Rupert Murdoch's Empire Under Fire

[HoosierGuy]

It seems the walls are starting to crumble on this "American" citizen. First his newspaper is caught wiretapping many and erasing evidence in a murder case of a girl in Britain. Now his company is being investigated in the U.S.

Rupert Murdoch Under FBI Investigation: News Corp. Reportedly Targeted Over 9/11 Victims Hacking Scandal

The FBI has opened an investigation into allegations that media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. sought to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 victims, a law enforcement official said Thursday.

A rival newspaper reported last week that the News of the World had hacked into the phone of U.K. teenage murder victim Milly Dowler in 2002 and may have impeded a police investigation into her disappearance.

[RescueMom]

He's not American...he's Austrailian. ;-) He is Fox News too.

[Just_A_Guy]

Thought experiment: If this were a Soros subsidiary, and Bush were still in the White House, what would the left be saying about the FBI's investigation of a leftist media organization for activities perpetrated in the UK by UK nationals who are already the subject of a UK criminal probe?

Hmm.

[HoosierGuy]

And now the Wall Street Journal publisher quits. I read one British politician saying this story is their Berlin Wall moment. I've said it before and will say it again - Murdoch is a dangerous person.

Wall Street Journal publisher quits in phone-hacking scandal - BostonHerald.com

Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignations of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher and the chief of his British operations on Friday as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal, offering apologies to the public and the family of a murdered schoolgirl.

[NeuroTypical]

Ya know, it's funny. I had heard the name "Rupert Murdoch", and I had heard that there was a scandal underway. Then I saw HoosierGuy started a thread about it, which told me Murdoch was a conservative.

[rubondfan2]

Well, I'm not sure if we're seeing the crumbling of a media mogul here or not. Rupert Murdoch, as one poster has pointed out on this thread already is, in fact, a dangerous person. More than dangerous... he is powerful. Not just powerful but very powerful. I've spoken of him several times here on the forum and he has far more control of the media than just the handful of entities named in the article quoted or referenced throughout this "scandal".

My guess is that someone simply got caught doing what has always been done and a little bit of leakage has been experienced. But to have Rupert set up as some kind of supposed target of an FBI investigation is almost laughable. The FBI is nothing more than a government coverup machine in my opinion and if they are involved in something surrounding literally one of the top 10 most powerful people in the entire world, then there is a much deeper story going on here than meets the public eye. This little "scandal" is a distraction from something deeper, I fear. If Rupert and his cronies did not want something like this to get out, then we would never hear of it. The mere fact that these are headlines in the mainstream media tells me that someone wants us to hear about this and has an agenda for doing so.

Rupert is no spring chicken and perhaps there is a well orchestrated changing of the guard taking place here. Or perhaps something leaked that really wasn't supposed to and this grand display is now playing out in the headlines only to disappear conveniently in a few weeks or months. Will this "scandal" change the course and behavior of the mainstream media? Hardly. My feeling is that Rupert is a high stakes guy, playing in a field of other high stakes people, all of whom are deeply involved in secret combinations and evil doing far beyond the comprehension of the sheeple. What we're seeing in the headlines now is nothing more than a purposefully designed means to entertain and distract the masses from something else. At least that's my feeling and opinion on the matter.

[Mahone]

Or perhaps something leaked that really wasn't supposed to and this grand display is now playing out in the headlines only to disappear conveniently in a few weeks or months.

Except the UK media have been reporting on this, slowing building up for the last five years. This hasn't suddenly just happened, I've been reading about it in our papers for a long time now, and each new report has a new and far worse revelation.

America seems to have only just gotten hold of the news now it's possibly affected them too.

However I too suspect and this was very common practice, and The news of The World just happened to get caught due to the British royal family initiating an investigation on a report about them.

Edited July 17, 2011 by Mahone

[HoosierGuy]

So some of you are saying: 1. What if a liberal news organisation were doing this. 2. Probably many other news organizations have wiretapped illegally.

This is how you defend such horrible crimes? We are talking about illegal wiretapping and ERASING EVIDENCE IN A MURDER CASE.

[Just_A_Guy]

No one has defended any of this. Please quit grinding your partisan axe on the whetstone of dishonesty.

Incidentally: I see that Scotland Yard's chief has now chosen to fall on his sword over this. Kinda messes up your Murdoch-is-the-root-of-all-evil narrative a bit, but don't let facts stop you.

[Guest Sachi001]

Why dos Rupert Murdoch always remind me of the James Bond villain "Elliot Carver" in "Tomorrow Never Dies"?

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSQSz_pfEvNiLCmVA_VXHi4foOaemojTT2RikMioUCIJqQqvROM_g

[tefor]

I believe it's because Carver was largely modeled upon Murdoch, with a good dose of Ted Turner thrown in as well. Makes sense, since the movie came out right in the middle of all of the media mergers of the 1990s.

[HoosierGuy]

This story is getting strange.

News Of The World Whistleblower Reportedly Found Dead | TPMMuckraker

In another twist in the News Of The World scandal, a former reporter for the tabloid who initially alleged that editor Andy Coulson knew about the practice of phone hacking by his staff, was reportedly found dead Monday.

...According to the police report, "the death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."

[john doe]

This story is getting strange.

News Of The World Whistleblower Reportedly Found Dead | TPMMuckraker

In another twist in the News Of The World scandal, a former reporter for the tabloid who initially alleged that editor Andy Coulson knew about the practice of phone hacking by his staff, was reportedly found dead Monday.

...According to the police report, "the death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."

He was fired 6 years ago for drug and alcohol abuse. I wouldn't be surprised if those were factors in his death.

[HoosierGuy]

Murdoch hit in face with shaving cream during hearing by comedian Jonnie Marbles. I've never heard of Jonnie Marbles but get the feeling he will get few more gigs after this incident.

A protester attacked media titan Rupert Murdoch with a shaving-cream pie just as his Parliamentary hearing was winding down Tuesday.

British media reports identified the pie flinger as Jonnie Marbles, a comedian and activist with UK Uncut, which protests bigwigs who avoid paying taxes.

"You are a greedy billionaire," CNN reported he said.

Read more: Rupert Murdoch attacked with shaving-cream pie over hacking scandal; Rebekah Brooks testifies

[Mahone]

Murdoch hit in face with shaving cream during hearing by comedian Jonnie Marbles. I've never heard of Jonnie Marbles but get the feeling he will get few more gigs after this incident.

A protester attacked media titan Rupert Murdoch with a shaving-cream pie just as his Parliamentary hearing was winding down Tuesday.

British media reports identified the pie flinger as Jonnie Marbles, a comedian and activist with UK Uncut, which protests bigwigs who avoid paying taxes.

"You are a greedy billionaire," CNN reported he said.

Read more: Rupert Murdoch attacked with shaving-cream pie over hacking scandal; Rebekah Brooks testifies

The most amusing part is seeing his wife flying into the cream pie attacker and onto the floor - she got there quicker than any official did lol.

[prisonchaplain]

What bothers me about this incident is that it simply adds to the public's cynicism, and that even more people will simply tune out. On the other hand, we may see an even futher hardening of ideological lines, with less willingness to compromise. Does anyone else here remember the days when President Reagan and Speaker of the House O'neill used to socialize and have meals together?

[Guest Sachi001]

What bothers me about this incident is that it simply adds to the public's cynicism, and that even more people will simply tune out. On the other hand, we may see an even further hardening of ideological lines, with less willingness to compromise. Does anyone else here remember the days when President Reagan and Speaker of the House O'neill used to socialize and have meals together?

Yes I do, but then I would forget as I was out with my friends getting drunk in my inept youth who didn't worry about tomorrow.

[Just_A_Guy]

Interesting perspective on the scandal, and the broader differences between the British and US presses, here.

[Jamie123]

He's not American...he's Austrailian. ;-) He is Fox News too.

I guess you're being ironic but for the record he is technically an American. He became a naturalized citizen of the US in 1985.

[FunkyTown]

Rupert Murdoch is ruthless and a business tycoon. In other news, water is wet.

That said, hitting a helpless 80 year old man in the face with shaving cream is just utterly without class. I wish Rupert did what Chretien did when someone tossed a cream pie in his 80 year old face.

He wrestled Junior to the ground and showed him why you don't mess with 'De most poopoo-lar lea-dair in de free WORLD!'

Murdoch hit in face with shaving cream during hearing by comedian Jonnie Marbles. I've never heard of Jonnie Marbles but get the feeling he will get few more gigs after this incident.

A protester attacked media titan Rupert Murdoch with a shaving-cream pie just as his Parliamentary hearing was winding down Tuesday.

British media reports identified the pie flinger as Jonnie Marbles, a comedian and activist with UK Uncut, which protests bigwigs who avoid paying taxes.

"You are a greedy billionaire," CNN reported he said.

Read more: Rupert Murdoch attacked with shaving-cream pie over hacking scandal; Rebekah Brooks testifies

[NeuroTypical]

What bothers me about this incident is that it simply adds to the public's cynicism, and that even more people will simply tune out.

I pretty much resemble that remark. I'm watching the news continue to unfold week after week, and I'm still trying to figure out a reason why I should pay attention or care.

1. People who break laws should be held to account by a just legal system. I don't care if they're liberal or conservative.

2. If an organization has systemic corruption or a bunch of lawbreaking going on, it should roll uphill and heads should roll. I don't care if they're liberal or conservative.

3. It's ok with me if powerful billionaires get hit in the face with cream pies. I don't care if they're liberal or conservative. And the person hitting them in the face should face justice too. I don't care if they're liberal or conservative either.

4. I honestly couldn't care less about vast media empires. Shake 'em all up and let 'em all quake in their boots.

It's not that I'm apathetic, I just don't feel the need to line up idealogically and either attack or defend based on my personal politics.