Motley Moose – Archive

After Bloody Friday, and the late but inevitable resignation of Rupert Murdoch’s two closest personal lieutenants – Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton – News Corp are trying to run damage limitation: apologies in the British Press, denials of hacking 9/11 victims.

But despite the best attempts of their PR firm Edelman, this will not wash, and there’s already enough known and proven in the public domain to turn our attention to the Newscorp Executive who took over from Hinton as head of Newscorps European arm, and who supervised the payout of millions in hush-money to the victims of phone hacking two years ago: a certain man by the name of James Murdoch.

As Michael Wolff – the Vanity Fair writer and biographer who knows the ins-and-outs of the family court – tweets:

Wolff also corrects the rumours yesterday that Elisabeth Murdoch said “Rebekah fucked the company” at a book party last Sunday. No, she didn’t say precisely that. James’ sister said:

“James and Rebekah fucked the Company”

So here’s a little more about the crass libertarian ideology that has driven her brother – and potentially the company – over the cliff.  

After Bloody Friday, and the late but inevitable resignation of Rupert Murdoch’s two closest personal lieutenants – Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton – News Corp are trying to run damage limitation: apologies in the British Press, denials of hacking 9/11 victims.

But despite the best attempts of their PR firm Edelman, this will not wash, and there’s already enough known and proven in the public domain to turn our attention to the Newscorp Executive who took over from Hinton as head of Newscorps European arm, and who supervised the payout of millions in hush-money to the victims of phone hacking two years ago: a certain man by the name of James Murdoch.

As Michael Wolff – the Vanity Fair writer and biographer who knows the ins-and-outs of the family court – tweets:

Wolff also corrects the rumours yesterday that Elisabeth Murdoch said “Rebekah fucked the company” at a book party last Sunday. No, she didn’t say precisely that. James’ sister said:

“James and Rebekah fucked the Company”

So here’s a little more about the crass libertarian ideology that has driven her brother – and potentially the company – over the cliff.  

Events are moving so fast this is already out of date: first the resignation of resignation of Rebecca Brooks as head of News International. For a small personal vignette of my encounter here, you can read the whole thing here.

But it’s the US where Newscorp is based, and both Rupert and James are US citizens, and this is where the scandal will finally engulf him I believe. As Carl Bernstein said earlier this week, making the explicit comparison with Watergate these revelation “are the beginning, not the end, of the seismic event.”  He also stresses how important this US is to Murdoch

Murdoch associates, present and former-and his biographers-have said that one of his greatest long-term ambitions has been to replicate that political and cultural power in the United States. For a long time his vehicle was the New York Post-not profitable, but useful for increasing his eminence and working a wholesale change not only in American journalism but in the broader culture as well.., Then came the unfair and imbalanced politicized “news” of the Fox News Channel-showing (again) Murdoch’s genius at building an empire on the basis of an ever-descending lowest journalistic denominator…. And finally, in 2007 The Wall Street Journal‘s squabbling family owners succumbed to his acumen, willpower, and money, fulfilling Murdoch’s dream of owning an American newspaper to match the influence and prestige of his U.K. holding, The Times of London-one that really mattered, at the topmost tier of journalism.

Between the Post, Fox News, and the Journal, it’s hard to think of any other individual who has had a greater impact on American political and media culture in the past half century.

If we live in an information economy, then Newscorp is the Standard Oil of the 21st Century. Murdoch built up both horizontal and vertical monopoly power in the UK and Australia, leading to vast inefficiencies, corruption and unaccountable political power.

That was his aim in the US also: so it’s crucial to strike at the pillars of his power while they are beginning to crumble.

Now Rebekah Wade has gone (she “fucked the company” according to Elizabeth Murdoch), and her predecessor at News International, Les Hinton, has resigned as CEO of the Dow Jones (‘Les is no more’ as someone brilliantly put it)….

…the firewalls between the public outrage and the Murdoch family itself have fallen:

Yes, it’s working. The storm of outrage is crossing the Atlantic to Newscorp’s US base. As we’ve learned, the FBI have now launched an investigation into allegations of phone hacking by the Murdoch Empire thanks to the instigation of Pete King as I diaried yesterday. This is leading The Guardian and is featured heavily both on the the BBC, The New York Times and CNN.

Even Rupert himself is showing signs of flagging. He’s just released a rather dispirited, desultory but defiant interview in his own Wall Street Journal in which the main message really seems to be:

I’m tired.

Though many of you have been sceptical that the US public or MSM would pay attention to this, it seems some of the massive public revulsion here in the UK is beginning to transfer to Murdoch’s adopted homeland and commercial base – the United States.

But there’s more to this than just law-breaking: there’s Murdoch’s nefarious role in law-making.  

BREAKING,-Murdoch-withdraws-bid-for-BskyB: News International has now entirely withdrawn its bid for 100 percent of Britain’s Biggest Broadcaster – BSkyB. Tenacious investigative journalism, political pressure, and immense people people exercised online and through our elected representatives have seen off this threat – the greatest threat to media plurality and political transparency in my lifetime.

Now keep pushing for Murdoch to be discredited and disarmed in US public life

After revelations that victims of 9/11 were targets of illegal phone hacking, the scandal that has rocked his Murdoch’s mendacious empire empire can no longer be contained in the UK: Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller has called for an official investigation into the company’s methods and activities:

In a written statement, Mr Rockefeller said he was concerned that hacking by News Corporation journalists may have extended to American targets, including victims of the 11 September attacks.

He did not present any evidence to support that claim, but called on the authorities to look into any possible wrong-doing.

“I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated,” he said.

“The reported hacking by News Corporation newspapers against a range of individuals – including children – is offensive and a serious breach of journalistic ethics. This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken US law.“

France Presse has just reported:

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, who called Tuesday for a formal probe into whether alleged improper behavior extended to US citizens, told reporters that his “bet” was that “we’ll find some criminal stuff.”

Asked whether he was saying he thought there would be evidence of criminal acts in the United States and whether he was referring to possible phone hacking, Rockefeller replied “yeah” each time.

Gordon Brown in the House of Commons has just called News International “a criminal-media nexus“.  

My FINAL UPDATE for US readers. In case this seems like a parochial issue, you ought to know that the Chief Executive of News International at the time when all these scandals took place was Les Hinton (pictured below), who is now is the publisher of the Wall Street Journal for Murdoch. Follow his scandalous coverup in Media Matters. Also Andy Coulson, former editor of News of the World and Prime Minister David Cameron’s former Head of Communications will be arrested tomorrow.

AMAZING NEWSFLASH! The News of the World (commonly known as ‘News of the Screws’ because of its salacious coverage) is to be axed for good. Though it was the biggest selling English language paper in the world, many major companies including Tesco had refused to advertise in it and the brand was damaged for good. This of course is a blow for the Murdoch Empire, but a tactical retreat. The pressure isn’t off. But it’s killed his main Sunday Paper in the UK

Full transcript of James Murdoch’s statement is here. But John Prescott, former Deputy PM whose phone was allegedly hacked too has said on BBC:

“a typical management stunt of Mr Murdoch. None of the management are going, all the poor old workers are going”.

Meanwhile the current Justice Minister, Kenneth Clarke has just said when doorstepped:

“All it will be is a rebranding exercise”

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It’s just been announced that because of over 100,000 submissions against Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of the satellite channel BSkyB, government approval by our Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt – largely expected this week – will have to be deferred several months. The Government are still arguing that revelations of illegal activity among senior News executives should not affect the principle of the takeover – but everything is to play for.

(Left to right, Les Hinton, Andy Coulson, Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks together in 2005)

This could be a crucial moment for press freedom and media plurality in the UK. Murdoch’s takeover the largest broadcaster (by revenue) in the UK, would have given him a unique cross platform monopoly. Thanks to series of favours by cowed and appeasing politicians (especially Margaret Thatcher) Murdoch’s News International has been allowed to accumulate nearly 40 percent of the newspaper market. He also has key sports and film rights in the UK. A combination of BSkyB and News International would have made him much more powerful in the UK than Berlusconi is in Italy – and at least Berlusconi is an Italian citizen.

Steve Richards in the Independent puts it better than I could in his piece today ‘Politicians are finally free from Murdoch’s tyranny‘

The tyrants lose their swagger and those that lived in fear dare to speak out. The dynamics of the News International saga are similar to the ones that shape the fall of dictatorial regimes, except in this case it is some mighty media executives who are suddenly fearful and the politicians who are liberated.

Yesterday’s exchanges in the Commons were ones I thought I would never witness. They are of historic importance. Senior elected politicians dared to challenge the powerful Murdoch empire and there was an air of catharsis as they did so.

For more on Murdoch’s corrosive and corrupting effect on British journalism, and and his coarsening of public life and politics in the UK, follow me below the flip.