Rupert Murdoch's Crumbling Media Empire

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 23, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

              Giving NewsCorp a big black eye, 80-year-old CEO Rupert Murdoch and his 38-year-old Internal News director son James testified July 19 before a special committee of parliament about a phone hacking scandal threatening to bring down the  41-year-old media empire.  When The Guardian reported July 4 that News of the World was guilty of egregious eavesdropping on victims of the July 7, 2008 attack on London ‘s “Tube,” the monstrous scope of the hacking scandal went right to the top of NewsCorp’s executive suite, directly involving Rupert & Son.  Two days later July 7, The Daily Telegraph confirmed email and voice mail hacking by News of the World into the phones of Iraq and Afghanistan’s victims.  On July 8 James Murdoch shut down the tabloid.

             News of the World Publisher James Coulson and his royal editor Clive Goodman were arrested for bribing Scotland Yard officials, hiding the paper’s illegal wiretappings.  Only one day after Murdoch closed News of the World July 10, the hacking scandal spread to The Sun and the Sunday Times, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused the papers of illegally pilfering his financial and medical records.  While there’s no question of illegal eavesdropping activities at News of the World and other Murdoch publications, British and U.S. authorities are looking into influence peddling, wiretapping, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, bribery and other related charges against NewsCorp.  Testifying before parliament, Rupert and James Murdoch denied knowing that any illegal activities took place.

            Prime Minister David Cameron, a former friend of the Murdochs, walks a dangerous line supporting the conservative media mogul.  Lying to parliament is the least of the charges pending, involving serious hacking and eavesdropping allegations at a number of Murdoch’s publications.  Murdoch’s U.S. media empire, including The Wall Street Journal, FOXNews, the New York Post, etc, are also under increased scrutiny, especially FOXNews whose “fair and balanced” approach to news now seems under attack.  While most know that FOXNews President Roger Ailes worked as communication director for former President George H.W. Bush, it’s becoming more clear that the network is an appendage of the Republican Party, especially their efforts to defeat President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.

             Once considered unthinkable, NewsCorp’s 80-year-old CEO may be forced into retirement.  “When Rupert Murdoch is replaced, we now know it’s not going to be James Murdoch,” said newspaper analyst Ken Doctor of Outsell Inc.  Labor Party legislator James Watson called for a formal Scotland Yard investigation into illegal activity.  Hitting the headlines July 4, information surfaced about News of the World journalists hacking the phone of 13-year-old murder victim during an ongoing police investigation.  Questions were also raised about reporters paying the police for information.  When WikiLeaks’ Founder Julian Assange’s media lawyer Mark Stephens learned that he was among a select group of lawyers whose phones were tapped in May, he was outraged violating his attorney-client privilege

            NewsCorp insisted that any impropriety was confined to recently fired  News of the World editor Clive Goodman.  Goodman had nothing to do with NewCorp’s 2008 $1.1 million payout for hacking soccer player Gordon Taylor’s mobile phone.  Hacking back then was attributable to News of the World’s chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck.  “We would like to point out that James Murdoch’s recollection of what he was told when agreeing to settle the Gordon Taylor litigation was mistaken,” said Tom Crone and ex-News of the World editor Colin Myler, contradicting James Murdoch’s testimony. “In fact we did inform him of the ‘for Neville’ email which had been produced to us by Gordon Taylor’s lawyers.”  More evidence emerges that executive at NewsCorp and its various publicans participated in hacking cover-up.

            NewsCorp’s reputation as an accredited new organization has been seriously tainted by revelations about various voice and email hacking scandals.   Executives at NewsCorp and their affiliate publications participated from top-to-bottom cover-up of illegal hacking and wiretapping activities to apparently get the dirt on various political figures and national celebrities.  Rupert and James’ denials to parliament further damage the NewsCorp brand, now suffering in the states for its alleged connection to the Republican Party.  Murdoch’s “fair-and-balanced” news organization has now morphed into one of the most corrupt media outlets in recent history.  U.S. and British authorities must get to the bottom of the current scandal and enact laws to prevent and encore.  Murdoch’s family or his designated successors can no longer salvage the company. 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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