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Corporate
Connections/Business Interests
News Corporation:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (1952-current) (1, 2)
Education
Oxford
University (3)
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Highlights
& Quotes
Rupert Murdoch,
head of the world's largest media empire, has used his media power
to support right-wing policies across the globe. During the lead
up to the war in Iraq, the editors of Murdoch's some 175 media holdings
vociferously supported President Bush's and Prime Minister Tony
Blair's pro-war campaign, leading one British reporter to write,
"You have got to admit that Rupert Murdoch is one canny press
tycoon because he has an unerring ability to choose editors across
the world who think just like him. How else can we explain the extraordinary
unity of thought in his newspaper empire about the need to make
war on Iraq? After an exhaustive survey of the highest-selling and
most influential papers across the world owned by Murdoch's News
Corporation, it is clear that all are singing from the same hymn
sheet. Some are bellicose baritone soloists who relish the fight.
Some prefer a less strident, if more subtle, role in the chorus.
But none, whether fortissimo or pianissimo, has dared to croon the
anti-war tune. Their master's voice has never been questioned."
(5)
His Fox News
was singled out for criticism because of its blatantly one-sided
coverage of the war in Iraq and for printing unsubstantiated stories
about the conflict. When CNN reporter Christian Amanpour blamed
Fox for creating "a climate of fear and self-censorship"
regarding coverage of Iraq, a Fox spokeswoman shot back, "Given
the choice, it's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush
than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda." (7)
Said Murdoch
of the war, "The greatest thing to come out of this for the
world economy, if you could put it that way, would be $20 a barrel
for oil. That's bigger than any tax cut in any country." (4)
Aside from
Fox, Murdoch's News Corp owns TV Guide, HarperCollins, 20th Century
Fox, the London Times, and the New York Post. Murdoch also bankrolls
William Kristol's neocon mouthpiece the Weekly Standard, which has
been losing money ever since it started up in the mid-1990s.
Writes Al Franken
of Murdoch: "There's one important thing you should know about
Murdoch. He's evil. I defer to the . . . Columbia Journalism Review:
'Murdoch uses his diverse holdings . . . to promote his own financial
interests at the expense of real news gathering, legal and regulatory
rules, and journalistic ethics. He wields his media as instruments
of influence with politicians who can aid him, and savages his competitors
in his news columns. If ever someone demonstrated the dangers of
mass power being concentrated in few hands, it would be Murdoch.'"
(6)
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