Rupert Murdoch has resigned as a director of a string of companies behind The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, fuelling expectations that he is preparing to sell the newspaper group.
Companies House filings show that Mr Murdoch stepped down from the boards of the NI Group, Times Newspaper Holdings and News Corp Investments in the UK last week. He also quit a number of News Corp’s US boards, the details of which have yet to be disclosed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
News Corporation played down the significance of the resignations as “nothing more than a corporate housecleaning exercise prior to the company split”.
The media giant took a similar line when James Murdoch resigned a string of directorships at News International last November, pouring cold water on suggestions that he was walking away from the UK newspaper arm. He quit as chairman three months later.
I think this is amazing news, and I certainly hope that it is an indication this scandal will be discovered to have happened in America as well. I cannot imagine that if it was So prevalent among News Corps news outlets in Britain that it would not also have occurred here as well.
There is currently at least two investigations here in America to determine that very thing:
The Justice Department and FBI are in the midst of two investigations into the hacking scandal. One seeks to learn if any News Corp. employees engaged in phone hacking in the United States; another is aimed at determining whether bribes paid to British officials by journalists at two News Corp. papers, the now-defunct News of the World and the Sun, for newsworthy information constituted a breach of a U.S. anti-bribery law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Hopefully these investigations will start to show some progress BEFORE our November election.
Especially since it appears that Fox News will do just about ANYTHING to ensure the defeat of our President:
Over two days, Fox News spent 42 segments and more than two hours of airtime manufacturing a scandal by deceptively editing comments President Obama made at a campaign appearance in Virginia.
On July 13, Obama made the unremarkable observation that business owners do not achieve success in a vacuum, but that public infrastructure - such as roads, schools, and fire departments - create a community that supports businesses.
Media Matters monitored Fox's coverage of Obama's comments on July 16 and July 17, and found that Fox News devoted 2 hours and 19 minutes to covering the controversy -- one largely manufactured by the network itself. The coverage culminated with Fox's afternoon and primetime lineup on July 17, with Your World with Neil Cavuto, The Five, Special Report, The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity, and On the Record with Greta Van Susterencontributing 1 hour and 5 minutes to the story.
Two prime-time shows, Hannity and On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, devoted a total of more than 15 minutes to the story on July 17. The O'Reilly Factor similarly devoted more than 14 minutes.
Including teases that perpetuated Fox's distorted portrayal of Obama's comments, Fox News dedicated 42 individual segments to the story over the course of two days. Fox & Friends alone ran nine segments in two days, while the "straight news" program America's Newsroom covered the story six times, inviting guests such as Fox Business host Stuart Varney, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), and Donald Trump to attack Obama.
This does not indicate a certain Right Wing bias, this indicates an absolutely naked attempt to manufacture scandal in order to change the outcome of a presidential election. How THAT is not considered against the law in this country, and result in having Fox News pulled off the air, is beyond me. (Tough of course it might have something to do with this court case.)
So essentially if this phone hacking scandal were to land on our shores with the same reverberating impact that it did overseas, we could see Fox embroiled in a legal controversy that would make its ability to continue manufacturing fake controversies nigh impossible.
Sure they would cry censorship since the Justice Department is currently part of the Obama administration, but who gives a shit? Once the evidence started piling up, and other news agencies from around the world reported the scandals, Fox would start to lose its credibility by the truckload.
And personally I cannot think of a better outcome for this country than to see Fox News shut down and taken off of the airwaves. Perhaps then American news outlets could all get back to reporting the facts and put aside this constant partisan "he said, she said."
Wouldn't THAT be nice?
Eh -- the "you didn't build that" story has no legs. No one cares but people who already hate Obama...it just goes to show that mud flung at open doesn't seem to stick.
ReplyDeleteIf we can see the headline "Rupert Murdoch resigns" then we can see the headline "Sarah Plain indicted". Now THAT would be justice too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteWhen people, including Ms. Sarah Screechy, are on Fox's noise machine, talking up made up bull droppings and how the left does it too, or worse, I'm glad to finally see the rock that Murdoch hides under having been partly turned aside (in the UK).
It'll be nice when Ms. Screechy doesn't have her fox teat to milk any longer for cash and so she can perpetuate her fraud, lies, con games for more cash for herself, the huge whore for attention.
Not that I believe in it, yet I do hope Murdoch does believe in heaven and hell, so he gets into hell for eternity for crimes against humanity. Murdoch is a criminal.
It'd be wonderful to have the whole Fox empire collapse. Though Fox films (Family Guy, those types of shows), I hope would live on and live on outside of Murdoch's ownership or any type of oversight or control.
Well said, Paul.
DeleteTx for watching out for Family Guy, also, too. Is it a coincidence that Stewie's beloved teddy bear is named Rupert? I leave that for others to decide.
I don't imagine Rupert - not the teddy bear but the shriveled old media magnate - believes in Heaven, but I heard a rumor that the 'red' phone on his desk is so hot it burns the skin of anyone who accidentally touches it, yet when ol' Rupe picks it up he seems to suffer no ill effects whatsoever...
Any thinking person can deduce by even a casual inspection of Murdoch's history of corruption and blackmail that he is certainl guilty of much more serious crimes.
ReplyDeleteHe has closely woven ties with the Tory party upper crust in England, and is deeply involved with political intrigue and takedowns in other countries as well.
The media has reported on secret rooms in his headquarters that purposely monitored peoples phones and email communications.
We can only hope that this despicable ravening Murdoch beast is awarded public shame and jail time before he expires on top of his trophy wife someday in a spasm of octogenarian heart failure
I doubt rupert and Lisa have sex.
DeleteYes, for every rat you see, there is 50 you don't. It is much like Jerry Sandusky and other child rapists, by the time they are caught, they have untold victim's in their wake.
DeleteRetroactive retirement?
ReplyDeleteWere the resignations retroactive before the first claim of hacking?
ReplyDeleteMurdoch is scum personified and yes, I hope the hacking scandal takes hold in North America and he is brought down.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as for Faux Noise -- its reach is fairly negligible (between 3 and 5 million) when all is said and done. I'm beginning to realize that we lefties pay it far more attention (and provide far more attention to it) than we actually should. Forget the fact that it isn't a "news" channel, but simply an entertainment channel calling itself news. I'm suspecting that at least some of its personalities only consider themselves entertainers and simply read and/or improvise on the scripts given to them. It's well past time that Faux should be even acknowledged. let's send it to Coventry (an old English expression meaning "Ignore").
And those 3-5 million viewers are mostly over 65. Same thing with the rest of the right-wing noise machine. An old audience that is dying off.
DeleteI hope something is uncovered that takes Fox News off the air for good. In the wake of Colorado, the propaganda and hatred they foster needs to be squelched. I honestly don't know how they sleep at night, much less look at themselves in the mirror.
ReplyDeleteThat includes YOU, $arah. God my @SS where any of them are concerned.
CIP
Sarah is the one who brought the word "hate" into our political discourse. If you recall during her campaign days, anyone that criticized her were called "haters" by her. Her vitriol and the long lasting grudges she holds against those who she feels have humiliated her in public speaks volumes on her past use of the word "hate". She doesn't seem to use it now as often as she use to, especially during her campaign days. But, if you go to her fan web site you'll find they often imitate her use of words and "hate" seems to be their favorite criticism for people who speak against Palin. It also seems particularly common when Palin's defenders, like her, can't think of an intelligent reply back to her critics. Just call them "haters" and you've have solved the problem of trying to think of what to say for a response back.
DeleteIf $carah Palin is a(n attention) whore then that makes Rupert Murdoch is a pimp, right?
DeleteI can attest to personally witnessing SEVERAL "reporters" i.e. gossip columnists at major online and print media groups hacking into voice mails and emails, and/or accessing information that was illegally obtained by OTHERS who hacked into emails or voice mails to create gossip items or "blind items" at various tabloid type publications (both online publications and print publications.)
ReplyDeleteWhen you go "into the buzzsaw" and try to report on these things, you get gang stalked, you get death threats, and so on...and at first, you think, "This must be some OUTSIDE group or person doing these things" and then later on you unfortunately realize that they are MEMBERS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION or STAFFERS AT YOUR COMPANY being paid to intimidate you and get you out of whistleblower mode.
This isn't just about Rupert. Rupert has been a dictator of what he truly believes to be his own "country" for a long time. This is about ABC, NBC, MSNBC, Huffingtonpost, TMZ, and a host of others. They're all in this game. Not a single one "innocent."
Rupert appears to be our most popular "fall guy" right now. Most of these crimes are incredibly well concealed, buried, and the whistleblowers silenced.
I'm a syndicated newspaper and newswire columnist, but I operate in an "arts and entertainment" type of category which never reports on "real" news. Unfortunately, people like me, due to friends and contacts within the industry, often get access to really horrible stories, and then we don't know where to go with them.
Does Gryphen allow my post through today? Usually, he does, bless his heart. Does politicalgates let me through? Usually. Does Gawker.com? No fucking way. They always bury my comments in the "off topic" category, never to see the light of day. I mean, really, what do you do with explosive information which, on the one hand, the average person would like to know about, but on the other hand, various vested interests are highly SENSITIVE about, i.e., willing to send death threats, stalkers, and so on, your way?
I mean, citizen journalism is a great thing, but those of us with real stories find it hard as hell to tell real things that we know about. I can't personally hire a security team of ten to guard me and my family and my house, I don't have the budget for it.
And then people wonder why anonymous commenters show up from time to time trying to get real stories out. What the fuck else are we supposed to do? When I had my blog, I couldn't even summon up interest in my "loyal readers" paying $9 fucking dollars a month to justify my very real exposure to danger to try to get real stories out. They were all, "Charging money is evil!" and I was like, "You know what, I'm looking at real world costs like putting fences around my property and paying security people, and you won't even fork up $9 dollars a month so I can BRING you the stories?"
It's all very interesting.
I believe apathy and lack of financial support to the people who really DO want to bring the real stories out are the main issues behind the fact that NOTHING REAL ever makes it to the mainstream press.
Media Insider
Thanks, MI. Can you comment on any of these points:
Delete-- Do you see an MSM blackout on SP Hoax discussion? Or is it lack of interest?
-- Do you know of a connection of the Dar Miller arson and the Palin Hoax?
-- Who is the mentor/contact for SP, connecting her to the fundies? to the cover-up of her baby Hoax? the cover-up of the Todd prostitution info, etc.?
-- What does Steve Schmidt intend to do about the hoax? Ignore it forever?
-- I always thought Rupert was instrumental in SP getting the $7M book advance. Any thoughts?
-- What is our main barrier to getting the hoax uncovered?
Thank you for anything you are able to tell us.
MI: Do you currently have any EXPLOSIVE INFO regarding the Palin Baby Hoax? Could you tell us right here and now?
DeleteInsider -
DeleteJournalism, like almost every other industry, is going through great upheaval and who knows what the end result will be. I'm sorry to hear that you've been threatened for your efforts to expose whatever shady dealings you've uncovered. Thank you for your efforts on our behalf. I hope you find a way to continue.
I don't know that I can help answer any of your questions, but I'll try:
Delete-- Do you see an MSM blackout on SP Hoax discussion? Or is it lack of interest?
This went on for years. I work for Mcclatchy which used to be Knight Ridder which is now Tribune, and I've seen an absolute 100% blackout about all things Palin-related. I write fucking humor pieces, okay? And I couldn't even get the slightest of snarky commentary in about her circa 2008-2009. Since then I talked with so many of colleagues, it hurts my fucking brains. Really serious Watergate era whistleblower journalists couldn't get the most BENIGN stories about Sarah Palin out, covering minor points like her lack of preparedness, lack of coherence, seeing North Korea as our ally, etc. So this coverup about her ineptitude runs across all major media organizations as WELL as tabloid publications for the past four years. Makes me fucking sick.
-- Do you know of a connection of the Dar Miller arson and the Palin Hoax?
No, but it is absolutely a chilling connection and I think it's far from a "coincidence." Poor Dar.
-- Who is the mentor/contact for SP, connecting her to the fundies? to the cover-up of her baby Hoax? the cover-up of the Todd prostitution info, etc.?
Karl Rove, Roger Ailes, Murdoch; all have been involved. Also powerful, well-funded Dominionist types like the Koch brothers. Big, stinky rabbit hole there.
-- What does Steve Schmidt intend to do about the hoax? Ignore it forever?
Can't say, don't know. Check his bank accounts, I imagine there's a payoff somewhere.
-- I always thought Rupert was instrumental in SP getting the $7M book advance. Any thoughts?
Yes. Personally funded I believe.
-- What is our main barrier to getting the hoax uncovered?
Barriers: apathy, lack of people wanting to pay for the real story (information is NOT free, folks; there is ALWAYS a cost to bring these stories to light; you can look at simple server costs like $20 a month plus $20 a year for domain name registration all the way up to security/protection/losing your livelihood and your career because you dare to tell the wrong "truths;" are you willing to replace somebody's pension, health insurance, monthly income and so on? Why should they tell the truth? I've seen this play out SO many times; even my DWTS production person who worked concealing Bristol's pregnancy in various costumes almost lost her/his career over the little bits and pieces I stupidly shared various places; MONEY, people.
MI: Do you currently have any EXPLOSIVE INFO regarding the Palin Baby Hoax? Could you tell us right here and now?
The original Trig stuff? Just that Bristol had him. End of story. Tripp? Born under a different timeline than is usually presented.
Willow: PROBABLE (not confirmed) first pregnancy and child already happened. Can't confirm across multiple sources, though. Also RUMORED second pregnancy in the works now or about to pop any day now.
Are the people who know this stuff willing to go on record? *sigh* I'm just a secondhand/thirdhand person in all of this so I can't satisfy all desires regarding this. I DO know at least one person who has evidence to prove Trig being Bristol's; this person has gone underground or been paid off or both. I DO have two people who can prove Todd's gay affairs, video evidence, along with "rent boy" scenarios involving Todd; which traces back to Shailey Tripp and paid female prostitutes.
I don't PERSONALLY have all this evidence unfortunately; and the people who have been trying to get the truth out are being stonewalled by various media organizations; one guy has been told by the National Enquirer, Radar, Tmz, and several UK and European media groups that they would be happy to pay for his story, his video evidence, and more about Todd's paid gay "affairs;" what happens is they talk six figure deals, and then they back out of the deal.
Draw your own conclusions.
Media Insider
Media Insider
DeleteIn other words, you don't know shit.
Thank you, MI. That was all really interesting. Can I beg you for a few more comments?
Delete--How do you KNOW Bristol had Trig? I mean are you aware of the proof? Can you tell us what evidence your acquaintance who got paid off or went underground had? Even if we don't have the proof, just knowing what it is would help.
-- Or is demonstrating that SP did NOT have him (Mar 14 photo) the way to go? Why do you think these photos are ignored?
-- Re the Gusty photo/video session: I continue to think that was shot in Aug, not Apr. (And not "live at 5" with dark windows when sunset was at 8 pm.) How did they get the Gusty version into the newscast that was apparently aired in Apr? Not the mechanics (there's a lot of splicing oddities on that tape) but I really mean how come no one at the station noticed, commented, objected, saved a copy of the REAL broadcast in Apr (at end of the legislative session)? Or maybe they did, discussed it with their peers, but not with the public?
-- Some insurance billing that came to light itemized SDC (step-down care) for a Palin in early 2008. Does this ring a bell, about a NICU baby with trouble later?
-- Some commenters on these blogs think the bloggers' own difficulties / histories / actions are an important barrier to uncovering the hoax. I do not. What do you say?
Once again, thank you for anything more you can tell us.
Re your pal on the DWTS set: So Bristol was really pregnant then? (Sorry, I did not pay attention, and when I did it looked like normal overeating-type of fat.) Was that common knowledge on the set? Any idea when that baby would have been born? Was it? What became of it?
DeleteLong, but worth reading:
Deletehttp://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97may/gerbner.htm
"Fundamentalists have pre-empted the cultural issue," Gerbner says. "They're appealing to legitimate concerns of American families and organizations who resent dependence on media." This is precisely why CEM is so important: "The culture wars are heating up, and we need a liberating alternative to stop fundamentalists from expropriating the issue and taking it in a repressive direction."
Any thoughts on McGinniss and why his well-oiled book tour machine petered out? Did he expect that? Should he have come off the Trig-nostic part of the fence? Again, I wonder if you have any sense of behind-the-scenes answers or comments about his effort to uncover a number of things, including (in his coy, not-quite-convinced way) his on-the-fence stance.
DeleteDitto the moview "Game Change," which told part of the story but nothing about the Baby Hoax -- any attempts to suppress there?
Re: Bristol had Trig; put it this way...contemporaries, friends of the same age, that type of thing confirming the pregnancy and baby. Photos. Discussions. Then Bristol clammed up as her family put her in hiding. Initially Bristol was actually happy about having Trig, it was evidence of the "true love" between her and Levi, etc. The tide changed. Photos, emails, text messages, etc. exist as proof.
DeleteRe: Media not being interested in proving that Sarah DIDN'T give birth: reasons I've seen include "That's private "mother/icky pregnancy stuff" (a lot of mainstream media don't want to deal with the more private aspects of pregnancy, believe it or not)....plus the incredibly strong push from multiple directions to present her in a 100% positive light, all the time, which went on for years.
Don't know about the Gusty videos; insurance forms; blogger infighting.
McGinness was led to believe he'd have a HUGE bestseller and serious backing from all major publicity sources....poor guy was really led to the slaughter as various agencies turned on him, minimized his book, and so on. I feel badly for him. However, he also has the old school reporter arrogance where you think because you have certain credentials in the field you'll be automatically given attention with your NEXT big book....but when you go "into the buzzsaw" (see the book "Into the Buzzsaw") and you step on the wrong toes with your writing your material gets buried; end of story.
By the the time the Game Change movie was made all the worst info about Sarah was public knowledge, still, they soft pedaled the worst of it to present a cartoon version of the truth; various groups/interests would have been involved in that.
But of course, I don't know shit.
I don't know shit about the famous Scientologist (recently defected) who is about to come forward with his/her story, either, exposing years of coverups of gay celebs, crimes, and mind control, not to mention sex slavery, child slavery, etc. I don't know shit.
I don't know shit about Murdoch's wife and the charges about to be filed against her, either.
I don't know shit. :)
Media Insider
Thank you, MI. All very interesting. I'll think of you when those last two items appear. We all have a better background in Scientology now, after the collateral stories surrounding the Holmes/Cruise divorce.
DeletePlease come back and talk again soon.
I don't doubt the scientOlogist stuff -- it's well known that Lisa Marie Presley recently left the church and is in hiding
DeleteThere's also speculation that shit is going to hit the fan among the hoi polloi if Tom Cruise is allowed to see Suri.
Agreed about the shit about to hit the fan about Tom seeing Suri....to a certain extent.
DeleteRight now, although Suri will technically be considered a suppressive person (or a "squirrel") because she's not a Scientologist yet, there are lots of PR moves going on behind the scenes to try to make this divorce look "normal"....unlike the last time, when Nicole Kidman's adopted kids with Tom were forbidden from seeing Nicole; Tom is still too big of a money maker to not have "rules" bent for him and his unique situation.
I for one would love to see the sex tapes with him and Miscavige, his longtime lover, but then, I'm kind of a bitch that way! :) Then there's his cushy LA "boy toy" pad with all the rent boys.....whole 'nother story. I have a friend who thought he was on the list to become one of the gay fellows invited to party there, but in the end he was left off the list.....too bad, I'd probably have video to share with you by now! :)
Media Insider
Thank you Media Insider for all the info you have provided. So very interesting. It makes my day when you post!
Delete*Alicat
I have a theory that Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner got it on when they did mission impossible and that's how Renner got the Bourne role from Matt Damon.
DeleteThanks, MI. It's always great to read your comments. I'm looking to Murdoch's wife being put through the ringer. She is one nasty piece of work.
DeleteI also agree and believe that the chances are high that phone tapping also happened here, as well as in England. Bribing of foreign officials appears to be an almost certainty from what we have learned about the newspaper bribing the police and officials in the royal palace. Murdoch claims he is innocent and completely unaware of any illegal activities were going on, but in my view he is lying and knew exactly what has been going on years, just like his son.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, answer this: if it's such a big important story, as you claim, how come NOTHING about it is being reported on Fox News, which is watched by more Americans than CNN, NBCNews and the OTA networks combined???
ReplyDeleteOh....
Never mind.
MSNBC just needs to continue moving to the center from the left and this day will get better. MSNBC and Fox are the biggest problems and both were meant to do the exact same thing, just from opposite ends.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you regarding MSNBC. I don't watch it all day long (I work) but I do watch Rachel Maddow regularly. She has *facts* to back up her stories. Comparing her reporting to the "fact-free" universe of any Fox shows is insulting.
DeleteHe's only resigning to protect what's his. He's resigned the same way Mitt Romney resigned from Bain - NOT. He'll probably use a "blind trust", just as Mitt Romney has for his money, which Mitt admits is "just a ruse" and that "the owner of the blind trust ALWAYS has control of what the trust does."
ReplyDeleteI agree. Murdock will only be removed from a position of influence when he is behind bars. If then.
Delete