning after.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a fairly busy news day for the man who owns the news. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp released its quarterly earnings report and is still smarting from the smack it received by the marketplace. While the economy overall is in a dismal state, and particularly media enterprises, News Corp has suffered a loss that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[33,30],"class_list":["post-1193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-fox-news","tag-rupert-murdoch"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-jf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4873,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4873","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":0},"title":"Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp Stiffs America – Pockets $5 Billion In Tax Refunds","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/12\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Much of the world is presently learning what a despicable old plutocrat Rupert Murdoch is. The still unfolding scandals in the UK have revealed just how low his ethics can descend. On top of that his Fox News empire has been bashing Media Matters for weeks, and falsely asserting that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":795,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=795","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":1},"title":"Microsoft, News Corp, and Yahoo, Oh My","author":"Mark NC","date":"2\/13\/2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The armies of consolidation are on the march. Last week, Microsoft made a surprise $44 billion bid for Yahoo. Microsoft is desperately trying to shore up its exposed Internet flank, which Google is battering brutally. Snatching up Yahoo would go a long way toward putting Microsoft back in the online\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Media"","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4845,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4845","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":2},"title":"News Warp: Rupert Murdoch’s Crime Drama Plot Thickens","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/9\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1151,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1151","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":3},"title":"The Wall Street Journal After A Year With Murdoch","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/13\/2008","format":false,"excerpt":"It was one year ago today that the Dow Jones Company, parent of the Wall Street Journal, agreed to be acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. That transaction marked another step in the shrinking universe of media ownership. Specifically, it was the consumption of a revered publishing institution by a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Media"","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4854,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4854","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":4},"title":"Shoes Are Falling: News Corp Scandal Keeps Getting Worse","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/11\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Anyone waiting for the next shoe to drop in the News Corp hacking affair would be wise to seek cover. It's about to hail footwear. No matter how hard Rupert Murdoch and his minions struggle to hold back the sea, they are continuing to get battered by higher and more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6267,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6267","url_meta":{"origin":1193,"position":5},"title":"Rupert Murdoch Proposes Legislation To Outlaw Fox News","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/23\/2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The chairman and CEO of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, has been busily Tweeting his support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). His point invariably refers to nefarious characters who are trying to steal his intellectual property. And not one for understatement, Murdoch has labeled his opponents as terrorists. SOPA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Censorship"","block_context":{"text":"Censorship","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=56"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}