My title comes from the line most people found key from the statement sent to me from a friend who once worked for News Corp. That statement was the focus and bulk of my previous (much recommended, thank you all!) diary.
One of the top questions is how far the Fox Scandal will go. It has blown up in England. My friend was writing about the view from Australia. Someone suggested in the comments that Canada could be next. But many wondered just how much of an impact it will have in America...can wrongdoing be tied directly to the American branch of Murdoch's multinational empire? Will scandal engulf Murdoch here in America?
Well I think it is worth reviewing some of Murdoch's existing scandals HERE in the United States and how the entire corrupt corporate structure of News Corps looks like little more than an organized crime syndicate.
First, for those who missed it, there is the view from an Australian who once worked for News Corp. There was one particular comment by concernedamerican in my previous diary that summed up the key points perfectly:
---Murdoch's 150 papers were run on the same real-time platform as airlines and banks. That means that the priority was getting content plugged in and matched within "appropriate" parameters--- in the case of Newscorp, this was determined by advertising niches, demands and dollars--- as quickly as possible in real time, both globally and regionally. Content could be anything-- smears, bullshit, fantasy, propaganda, whatever. The important thing was plugging in x variable into y slot in real time and making a product that met the needs of advertisers and revenue production in real time.
---Research was "expensive" and thus was the lowest priority. That means that production of "the truth" and of "facts" was the lowest priority. It takes time and human analysis and effort to figure things out through research. This had no place in Murdoch's global platform-driven organization.
---Airlines, banks, newspapers, and other organizations whose priorities are to generate as much global revenue as possible in diverse markets in real time---- these sorts of organizations are product and profit driven. "Quality" will only have to do with delivery of product while maximizing profit within the constraints and pressures of the global grid. The idea of "fair and balanced" was as much a branding and marketing tool as would be Visa's "Priceless" ad campaign or the banding-together and code-sharing "teamwork" of linked airlines such as Delta, KLM, Air France, etc. None of this is about what is "real". None of this is about actual people. All of it is about moving digital information--- whether financial, codes, visual-- around as quickly as possible so as to maximize profit in real time. Actual people in meatspace are a hindrance---- they're like aliens from another planet, absolutely without fit within such a system.
Somebody's got to link these kinds of revelations to the great sham that are the branding tools "family values" and "conservatism" in US politics.
If you want more details, including a statement emailed me directly from someone who used to work with News Corp (and who is a friend, so I can vouch for him!), please visit my previous diary: Comments from Inside News Corp.
But scandal has plagued Murdoch, Fox News and News Corp RIGHT HERE IN THE US. Back in February The Daily Beast had a top ten list of Fox News Scandals that look rather tepid now that we know so much more (mostly covering a handful of the many instances of outright lying by Fox News). This list is informative, but merely scratches the surface of the scum that floats to the top of Fox News and News Corp. The phone-hacking scandal is there...and was known about since 2008.
How can Murdoch, Fox News and News Corp. survive such an ongoing stream of scandals? One answer, is simple: Murdoch Money.
There was an article in the New York Times--not normally one of my favorite tabloids (it has learned too much from Murdoch for my tastes), but now that they smell blood, they are coming out with some good pieces. From Troubles That Money Can’t Dispel by David Carr:
Time and again in the United States and elsewhere, Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation has used blunt force spending to skate past judgment, agreeing to payments to settle legal cases and, undoubtedly more important, silence its critics. In the case of News America Marketing, its obscure but profitable in-store and newspaper insert marketing business, the News Corporation has paid out about $655 million to make embarrassing charges of corporate espionage and anticompetitive behavior go away.
That kind of strategy provides a useful window into the larger corporate culture at a company that is now engulfed by a wildfire burning out of control in London, sparked by the hacking of a murdered young girl’s phone and fed by a steady stream of revelations about seedy, unethical and sometimes criminal behavior at the company’s newspapers...
In 2009, a federal case in New Jersey brought by a company called Floorgraphics went to trial, accusing News America of, wait for it, hacking its way into Floorgraphics’s password protected computer system.
The complaint summed up the ethos of News America nicely, saying it had “illegally accessed plaintiff’s computer system and obtained proprietary information” and “disseminated false, misleading and malicious information about the plaintiff.”
That is just a taste of the sleazy Murdoch Empire practices Carr discusses...and a phone hacking scandal RIGHT HERE in the US...in 2010. I'd quote more but you should read the whole column (and I don't usually recommend the NYT these days!).
And let's not forget the payout to Judith Regan for wrongful termination over her being told by Fox News chairman Roger Ailes to lie to federal investigators about Bernard Kerik when he was up for head of Homeland Security. This sounds to be the exact pattern described by Carr.
These current scandals just the tip of the iceburg, and Rupert Murdoch money has been paid out over and over to silence these scandals, according to Carr. And, as was discussed in the one diary that beat mine that day on dKos, this hacking scandal goes RIGHT TO THE TOP of Fox News and goes back some time. This scandal isn't new...but it has been hushed up for so long by Murdoch Money that it is only now getting beyond Murdoch's control. Though I suspect we will find a great deal of the legal buffers that the so-called "US" Chamber of Commerce has managed to put into place to keep American citizens from seeking compensation from big corporations will help protect Murdoch's Empire from some, possible a lot, of the legal and financial fallout these scandals should cause.
And I noticed recently on one of the blogs covering the recent scandals what the Fox News dictated, right wing answer to Murdoch's probably criminal behavior: claim it is all a distraction from the Democrats not acting on the budget.
In other words, the right wing Fox News apologists are forgiving actual crimes and lying to distract people from them. There are two fundamental flaws with the right wing lie here: 1.) whatever is happening with the budget, Murdoch STILL probably committed crimes and certainly acted in an unethical manner that should be condemned by ANYONE with any sense and values, and 2.) the Democrats, of course, have been doing a LOT about the budget. It has been the Republicans that have refused to act. The Republicans have been the ones practically begging for America to lose its credit rating and American workers to be laid off. So on no level is this right wing response on the blogs even rational. No surprise, of course, since nothing that originates with Fox News and News Corp is rational, ethical or in any way favorable to America. And, of course, those very Republican politicians who are trying to force America to lose its credit rating are lining up behind their favorite sleazeball, Rupert Murdoch:
Allegations that News International reporters may illegally have attempted to obtain the phone numbers of 9/11 victims have prompted an FBI probe into the company, which this week launched a preliminary investigation into the allegations. But a backlash has begun, focusing on the source of the claim: a single story in the Daily Mirror.
The former Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain has criticised the decision to investigate, saying there is little evidence so far that the problem of phone hacking had spread to the US and the probe was unjustified. "It seems to me that this is a British issue that needs to be resolved first," he told Sky News. "I've heard of no evidence or allegation yet of anything being done in the United States of America."
Yes, so-called "maverick" John "McBush" McCain is standing with Rupert Murdoch against the families of 9/11 victims...and ignoring the ample evidence for hacking within the US that has been known for some years! No big surprise.
All of this sure looks like Fox News, Rupert Murdoch and News Corp in all its international and domestic branches is one big organized crime syndicate engaging in spying, bribery and conspiracy to commit said offenses in many parts of the world. Coming straight from the top, this multinational empire invades your privacy, lies to you, threatens and bullies anyone who they don't like or gets in their way, and bribes people to keep quiet when things start going wrong. And lines up politicians to help them thanks to their ample campaign contributions. Allegedly even corrupting law enforcement. How is this different from any kind of organized crime? It may well be coincidence, but the death of one of the main whistleblowers against News Corp at this exact moment, given the probably criminal and certainly unethical behavior of News Corp as a whole, has to raise eyebrows.
Honestly, in the past I have mainly focused on how Fox News had no connection to truth or reality but was merely a propaganda vehicle for Rupert Murdoch's right wing extremist, anti-American values agenda. To reiterate what I added in my previous diary, Fox News and News Corp have been lying, biased, sleazy pieces of crap and a disgrace to true journalism for some time. But now it turns out they have been breaking the law in Britain as well as probably Australia, and the US. It should never have taken this long for their crimes to catch up with them. Though from what Carr's article shows, Murdoch Money is a big reason why it has been kept under a lid for so long. I also pointed out in the discussion in my previous diary that some of the folks hacked weren't just average Joes, they were part of the elite in several nations, and the elite don't take kindly to attacks that they expect Fox News would normally aim only at Muslims, union members and minorities. Now that Murdoch has screwed over some of the elite, his money may not save him...or maybe it will, but we can do our best to keep that from happening.
For a LOT more on the sleaziness of Fox News (from awhile back but clearly still applicable) here is a documentary called "Outfoxed" from Brave New Films:
Part I:
Part II:
There's a lot more. To find out more about Outfoxed, go here. There is also a followup film called Fox Attacks. And back in 2003 there was a detailed study that documented that people who watch Fox News are far more likely to hold demonstrably false opinions than people who watched other news sources. NPR listeners and PBS viewers were the LEAST likely to hold demonstrably false opinions, at least back then before the Republicans started gutting NPR and PBS.
Fox is by far the worst. But they are not alone. They set the tone for MSNBC, CNN, CBS and ABC, all of whom are better than Fox and more truthful, but that isn't really saying much. MSNBC has perhaps done the most to appeal to the left, but they in no way bucked the biased rhetoric and false equivalencies of Fox News, merely added some gems like Rachel Maddow (who I love) to the same kind of awful mix that Fox News pays. The antidotes to the poor quality of corporate American media are Al Gore's CurrentTV (Kieth Olberman's new home and the home of Vanguard Journalism), BBC America, and, to some degree, NPR and PBS. These are by far the most accurate news sources you will find.
Join the families of 9/11 victims and tell Congress you want a full investigation of News Corp.
Come have suggested people contact the office of Eric Schneiderman, AG of NY State (and a good guy, I might add!) to urge action on News Corps fraud.
Office of the Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341
Knowing him, vaguely, I suspect he is already on it...but it can't hurt contacting him to show support for any action he takes. Same goes, despite some people's skepticism, for US AG Eric Holder:
Correspondence to the Department, including the Attorney General, may be sent to:
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
By Phone:
Department of Justice Main Switchboard - 202-514-2000
Office of the Attorney General Public Comment Line - 202-353-1555
By all means let them know in great detail what you think. Believe me, it does far more to tell them what you think than to say nothing.