Rupert Murdoch, head of the world's largest media empire, has used his influential position to push an ideological agenda closely associated with U.S. neoconservatives. During the lead up to the U.S. invasion of and war in Iraq, the editors of Murdoch's 175 media holdings vociferously supported President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair's pro-war campaign. One British newspaper opined: "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" (Guardian, February 17, 2003).
If Murdoch's outlets have been safe haven for administration antics, companies and corporations may be looking forward to the same treatment: "Rupert Murdoch announced that his latest venture, the Fox Business Channel, would be 'more business-friendly than CNBC'" (New York Times, February 17, 2007).
Murdoch's News Corp has holdings in film, television, cable, newspapers, books, magazines, and more. Properties include the New York Post, the National Geographic Channel, HarperCollins Books, and 20th Century Fox. In 2006, Murdoch acquired MySpace, the popular social networking website, as part of Fox Interactive Media. (For more, see NewsCorp.com.)
Two News Corp holdings in particular have provided neoconservatives an influential platform: Fox News and the Weekly Standard. Murdoch's personal involvement has helped to ensure that almost all of his news organizations "have hewn very closely to Mr. Murdoch's own stridently hawkish political views, making his voice among the loudest in the Anglophone world in the international debate over the American-led war with Iraq," as one commentator put it (New York Times, April 7, 2003).
Gene Kimmelman of the Consumers Union told the New York Times: "[Murdoch] has extended the most blatant editorializing in the entire world through his media properties, and that is exactly the example of what we need to worry about when any one entrepreneur owns and controls too many media outlets" (April 7, 2003).
Fox News, which eclipsed CNN in 2002 as the top-rated cable news network in the United States, has frequently been 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 Christiane 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-Qaida" (USA Today, September 14, 2003).
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" (Guardian, February 11, 2003).
The comic writer Al Franken once wrote 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.'"
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Affiliations
Weekly Standard: Owner, through News Corp.
Private Sector
News Corporation: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (1952-current)
Education
Oxford University
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