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July 14, 2011
Rupert Murdoch has given up his bid for BSkyB in the face of bi partisan opposition from the British Parliament. The British political establishment is confronting its historical dread of Rupert Murdoch as his journalists, editors and executives now stand accused of widespread breaches of criminal law.
Scotland Yard have been exposed as engaging in forelock-tugging acceptance of anything News International told them whilst some of its members have been on the payroll of News International. There is to be a full investigation into the illegal conduct of the press and police, including the failure of the first police investigation into allegations of hacking.
Martin Rowson
The first part of the inquiry will cover the "culture, practices and ethics of the press" generally and Cameron wants it to report within a year. It will have the power to summon witnesses, and Cameron said that he expected politicians and newspaper proprietors to be called to give evidence.
The second part will cover phone hacking and the bribery of police at News International and other news organisations, and the terms of reference say it will specifically look at "corporate governance and management failures at News International". The implications of this are quite profound. British newspapers have traditionally been resistant to having their working practices scrutinised by outsiders, but now they are going to be exposed to a Hutton-style inquiry.
Murdoch's retreat means that News Corp only has a series of print assets in the UK that are facing declining circulation and revenue. Some including The Times and Times on Sunday are loss making. Owning the whole of BSkyB would also have given Murdoch the opportunity to bundle satellite services with his newspapers services in a way which would have strengthened the position of the News International titles.
News Corporation is not selling its existing stake in BSkyB and there is nothing to stop Murdoch launching a fresh point at some point in the future. Will Murdoch's retreat from the UK include selling his British newspapers? That would make News Corp primarily a US company.
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Rupert Murdoch’s papers have made certain causes their own. The Murdoch press have set the standards for media outrage in Australia and they have purposely fanned the public fear and anger about crime and terrorism
Woe betide any politician who failed to back Australian troops, or who appeared soft on terrorism, criminals and child abusers. Anyone deviating from the Murdoch line was fair game.They were to be mocked and destroyed.
Whether or not Murdoch or his executives believed in any of these causes is irrelevant. Adopting them was a commercial decision. They made money for News Ltd. Profit was everything.
These are stories that tap into people’s emotions; fear, anger and sympathy for the victims. That sells newspapers. Stoke up those emotions and people become more involved in the story – which makes them buy more papers.