Skip to main content

End of the line for Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch is not a figure who inspires affection. He is now, as he has always been, a ruthlessly efficient businessman. He promotes the interests of himself and his family above all else, and when those interests are threatened, he acts without compunction.

However he is now 80.

The fact is that, no matter what, his day is passing. For those who value freedom that is a happy thought.

Murdoch has been a pernicious enemy of a free democratic process, calling politicians to heel through threats or through promises of support. Although his newspapers are a relatively small part of his empire- so much so that he has been able to close a centuries old newspaper without a second thought- the control he has exerted has made even Prime Ministers quake.

That is not a power that an Australian, naturalized American should have in Britain. Though he exercises his power through an international business: through News Corporation into News International, nevertheless it is a very personal power. He and his family are by far the largest shareholders in these businesses.

The phone hacking scandal, the corruption of the police investigation and the emerging story of cover-up and conspiracy make it absolutely clear that this power may well have been abused in a way that would make Rupert Murdoch and his family the criminal enemies of British democracy.

Now it is up to those that we have elected to remove the threat to our freedom, both in practice- if the law concludes so- but also in theory.

This means, not only that the bid for 100% control of BSkyB should be disallowed; it means that if guilty, then Murdoch should be expelled from British politics for ever. It means in any event that News International in the UK must be broken up. It means that Murdoch must not be permitted to have such control in our country as he already has. If the emerging scandal proves beyond all reasonable doubt that Rupert Murdoch and News Corp are not fit and proper to have such power in the British political process, then the only real remedy is the nuclear option: forced sale of all News Corp assets in the United Kingdom.

I should make it clear that of course I have never supported Murdoch's power in Britain: he has consistently been the most powerful enemy of Liberalism and the Liberal Democrats, however I also believe in capitalist property rights and do not believe in principle in government intervention in private businesses. Murdoch, however, is different. His business may well have become, under his ownership and influence, a criminal business. It would be critical if so that his criminal activities are stopped. If James Murdoch- Rupert's designated successor, let us not forget- is indicted and convicted under the US foreign corrupt practices act, then Vince Cable and Jeremy Hunt must act immediately.

A judicial inquiry is not the end of the affair. The overwhelming majority of people in the UK expressing an opinion already have serious concerns about Murdoch's influence. BSkyB must not be allowed to proceed without divestment of other Murdoch assets in any event- even if cleared of wrongdoing (however unlikely that may seem, we should allow for the possibility) the scandal has demonstrated clearly that there is a threat to British democracy- even if it is only a theoretical one in the eyes of the law at present.

However, if that threat becomes manifest, then Murdoch must face the full penalty of the law. A malign and criminal influence should face annihilation. A ruthless enemy must be dealt with ruthlessly.

A criminal business must face criminal sanctions.

Comments

Murdoch is being portrayed more and more like Citizen Kane. Will he beat his enemies?

Whatever happens, today is a sad day for investigative journalism. Not all journalists at the NOTW were bad apples, just like not all MPs were not expense fiddlers and not all bankers were fat cats.

Check out my view at http://dasteepsspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/07/news-is-screwed.html

You might also be interested in my view on the disgrace that is the PCC: http://dasteepsspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/07/fall-of-another-flop.html
Cicero said…
Yes, much to agree with here!

Popular posts from this blog

Concert and Blues

Tallinn is full tonight... Big concerts on at the Song field The Weeknd and Bonnie Tyler (!). The place is buzzing and some sixty thousand concert goers have booked every bed for thirty miles around Tallinn. It should be a busy high summer, but it isn´t. Tourism is down sharply overall. Only 70 cruise ships calling this season, versus over 300 before Ukraine. Since no one goes to St Pete, demand has fallen, and of course people think that Estonia is not safe. We are tired. The economy is still under big pressure, and the fall of tourism is a significant part of that. The credit rating for Estonia has been downgraded as the government struggles with spending. The summer has been a little gloomy, and soon the long and slow autumn will drift into the dark of the year. Yesterday I met with more refugees: the usual horrible stories, the usual tears. I try to make myself immune, but I can´t. These people are wounded in spirit, carrying their grief in a terrible cradling. I try to project hop

Media misdirection

In the small print of the UK budget we find that the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the British Finance Minister) has allocated a further 15 billion Pounds to the funding for the UK track and trace system. This means that the cost of the UK´s track and trace system is now 37 billion Pounds.  That is approximately €43 billion or US$51 billion, which is to say that it is amount of money greater than the national GDP of over 110 countries, or if you prefer, it is roughly the same number as the combined GDP of the 34 smallest economies of the planet.  As at December 2020, 70% of the contracts for the track and trace system were awarded by the Conservative government without a competitive tender being made . The program is overseen by Dido Harding , who is not only a Conservative Life Peer, but the wife of a Conservative MP, John Penrose, and a contemporary of David Cameron and Boris Johnson at Oxford. Many of these untendered contracts have been given to companies that seem to have no notewo

Bournemouth absence

Although I had hoped to get down to the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth this year, simple pressure of work has now made that impossible. I must admit to great disappointment. The last conference before the General Election was always likely to show a few fireworks, and indeed the conference has attracted more headlines than any other over the past three years. Some of these headlines show a significant change of course in terms of economic policy. Scepticism about the size of government expenditure has given way to concern and now it is clear that reducing government expenditure will need to be the most urgent priority of the next government. So far it has been the Liberal Democrats that have made the running, and although the Conservatives are now belatedly recognising that cuts will be required they continue to fail to provide even the slightest detail as to what they think should guide their decisions in this area. This political cowardice means that we are expected to ch