Murdoch's Dangling Overtures

The wrangling has been going on for quite some time, and now the skeleton is out of the closet. The British parliamentary committee revealed Rupert Murdoch’s ‘willful blindness’ towards the employees of News Corp, leaving him holding the wrong end of the stick. Following the parliamentary committee’s deliberation, in a majority vote by six to four, it has considered Murdoch unfit to run a major international organisation. Murdoch, however, is holding his own against the barrages of censure and lambasting heaped onto him ever since the phone tapping scandal broke out. After his flagship company, News of the World, was closed post scandal, Murdoch announced to launch Sunday edition of The Sun, keeping his old employees, thus, firming his grip on the empire. This has been possible only because he and his family members have majority voting rights in the conglomerate. But now, there seems to be an apprehension over his tight control on journalistic practices (that morphed to an image of disdain from a contradictory position of respect). The pleasantries exchanged between Murdoch and David Cameron speaks volumes of his camaraderie with conservatives who voted in his favour in this key parliamentary committee report. 

 

The Ofcom’s (British agency that is responsible for competition regulation) decision is crucial for Murdoch to save his position at the helm of BskyB (British Sky Broadcasting Group plc), where News Corp holds approximately 40 per cent stake. If Murdoch is found guilty, he may lose broadcasting license for BskyB following a pressure on him to resign from his executive position as well.

 

The criminalisation of editorial has been witnessed in the past as well. In 1973, Washington Post was subject to investigation by a Congressional Committee. 2003 saw a New York Times reporter, Jayson Blair, deceiving all NY Times readers with stories from various American states, when in reality, he remained comfortably seated at his desk in New York. His stories were fabricated, concocted and imaginary. On the same lines, in September 2004, CBS News anchor Dan Rather aired unverified facts based on unverified documents from unreliable sources about George W. Bush's military service and misled the Americans against Bush. He was later forced to resign in disgrace as the truth
was revealed.

 

Unethical practices in the media has been a constancy but the Murdoch story has certainly gone overboard creating mass illusion and confusion. However, Murdoch is still able to run and create profit for the stakeholders probably because the News Corp stocks are trading stable in all the major capital markets in spite of the controversy. There is also an accusation that the committee’s report is the result of a political vendetta. Given the extent of Murdoch’s connections in the corridors of power – all is not lost for him, and there is a strong possibility of him bouncing back even at 81!