{"id":4923,"date":"2011-07-16T15:00:06","date_gmt":"2011-07-16T22:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4923"},"modified":"2012-01-08T08:16:25","modified_gmt":"2012-01-08T16:16:25","slug":"murdochalypse-ruse-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4923","title":{"rendered":"Murdochalypse: Ruse Of The World"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s too bad that Rupert Murdoch shut down the News of the World. If there were ever a time that it was needed, it’s now. The NotW’s specialty was sordid, scandalous, misbehavior by important persons and institutions. The fall of the House of Murdoch fits neatly in that mold: A billionaire media baron brought down by flagrant violations of law and morality. Numerous arrests and resignations. Billions of dollars in asset value evaporated. Just imagine how the NotW would have covered this story:<\/p>\n

\"Murdochalypse\"<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

Today Murdoch’s British newspapers published his personal apology. It is reprinted below. Be sure to hover your mouse over each line for a translation from Murdochese to English.<\/p>\n

We are sorry.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it came to itself.<\/a><\/p>\n

We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred. We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected.<\/a><\/p>\n

We regret not acting faster to sort things out. I realise that simply apologising is not enough.<\/a><\/p>\n

Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society. We need to live up to this.<\/a><\/p>\n

In the coming days, as we take further concrete steps to resolve these issues and make amends for the damage they have caused, you will hear more from us.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The campaign to rescue Murdoch’s reputation, and that of his company, is in full swing. Yesterday Fox and Friends interviewed<\/a> a former Nixon flack who tried to paper over the controversy as trivial and commonplace. Today on Fox News Watch, embarrassed by criticism for having avoided the subject completely<\/a> last week, held a discussion that primarily castigated other media for over-reporting the scandal.<\/p>\n

Murdoch himself is shacking up with lawyers<\/a> and PR consultants this weekend in advance of his inquisition before Parliament next Tuesday. They will likely be advising him on how best to disguise his repugnant nature.<\/p>\n

In addition, facets of the British government are edging closer<\/a> to a hard line on media reform. The Liberal Democratic Party has requested an inquiry by regulators that could result in forcing Murdoch to divest his stake in BSkyB. Ed Miliband, the Labour Party leader, is calling for the News Corp empire to be broken up:<\/p>\n

“I think that we’ve got to look at the situation whereby one person can own more than 20% of the newspaper market, the Sky platform and Sky News,” Miliband said. “I think it’s unhealthy because that amount of power in one person’s hands has clearly led to abuses of power within his organisation. If you want to minimise the abuses of power then that kind of concentration of power is frankly quite dangerous.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well said. We need more politicians in the U.S. with that sort of courage. It’s reminiscent Howard Dean, who said while campaigning<\/a> in 2003 that he favored breaking up the big media conglomerates:<\/p>\n

“I would say there is too much penetration by single corporations in media markets all over this country.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And look what the media did to him. Meanwhile it was disclosed that the Conservative Party’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, met with Murdoch, his son James, and Rebekah Brooks, 26 times since he took office in May 2010. That’s once every other week. So at least we have some political consistency here in that conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic are equally devoid of ethics.<\/p>\n

[UPDATE]<\/strong> Rebekah Brooks, who just two days ago resigned as CEO of Murdoch’s News International, has been arrested<\/a>. Who’s next?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s too bad that Rupert Murdoch shut down the News of the World. If there were ever a time that it was needed, it’s now. The NotW’s specialty was sordid, scandalous, misbehavior by important persons and institutions. The fall of the House of Murdoch fits neatly in that mold: A billionaire media baron brought down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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}},"categories":[1,3,15,4],"tags":[961,32,30],"class_list":["post-4923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-graphix","category-humor","category-news","tag-infographic","tag-news-corp","tag-rupert-murdoch"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-1hp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4886,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4886","url_meta":{"origin":4923,"position":0},"title":"What If Rupert Murdoch Had Never Been Born?","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/13\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Inspired by the classic film \"It's A Wonderful Life,\" British comics Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie take a look at the world if Rupert Murdoch had never been born: Click here to call on Congress to investigate News Corp\u2019s hacking practices and whether they are doing it in the U.S.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wonderful Fox-Free Life","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/wonderful-fox-free-life.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/wonderful-fox-free-life.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/wonderful-fox-free-life.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19914,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=19914","url_meta":{"origin":4923,"position":1},"title":"Get To Know Rupert Murdoch, The Man Who Wants To Buy Time Warner","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/23\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week there was a surprising announcement that international media baron Rupert Murdoch had made a bid to expand his empire even further. He submitted an offer to acquire Time Warner in an $80 billion stock transaction. Be Sure To \u201cLIKE\u201d News Corpse On Facebook This would be an atrocious\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Media"","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rupert Murdoch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/notw-murdochalypse11.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":857,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=857","url_meta":{"origin":4923,"position":2},"title":"Murdoch Holds Fundraiser For Obama – No, Not That Murdoch","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/3\/2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't know quite what to make of this, but I thought it should be noted: Television tycoon Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, is holding a fundraiser for Barack Obama at her London home. Maybe it's just a typical rebellious child, establishing a separate identity from\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":6228,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6228","url_meta":{"origin":4923,"position":3},"title":"Rupert Murdoch Calls Blogosphere Terrorists For Opposing SOPA","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/18\/2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It's good to know that the Chairman of the parent company of Fox News isn't a histrionic panic-monger who wallows in absurd hyperbole. No, it is perfectly reasonable for Rupert Murdoch to call members of the Internet community terrorists just because he disagrees with their position in opposition to the\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":22896,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=22896","url_meta":{"origin":4923,"position":4},"title":"Rupert Murdoch Employs Racist Logic To Defend All-White Casting Of The Exodus Movie","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/29\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The upcoming release of Ridley Scott's epic film adaptation of the biblical story of Exodus has generated some controversy due to the all-white casting of the movie's principle players. While creative endeavors are entitled to exercise license in the pursuit of effective storytelling, it is reasonable to observe a certain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rupert Murdoch On Egypt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/murdoch-egypt-white.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/murdoch-egypt-white.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/murdoch-egypt-white.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3188,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3188","url_meta":{"origin":4923,"position":5},"title":"The ADL Must Revoke Rupert Murdoch’s Award","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/11\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In light of the brazen anti-Semitism displayed throughout Glenn Beck's special programs attacking George Soros this week, the Anti-Defamation League must now answer for their tribute to Beck's employer, Rupert Murdoch. Last month the ADL gave Murdoch their International Leadership Award citing \"his commitment to promoting respect and speaking out\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4923","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=4923"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6142,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4923\/revisions\/6142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}