{"id":1814,"date":"2010-06-25T11:41:55","date_gmt":"2010-06-25T18:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1814"},"modified":"2010-07-04T13:05:05","modified_gmt":"2010-07-04T20:05:05","slug":"fox-news-must-hate-rupert-murdoch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1814","title":{"rendered":"Fox News Must Hate Rupert Murdoch"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a network that has worked tirelessly to promote extreme right-wing views, Fox News has always relied on the fact that they had right-wing executives and owners signing off on their propaganda. Bill, Sammon, their Washington bureau chief, is a conservative author and alumni of the Moonie Washington Times. Roger Ailes, the network’s CEO, is a veteran of Republican politics and PR. And, of course, Rupert Murdoch, Grand Wizard of the News Corp empire, has been publishing and broadcasting rightist rhetoric and disinformation for decades.<\/p>\n

But lately, Murdoch seems to be straying from his own pack. There are numerous issues on which he appears to have have sharp disagreements with the people he pays to set the conservative agenda. The most recent ideological departure occurred yesterday<\/a> when he appeared on Fox and Friends with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In this interview he came out in favor of providing undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. Or as Fox News usually describes it: Amnesty for illegals. He even advocate for using the media to achieve this goal.<\/p>\n

Murdoch:<\/b> Well you just gotta keep the pressure on the congressmen. You gotta do it on the press and on the television. It’s a political thing. […] I think we can show to the public the benefit of having migrants and the jobs that go with them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Add this to Murdoch’s vocal support<\/a> for reducing the harmful effects of Climate Change. Or as Fox News usually calls it: An environmental hoax. And on this occasion he also recognized the value of utilizing the media to advance this cause.<\/p>\n

Murdoch:<\/b> We want to help solve the climate problem. We’ll squeeze our own energy use down as much as we can. We’ll become carbon neutral for our own emissions within three years […] But that’s just a start. Our audience’s carbon footprint is 10,000 times bigger than ours, so clearly that’s where we can have the most influence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And remember how Murdoch was dumbfounded<\/a> when asked about Fox News’ promotion of the Tea Party? Or as Fox News usually calls it: True Americans fighting for God and honor.<\/p>\n

Murdoch:<\/b> No. I don’t think we should be supporting the Tea Party or any other party. But I’d like to investigate what you are saying before condemning anyone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"RupertMurdoch’s position on these issues is so starkly divergent from the Fox News talking points that you have to wonder when the dam will burst. Can Murdoch continue to tolerate the distortions that his network is passing off as news when he seems to know that it isn’t? This cannot be dismissed as him keeping a distance from his editorial staff. He has previously asserted himself in the political process, and there is no reason to believe he is now disinclined to do so. Is he just in it for the money and the public interest be damned? Or is he afraid of the monster that he created?<\/p>\n

If we were to believe the rantings of Fox News presenters like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Neil Cavuto, Bill O’Reilly, etc., then the only conclusion we could draw is that Murdoch is an evil secular-progressive, radical liberal, bent on destroying America, poisoning political discourse, and enriching himself through a phony global warming conspiracy.<\/p>\n

Those are precisely the views articulated every day on Fox News. At what point will Murdoch realize that they are talking about him? And will he take offense or slither back into his villa and count his money? Has he been silenced by the fear of a backlash from the rabid congregation that his mouthpieces have assembled?<\/p>\n

Take a look at the situation surrounding Glenn Beck. He has lost over 100 advertisers<\/a> (he has zero advertisers in the UK). His audience has been cut in half since the beginning of this year. His conspiracy theories have gotten ever more absurd. He has insulted<\/a> some of his remaining advertisers on the air. He even accused the largest shareholder of News Corp, outside of the Murdoch family, of being a terrorist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet Murdoch keeps Beck on the air. Any other businessman would cancel a program that was bleeding viewers and fell short on revenue. Not to mention a program that spews seriously demented conspiracy theories. But imagine what would happen if Murdoch sent Beck packing. Beck’s disciples would descend on News Corp with a fierce vengeance. The Tea Baggers and the 9\/12ers would make Fox News the target of their wrath and create a black hole in the network’s audience base. And they would come after Murdoch himself.<\/p>\n

So when you hear reports of Murdoch saying relatively rational things with regard to the climate or immigration, remember that he still has the final say about what is broadcast and published by his properties. He is still the face of News Corp and Fox News. He can’t have it both ways. He can’t pretend to be concerned about the environment while he permits his network to trash the overwhelming scientific evidence for global warming. He can’t pretend to support immigration reform while paying people to demonize immigrants. And he can’t claim to be fair and balanced while providing a platform for right-wingers, Republicans, and Tea Baggers.<\/p>\n

In short, he can’t claim to be sane while he is peddling insanity. And sooner or later it is going to be abundantly clear that these departures of opinion define Murdoch as just another enemy of America as perceived by the nutcases on Fox News. If they hate Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore and Barack Obama, then must hate Rupert Murdoch just as much. Can Murdoch live with that sort of sentiment flowing from his own network? I suppose it depends on how rich it makes him – or how frightened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a network that has worked tirelessly to promote extreme right-wing views, Fox News has always relied on the fact that they had right-wing executives and owners signing off on their propaganda. Bill, Sammon, their Washington bureau chief, is a conservative author and alumni of the Moonie Washington Times. Roger Ailes, the network’s CEO, is […]<\/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_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":[1,8],"tags":[33,44,32,143,30],"class_list":["post-1814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-propaganda","tag-fox-news","tag-glenn-beck","tag-news-corp","tag-roger-ailes","tag-rupert-murdoch"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-tg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1516,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1516","url_meta":{"origin":1814,"position":0},"title":"Ashamed And Sickened By Roger Ailes","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/10\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has become a bit of a crimp in the Murdoch family's harmony. The New York Times is reporting that Matthew Freud, the husband of Rupert Murdoch's daughter, Elisabeth, is not particularly fond of his in-laws. Freud: I am by no means alone within the family\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":8674,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=8674","url_meta":{"origin":1814,"position":1},"title":"Has Roger Ailes Seized Fox News From A Senile, Incompetent Rupert Murdoch?","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/16\/2012","format":false,"excerpt":"One thing that has been well established through decades of media domination by Rupert Murdoch is that his will was supreme in the organizations he ran. He made virtually every decision of significance with regard to management, economics, and personnel. And he was never shy about imposing his worldview to\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":938,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=938","url_meta":{"origin":1814,"position":2},"title":"Rupert Murdoch To Fire Roger Ailes?","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/6\/2008","format":false,"excerpt":"If Gawker is to believed, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch, and his longtime Fox News chief Roger Ailes, have had a falling out that may cost Ailes his job. The alleged spat arose from the controversial near publication of O.J. Simpson's confessional book, \"If I Did It.\" The backlash from\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":1295,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1295","url_meta":{"origin":1814,"position":3},"title":"Krauthammer: Fox News Created An Alternate Reality","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/10\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism is a creation of Rupert Murdoch, who endowed the foundation that administers it. How convenient then, that this year's honoree is Fox News favorite, Charles Krauthammer. Krauthammer is an unrepentant defender of torture, war, and the conservative economic model dedicated to\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":1628,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1628","url_meta":{"origin":1814,"position":4},"title":"Will Rupert Murdoch Decide The Outcome Of The Election?","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/26\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The American media stands to learn something from the British. The UK is presently approaching what may be an historic election day. Their two dominant parties, the conservative Tories and the supposedly liberal Labour Party, are being seriously threatened by the surging Liberal Democrats. The possibility exists that Lib Dem\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4881,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4881","url_meta":{"origin":1814,"position":5},"title":"Without Rupert Murdoch What Will Become Of Roger Ailes?","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/13\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"As the scandal over Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids continues to unravel the News Corp empire, much speculation has arisen as to how the affair will impact Murdoch's American enterprises, particularly Fox News. 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