{"id":996,"date":"2008-07-30T19:44:43","date_gmt":"2008-07-31T02:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=996"},"modified":"2008-07-31T00:38:30","modified_gmt":"2008-07-31T07:38:30","slug":"the-wall-street-journal-rupert-murdochs-bitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=996","title":{"rendered":"The Wall Street Journal: Rupert Murdoch&#8217;s Bitch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/Pix\/Humor\/murdoch-monopoly.jpg\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Today&#8217;s Wall Street Journal <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB121737525991595145.html\" target=\"_blank\">published an editoria<\/a>l castigating FCC chairman <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?tag=kevin-martin\" target=\"_blank\">Kevin Martin<\/a>. Normally, that would be an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Martin&#8217;s tenure at the FCC has been a gift to Big Media, allowing them to consolidate at will and presiding over a deregulation fest that has benefited everyone but consumers.<\/p>\n<p>However, the reasons for the Journal&#8217;s pique are more typical of their reputation for greed and self-interest. The FCC is reportedly prepared to rule against Comcast for blocking legal access to the Internet. At <a href=\"http:\/\/www.savetheinternet.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/30\/yip-yip-comcast-unleashes-the-lapdogs\/\" target=\"_blank\">Save the Internet<\/a>, Craig Aaron has nicely documented Comcast&#8217;s violations and laid out the myths versus the realities of Network Neutrality. But that&#8217;s not the end of the story.<\/p>\n<p>For the Journal to take up this issue now, they are treading deeply into some serious conflict of interest. Rupert Murdoch&#8217;s News Corp. purchased the Journal last year. The center of News Corp&#8217;s universe is Fox News &#8211; a cable network. Cable networks depend on carriage from cable operators like Comcast. Murdoch also owns a new cable operation, the Fox Business Network, which is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=994\" target=\"_blank\">gasping for viewers<\/a> largely because they lack carriage on enough cable systems to stay afloat.<\/p>\n<p>Now the Journal is coming to the rescue of Comcast. Is Murdoch attempting to curry favor with Comcast, and the cable industry in general, in order to secure more channel space? Does a pimp want to get paid? The ferocity of the Journal&#8217;s attack on an otherwise uber-loyal Republican appointee tells the story. The column starts out swinging:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color:#0d00d0;\">&#8220;Bad personnel decisions have haunted the Bush Administration, and one of the bigger disappointments is Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin. In his last months as Master of the Media Universe, he seems poised to expand government regulation of the Internet.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That&#8217;s the sort of rancid rhetoric that the Journal usually saves for Democrats. On that measure, the Journal doesn&#8217;t disappoint. Delivering what must be the ultimate insult to a right-wing toady, the Journal suggests that Martin is <em>&#8220;greasing the skids for a potential Barack Obama Administration.&#8221;<\/em> Remember, we&#8217;re talking about a man so devoted to the rightist agenda that he was over-ruled twice by Congress. He never saw a merger he didn&#8217;t like. He got his job as a reward for helping Bush steal the Florida election in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>Martin is not the typical target of the Journal&#8217;s scorn. But if it means consolidating more power, and making more money, Murdoch will use his house organ to achieve whatever ends he desires. Even if it means beating up one of his prized whores. It&#8217;s hard out here for a pimp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s Wall Street Journal published an editorial castigating FCC chairman Kevin Martin. Normally, that would be an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Martin&#8217;s tenure at the FCC has been a gift to Big Media, allowing them to consolidate at will and presiding over a deregulation fest that has benefited everyone but consumers. However, the reasons for [&hellip;]<\/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":[12,1],"tags":[183,182,33,86,30,34],"class_list":["post-996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-big-media","category-general","tag-barack-obama","tag-fbn","tag-fox-news","tag-kevin-martin","tag-rupert-murdoch","tag-wall-street-journal"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-g4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":552,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=552","url_meta":{"origin":996,"position":0},"title":"L A Times Downplays FCC Hurdles For Dow Jones Deal","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/9\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Los Angeles Times published an article yesterday titled, \"Dow Jones deal prompts call to broaden cross-ownership ban,\" that included this passage: \"Federal rules try to limit media power by prohibiting a company from owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same city. Billionaire Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Big Media&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":301,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=301","url_meta":{"origin":996,"position":1},"title":"WSJ: Champion Of The Poor","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/16\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The Wall Street Journal is not generally known for its proletarian leanings. So it may come as some surprise that an editorial on Friday courageously attacks Democrats it says are \"carrying water for rich special interests.\" What a relief that the Journal is here to keep those wealthy ne'er do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1203,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1203","url_meta":{"origin":996,"position":2},"title":"Rush Limbaugh&#8217;s Ego Is Fatter Than He Is","author":"Mark NC","date":"2\/19\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"President Barack Obama reiterated today that he is does not support the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine. He said so previously, during the campaign, and has been consistent in this regard. That hasn't stopped the hysterical ranting of rightist fear mongers who seek to use the issue to stir panic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FCC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FCC","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=90"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1175,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1175","url_meta":{"origin":996,"position":3},"title":"Obama To Name Julius Genachowski To Chair The FCC","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/13\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Remember this name: Julius Genachowski. He appears to be Barack Obama's choice for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. In that role he will have an opportunity to not only undue a lot of the damage done by Bush's henchmen in the post, Michael Powell and Kevin Martin, but he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FCC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FCC","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=90"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=231","url_meta":{"origin":996,"position":4},"title":"FCC Censors Itself On Local Ownership","author":"Mark NC","date":"9\/15\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"A report written in 2004 by researchers at the Federal Communications Commission found that local ownership of broadcasters enhanced coverage of community issues. That conclusion directly contradicts prior arguments made by the Commission that claimed consolidation aided localism. The research analyzed over 4,000 hours of news programming and was conducted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Big Media&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":461,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=461","url_meta":{"origin":996,"position":5},"title":"FCC Chief Fucks Up","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/5\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin, had some choice words in response to a court ruling yesterday. The case before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York concerned whether the FCC can regulate and penalize broadcasters for spontaneous profanities aired during live television programs. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Free Press&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Free Press","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996","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=996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}