News Corp.: Whack-A-Murdoch
Read Time:7 Minute, 59 Second
News Corp.: richest nation in the world?
If News Corp.’s invulnerablity frustrates you, take a moment to play Whack-A-Murdoch to alleviate your frustrations.
Here and there, snippets of news regarding the ill-doings from Murdoch’s evil empire, News Corp. (call it Murdocor if you wish) barely surfaces above the radar. There is no clear news that investigations into Fourth Estate abuses continue. While news junkies cull the internet for News Corp. proceedings, MMA invites you to indulge yourself in a mid-week guilty pleasure. Wack-A-Murdoch How many doppelgangers can you whack? You may want to hammer out your frustrations before you continue reading this article. And, if you get through it, you may need to return to this frustration breaker from Save the News.org.
Murdoch’s News Corp. not only encompasses has outlets all over the country. His media empire includes everything from local TV stations and cable channels to local and national newspapers. With so much control over news media, Murdoch has unprecedented power to influence public debates and judiciary decisions.
Journalists at Murdoch’s New York Post, Wall Street Journal, and FOX “News,” want people to know as little as possible about the 9/11 phone-hacking scandal which originated at Murdoch’s News of the World. The official company line? he scandal is a political witch hunt orchestrated by jealous business rivals trying to tear Murdoch down, despite serious allegations that News Corp. employees broke United States and International law.
As of the last week, only few articles about News Corp. surfaced:
- “Murdoch’s Pattern of Alleged Hacking Cover-ups” (Media Matters for America, 08.16.11):
When the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal broke big last month and Rupert Murdoch’s company came under fire for previously insisting that lawbreaking at its tabloid had not been widespread problem, I noted that News Corp.’s initial internal investigation into the matter had either been completely inept, or part of a failed cover-up…. with more damaging scandal revelations from London tumbling out into plain view, it appears cover-up may have won out over ineptitude. And what’s telling is that we’re now beginning to see a pattern of alleged hacking cover-ups within News Corp. It’s a pattern that extends from Britain to the United States, and one that law enforcement ought to be focusing in on.
- British PM’s Former Aide Paid by News Corp While Working for Conservative (Voice of America, 08.23.11)
A former aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly received payments from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp while serving as the Conservative Party’s director of communications in 2007.
- Arrest of LA correspondent takes hacking scandal into new territory (UK Independent, 08.19.11)
The Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal reported this week that American authorities have widened their inquiry into News Corp to establish whether there are grounds for investigating corporate wrongdoing at the media giant’s US…
- Andy Coulson faces new hacking questions (UK Independent, 08.16.11)
In a separate submission to the committee, James Murdoch, the deputy chief executive of News Corp, disclosed payments worth £243,502 had been made to A spokeswoman for News International – News Corp’s UK newspaper publishing…
- MPs split over disclosure of ‘dynamite’ hacking evidence (UK Independent, 08.16.11)
Mr Murdoch, the boss of News Corp in Europe, stands by his testimony to MPs that he had no knowledge of the so-called “for Neville” email, which suggests that knowledge of hacking went beyond one reporter at the NOTW.
Why should we care about the absence of any widespread, substantive news coverage regarding the charges against Murdoch and News Corp.? Do the allegations against the Murdoch empire affect us? Yes. You can run, but you can’t hide. Holdings iclude National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Dow Jones, provides a straightforward explanation as to why we are kept unaware of the developments in the News Corp. scandal. There were some rumblings about News Corp. buying Viacom and Nikelodeon, but so far any such information appears to be rumor.
Television
- Cable Television
- FOX News Channel
- FOX Business Network
- FOX College Sports
- Fox Deportes
- Fox Movie Channel
- Fox Pan American Sports (33%)
- Fox Regional Sports Networks
- FOX Soccer Channel
- FOX Sports Enterprises
- FOX Sports Net
- Big Ten Network (49%)
- FSN
- FUEl TV
- FX
- Nat Geo Wild (71%)
- National Geographic Channel United States (71%)
- SPEED
- STAR
- Stats, Inc. (50%)
- Fox Television Stations
- WAGA (Atlanta)
- KTBC (Austin)
- WUTB (Baltimore)
- WFXT (Boston)
- WFLD (Chicago)
- WPWR (Chicago)
- KDFW (Dallas)
- KDFI (Dallas)
- WJBK (Detroit)
- KRIV (Houston)
- KTXH (Houston)
- KTTV (Los Angeles)
- KCOP (Los Angeles)
- WHBQ (Memphis)
- KMSP (Minneapolis)
- WFTC (Minneapolis)
- WNYW (New York City)
- WWOR (New Jersey)
- WOGX (Ocala-Gainesville)
- WRBW (Orlando)
- WOFL (Orlando)
- WTXF (Philadelphia)
- KUTP (Phoenix)
- KSAZ (Phoenix)
- WTVT (Tampa Bay)
- WTTG (Washington D.C.)
- WDCA (Washington D.C.)
- Satellite Television
- BSkyB (39%)
- FOXTEL (25%)
- Sky Deutschland
- SKY Italia
- Sky Network Television Limited (44%)
- TATA Sky (20%)
- International Television Stations
- FOX Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
- FOX CRIME Europe and Asia
- FOX LIFE Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
- FOX MOVIES Asia and Middle East
- FOX NEXT Europe
- FOX RETRO Europe and Africa
- FOX SPORTS Europe, Africa, and Latin America
- FOX Telecolombia (51%)
- AQUAVISION PRODUCTIONS Africa (51%)
- Asianet (75%)
- BABY TV Europe, Asia and Latin America
- CHANNEL [V]
- CHANNEL [V] Asia
- CULT Europe
- ESPN STAR Sports (50%)
- FX Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
- Hathway Cable and Datacom (17%)
- LAPTV (Movie City Pack, Cinecanal, and The Film Zone) (55%)
- National Geographic International Channels (52%)
- Nat Geo Adventure Europe and Asia
- Nat Geo Music Europe, Africa and Asia
- Nat Geo Wild Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America
- NHNZ PRODUCTIONS Asia
- Phoenix Satellite Television (18%)
- Premier Media Group (50%)
- Rotana (9%)
- SPEED Latin America
- STAR Chinese Channel
- STAR Chinese Movies
- STAR Den (50%)
- STAR GOld
- STAR Movies
- STAR MOVIES Asia
- Star News (26%)
- STAR ONE
- STAR PLUS
- STAR UTSAV
- STAR World
- STAR World Asia
- UTILISIMA Latin America
- Telecine (13%)
- TVN Asia
- VIJAY (81%)
- VOYAGE Europe
- XING KONG
- Other Television
- FOX Broadcasting Company
- FOX Sports
- FOX Sports Australia
- FOX Television Stations
- MyNetworkTV
Film
- 20th Century Fox
- 20th Century Fox Espanol
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
- 20th Century Fox International
- 20th Century Fox Television
- Fox 2000 Pictures
- Fox Music
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Fox Studios Australia
- Fox Studios LA
- Fox Television Studios
- Blue Sky Studios
- Shine Group
- Twentieth Television
- 20th Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising
- Premium Movie Partnership (Australia and New Zealand – 20%)
Newspapers (U.S.)
- New York Post
- The Wall Street Journal
- The Wall Street Journal Digital Network
- SmartSource (Coupons)
Newspapers (International)
- The Advertiser and Sunday Mail (Australia)
- The Australian (Australia)
- The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail (Australia)
- The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
- Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia)
- Herald Sun and Sunday Herald Sun (Australia)
- mX (Australia)
- The Mercury and Sunday Tasmanian (Australia)
- Northern Territory News and Sunday Territorian (Australia)
- Perth Now (Australia)
- Post-Courier (Papua New Guinea)
- The Sun (U.K.)
- Sunday Times (Australia)
- The Times and The Sunday Times (U.K.)
- Weekly Times (Australia)
Dow Jones
- The Wall Street Journal
- The Wall Street Journal Asia
- The Wall Street Journal Europe
- The Wall Street Journal Radio
- The Wall Street Journal Digital Network
- The Wall STreet Journal Classroom
- Barron’s
- Dow Jones Local Media Group (Ottaway):
- Cape Cod Media Group (MA)
- Cape Cod Times
- Cape Cod View
- Barnstable Patriot
- Hudson Valley Media Group (NY)
- Times Herald-Record (Middletown)
- Orange Magazine (Orange County)
- Nantucket Island Media Group (MA)
- Times Herald-Record (Nantucket)
- Nantucket Today
- Pocono Mountains Media Group (PA)
- Pocono Record (Stroudsburg)
- San Joaquin Media Group (CA)
- The Record (Stockton)
- Seacoast Media Group (NH)
- The Portsmouth Herald
- The Exeter News-Letter
- The Hampton Union
- The York Weekly
- York County Coast Star
- South Coast Media Group (MA)
- The Standard-Times (New Bedford)
- The Advocate (Fairhaven)
- The Chronicle (Westport and Dartmouth)
- Middleboro Gazette
- The Spectator (Somerset and Swansea)
- The Fall RIver Spirit
- New England Business Bulletin
- Southern Oregon Media Group (OR)
- Medford Mail Tribune
- The Nickel (Medford)
- Ashland Daily Tidings
- AllThingsD.com
- BigCharts.com
- eFinancialNews
- Factiva
- Dow Jones Averages
Dow Jones Client Solutions
- Dow Jones Companies & Executives
- Dow Jones Events
- Dow Jones Indexes
- Dow Jones Insight
- Dow Jones Investment Banker
- Dow Jones LP Source
- Dow Jones Newswires
- Dow Jones Private Markets
- Dow Jones Reprint Portal
- Dow Jones Watchlist
- Dow Jones VentureSource
- FINS.com
- Marketwatch.com
- SmartMoney.com (with Hearst)
- Vedomosti (with Pearson and Independent Media)
- Virtual Stock Exchange
Magazines
- Alpha (Australia)
- Big League (Australia)
- Inside Out (Australia)
Other News Properties
- The Daily
- News Digital Media
- News International
Publishing
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Amistad
- Avon
- Avon A
- Avon Inspire
- Avon Red
- Caedmon
- Harper Design
- Ecco
- Eos
- Harper
- Harper Business
- HarperLuxe
- Harper Paperbacks
- Harper Perennial
- Harper Perennial Modern Classics
- HarperAudio
- HarperBibles
- HarperCollins e-Books
- HarperOne
- ItBooks
- Rayo
- William Morrow
- HarperCollins Children’s Books
- Amistad
- Balzer + Bray
- Collins
- Greenwillow Books
- HarperCollins Children’s Audio
- HarperCollins Children’s Books
- HarperCollins e-books
- HarperFestival
- HarperTeen
- Katherine Tegen Books
- Rayo
- Walden Pond Press
- HarperCollins Australia
- HarperCollins Canada
- HarperCollins India (40%)
- HarperCollins New Zealand
- HarperCollins US
- HarperCollins UK
- Zondervan
Online Properties
- AmericanIdol.com
- AskMen
- BrandAlley UK (49%)
- careerone.com.au
- CARSguide.com.au
- Fox.com
- FoxSports.com
- FoxSports.com.au
- Fox Audience Network
- hulu.com (32%)
- kSolo
- Milkaround
- News.com.au
- News Digital Media
- Realestate.com (58%)
- Scout
- Spring Widgets
- truelocal.com.au
- WhatIfSports
Other
- Fox Mobile Group
- IGN Entertainment
- National Rugby League (Australia) (50%)
- NDS (49%)
- News America Marketing
- News Outdoor Group (79%)
How many Murdoch moles did you whack? Sure, you can try again. If you have any breaking news about News Corp. from the last week, please share.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
Before Reagan’s deregulation, there was a law. Broadcasting companies were only allowed to own one AM radio station, one FM radio station, and one television station. But he broke up Bell Labs in “Baby Bells” because the communications company was a “monopoly.”
I don’t remember where I got this, but here you go…
In 1949, the Fairness Doctrine was established. The Fairness Doctrine was a major step forward in limiting the power of media corporations’ control over communications systems and remains a model relevant in today’s marketplace. It established that the media needed to serve the public interest in certain ways. It also emphasized the importance of allowing all points of view to be heard. In the words of the Media Access Project, an organization dedicated to improving media democracy, “for fifty years, the fairness doctrine advanced the public’s First Amendment right to receive information on important issues. The fairness doctrine arises from the principle, reaffirmed by Congress and the United States Supreme Court, that broadcasters have special public trustee obligations, which they voluntarily incur in exchange for the exclusive use of scarce public airwaves.” The Doctrine sought to ensure that the media served as a vehicle for the public to access to information and to make certain that controversial issues of public importance would be discussed in fair and balanced ways.
The concern for a diverse media ownership continued into the 1960s and 1970s. In 1964, the Local TV Multiple Ownership Rule was written into law. This law prevented owning multiple television stations in any given market, unless there are more than 8 stations within the market. In 1970, the Radio/TV Cross Ownership Rule was founded, which prevented big media from owning a television and radio station in the same market jurisdiction. Similarly, owning both a broadcast television station and a newspaper was barred in 1975.
Then, in the early 1980s, the wave of media regulation stopped. President Ronald Reagan began reversing regulation laws and systematically demolishing media restraints. First, Reagan rescinded the rules that ensured that non-entertainment programming would be broadcast. Reagan then initiated the major overturn of media regulation policy in 1987, when the Bush administration sought to put an end to the Fairness Doctrine. In the court case Meredith Corp. v. FCC, the courts ruled that the FCC was no longer responsible for regulating the Fairness Doctrine because Congress did not mandate it.
Nice.
I made the mistake of hitting that start button.
Yes, the Murdoch clan have their finger in so many pies it is truly a big brother thing. There should be a law against owning so much media.
Agreed about a law, Murdoch wants a piece of dollar we spend. It would be hard to boycott his products.