Breaking from AdWeek:
Current TV’s last-ditch efforts to save its left-leaning Italian-language network, Current Italy, have failed and the channel will go dark this Sunday, according to an internal memo sent out to staffers by Current co-founder and CEO Joel Hyatt this morning.
“It is with great sadness and frustration that I must inform all of you that Current Italy will go off the air and cease operations on Sunday,” Hyatt wrote.
In recent months, Current had been engaged in a protracted and public battle with News Corp., which owns Sky Italia, Current Italy’s carrier and the only satellite platform operating in that country. News Corp. made the abrupt and, at the time, unexpected decision to pull Current from its airwaves last May, only a few months after the network announced that it was hiring former MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann as a prime-time host.
link: http://www.adweek.com/...
As most of you know, CurrentTV is the television channel part-owned by former Vice President Al Gore, and the one that recently hired Keith Olbermann to continue his vital Countdown program.
Interesting that Murdoch is cocky enough to make a real fu maneuver to Progressives and Democrats around the world during a time he is under great, much-deserved scrutiny. Maybe it's to distract from the hacking scandal? James Murdoch, as you may remember, went to Italy almost immediately after his lying-to-Parliament session.
On Wednesday, Murdoch jetted from London to Milan to meet managers at News Corp. satcaster Sky Italia, who are temporarily taking over Tom Mockridge's duties as topper at the paybox.
The surprise visit, kept quiet until after Murdoch's departure, continues News Corp.'s attempts to manage the crisis.
http://www.variety.com/...
I hope Italy will someday soon have a second satellite service provider to compete with NI and their repressive disinformation regime.
One more thought:
Isn't this a crystal clear indication that News International has way too much power? In this instance, it is depriving an entire nation of its freedom of information! Is there a law regarding global monopolies?
UPDATE 1:
OMG -- Our very own BlueStateRedhead has recently posted a diary about a breaking New York Times article:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
For the love of FSM, read it and REC it! It contains portions of emails between attorneys and NewsCop. executives, in which they posit they "could go to jail for this", it refers to their attempted stealing of a classified "Green Book Directory", containing the QUEEN's phone, email, etc. as well as the entire Royal Family. And the capper: The NYT says their expected defense will be that they "didn't know paying off the police was a crime." LoLoL
nyt link: http://www.nytimes.com/...
UPDATE 2: ACTION!
Thanks to Chaddiwicker in the comments, it's now easy as pie to block all Newscorp.-owned websites from your computer! Here is the free Google app if you are using their Chrome browser:
https:/chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/moepiacmhnmbiilhpojodnaopndhddpg#https:addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/MurdochAlert-details
And here's a Murdoch blocker for Mozilla Firefox:
https:addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/murdoch-block