The scandal has buyers trying to reconcile the outrageousness of the charges surrounding Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloid with News Corp.'s significant U.S. footprint, which includes Fox News as well as the straitlaced Wall Street Journal. Some said that while they haven’t suspended advertising in News Corp.’s U.S. properties, they're growing wary about doing business with the media giant.
“You always wonder when anybody has a scandal,” said GregClausen, chief media officer of Doner in Detroit. Clausen said that while he would still consider News Corp. properties “viable” options for clients, he added, “It puts you a little bit on edge.”
Robin Steinberg, director of publishing activation at MediaVest, which is one of the biggest print-buying shops, controlling some $1 billion in annual spending, said news of the scandal is prompting her to seek reassurances from News Corp. representatives in the U.S.
“We are addressing the situation through conversations and explanation,” she said. “The expectation is that this approach and behavior will not carry over here into the states. Certain guarantees might be necessary for clients to be comfortable allocating money to these properties.”
Others flat-out declined to comment, preferring to leave the talking to clients. “It’s a little too touchy,” said a rep for one major buying agency.
One who was prepared to give News Corp. the full benefit of the doubt was Steve Farella, founder of TargetCast tcm.
“It clearly makes an agency and any client think twice about supporting that newspaper,” Farella said of News of the World. “But in my heart, I don’t believe that any company owned by News Corp. has a policy to break the laws.”
“This doesn’t make me think twice about doing business [with News Corp.],” he continued. “We are not in News of the World, and I don’t believe that the errant practice... is being duplicated at Fox News here in America.”
Really? That is mighty naive.
My money, says that whatever Murdoch was able to get away with in England he did here in the good old United States as well. Murdoch is an arrogant, competitive prick, and I have little doubt that much more will be coming out about this scandal, including how widespread it truly is, in the very near future.
If Fox News suffers a significant blow to their credibility here in the states, the Republicans will be left without a handy megaphone to spred their lies and misinformation. That could render them all but politically impotent.
Damn, I need more popcorn again!
I agree with you. NewsCorp as a whole cannot be that different from its founder - a man known to be ruthless in business, ambitious beyond the norm, and a control freak.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there is the possibility that James Murdoch was simply trying to impress his daddy because they had been estranged for a number of years, but to impress a parent, children often try to become like them.
That the US market would not be linked by the same aggressive tactics is truly naive. Australia wanted Murdoch out long ago. It's time for America to clean up its media world as well.
Where is the DOJ? Where are the anti-monopoly laws? What has NewsCorp been allowed to gobble up so many media outlets? Goodness, I will wager it it is because Murdoch has been quite "liberal" in spreading his money about to influence outcomes.
"I don't believe that the errant practice is being duplicated by Fox." Really? O'Reilly sends his goons after people he doesn't like. Sean takes advice from Breitbart who doesn't have an honest bone in his body. All of them work for Murdoch...and this guy thinks that the MO is suddenly different in the US? He's either blind, a decoy, or just stupid. Of course they employ the same tactics. Of course they break the law until they get caught. God, Sarah Palin does the same thing...she admitted that she would do anything in Alaska until the law told her she couldn't. It's how these people operate. I pray that this empire comes tumbling down, and well before the elections here. It would be so nice to only deal with Rovian tactics, and not the entire Fox cabal. (Does Karl have anything to do with Murdoch?)
ReplyDeleteThey are guilty here in this country also too. Murdoch is an evil man who is power hungry and wants to put republicans in power here. The twitter last week about the assassination was an inside job as far as I am concerned. Fox is the cesspool of Murdoch and Ailes, and it really stinks and is making this country ill.
ReplyDeleteHow about this for a trade off. Fox News' reputation in the United States is ruined beyond redemption. But $arah remains in the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteI'm still simply embarrassed and amazed that the network has the gall to say that they are Fair and Balanced. That in and of itself is an affront as an American consumer.
ReplyDeleteSeein how Joe Mc is good friends with Roger, I wonder if he could shed some light on this topic OR get a direct interview. Hey Joe, what-d-ya-say?
ReplyDeleteSo when are we going to find out Rupert targeted every
ReplyDeleteAmerican politician -- liberal and conservative, kindergarten teacher, victims of murder and assault, war widows and widowers?
I have surmised for quite a number of years that Rupert Murdoch read too many of Ian Flemings' James Bond novels and patterned his own "world dominance" dreams accordingly by catering to the lowest common denominators.
ReplyDeleteThink about it.
His dreams are our nightmares.
The fallout of the The News of the World scandal should be far reaching. News Corp.'s Fox News is the obvious focus for breaking the code of ethical behavior by a news organization in the US. But manipulation by the Murdoch news(?) empire goes beyond the normal propaganda channels of news agencies. Remember how "Going Rogue" jumped to the number one position of the best seller's list prior to publication? News Corp had manipulated the figures by placing pre-publication orders to ensure its place at the top, giving the false impression that Palin's memoir was worthy of that place. As in England, the Murdoch minions have been working diligently to buy and control politicians in the US. Let's hope that the end of the News of the World will also mean the beginning of the end of News Corps ability to gain a power hold in the US by buying conservative politicians as well.
ReplyDeleteWill somebody calendar a requote from Farella in about two weeks. Optimistic, but silly, man obviously missed the recent horde of advertisers who galloped away from Beck, dragging his tattered career behind them when his chicanery finally proved too much for public consumption.
ReplyDeleteWitnessing the crumbling of the Murdoch/Ailes empire was something I could only dream of in the past
and I'm utterly thrilled that it's now in pre-production on the London stage.
Are you sure that the photo you used is not a picture of "THE PORTRAIT OF DORIAN GREY"?
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Gryphen!
ReplyDeleteFaux News is toast, I think. Who the hell wants to be associated with Murdoch anymore? At least, those with ethics won't. But, OTOH, that could rule out a shitload of corporations who have no ethics, eh?
The money grubbing machine may be slowing to a crawl...
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading about this all morning, (after I checked here first of course) and there are two new developements. Andy Coulson was arrested by the police today and I read somewhere (sorry I can't remember where to post the link) that there is a belief among the UK press that Murdoch's quick shut down of the paper allows for the destruction of all the records.
Nixon....Roger Ailes.....Fox News..
ReplyDeleteneed we say more?
"If Fox News suffers a significant blow to their credibility here in the states?"
ReplyDeleteWith what audience? Regular viewers lack the critical thinking skills, and don't even care about credibility. Fox serves them what they want.
The Taiwanese animators didn't waste any time.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nma.tv/murdoch-pulls-
plug-news-world-notw/
I don't have cable (but even if I did you couldn't make me watch FauxNews if you held a knife to my testicles) so I am relying on the word of others who can get FauxNews and the word was that Faux was NOT covering this story.
ReplyDelete"Fair and balanced" my ass.
Let me hear that dickhead Chris Wallace defend his bullshit "news" organization's decision to ignore what is undeniably a HUGE story. ANY pretense that Wallace and his fellow Murdoch ass lickers ever had about "fair and balanced" has just been very publicly blown to hell.
Come on Chris, tell us all again about how you are all just a bunch of caring dedicated professionals interested in nothing more than an independent, unbiased presentation of the facts.
When are you going to tell us that your boss is an odious turd who makes his money by having his goons hack into the phone and e-mail accounts of dead children, dead soldiers, and the victims of terrorist bombers? When are you going to tell us that Murdoch shits all over the graves of those victims and then tells their family members that nothing happened?
Tell me, asshole, when does the "fair and balanced" part kick in?
Has Jon Stewart chimed in on this yet? It should be good.
Maybe NOW we can organize some kind of boycott for FauxNews and ALL other Murdoch holdings. This fucker has been a giant festering suppurating pustule on society's anus for far too long.
Is it time to take out the trash yet?
Gryphen, I think you may be surprised at the ripple affect caused by this scandal and it's fallout. Couldn't happen to a more arrogant jerk.
ReplyDeleteI found the following on a live blog.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/08/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking-scandal
"The National Union of Journalists has been inundated with calls from members of staff from all three News International titles over the last 24 hours inquiring about membership and their rights, a spokesman claimed. An official said:
The phone has been off the hook. People have been hesitant because there is a culture of fear which dates back to the Wapping dispute. But they are coming forward now.
NUJ officials will be distributing leaflets outside the building in Wapping today. The union is planning an emergency meeting for members and non members to discuss the closure of the News of the World and what it means for the staff there and the rest of the titles.
Up to 35 of the Sun's subs walked out of their newspaper on Thursday night in support of their News of the World colleagues - an unusually militant move by a group of experienced hands who are often credited with defining the Sun's style with punchy puns and headlines."
It's about time that this Australian fascist got what was coming to him.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1079229/renault-extends-ad-boycott-news-international-titles/
ReplyDelete"In a statement today, Renault said: "As a result of the seriousness of the continued allegations of phone hacking by News of the World, Renault is reviewing its media advertising plans, pending the formal investigations. We currently have no advertising planned in any News International press titles in the immediate future."
Les Hinton, editor of the WSJ, was hired away from NoW after Murdoch bought WSJ. He had been the editor at NoW during the heighth of the hacking activity. If that doesn't give advertisers pause about sending ad revenue to WSJ, don't know what would. Not sure veteran WSJ journalists would have gone along with this practice, but some of the newer hires after the sale might have.
ReplyDeleteHave trouble believing Fox News engaged in this behavior because they never seem have any real breaking news--just rehashed RNC talking points :-). You'd think if they were listening in on people, it would result in something interesting on occasion.
LOL if Fox hasn't *already* suffered a significant blow to it's "credibility" by virtue of it's normal programming, this scandal isn't going to hurt them.
ReplyDeleteG -
ReplyDeleteI read an interesting article this morning on Murdoch. Go to Politicususa to their Politicus Pulse. There you will find a link to Attytood. It is an article by Will Bunch titled "Murdoch's American Sins: Less Sensational, but More Dangerous".
Pat Padrnos
This is an interesting take:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1079142/News-World-closure-PR-stunt-will-not-work-reputation-experts-warn/
Borkowski added that the newspaper’s closure will start one of the ‘biggest changes in the media ever’.
‘This is bigger that the Murdoch moving his staff out of Fleet Street. If this can happen, who knows what else can happen? I think there’s a tsunami coming – you’re going to see a flood of journalists into PR for one thing.
‘It puts a huge amount of power into the hands of PR people. It’s a massive opportunity for PR to get it wrong or get it right. It’s a seismic shift of power to the PR world.’
Murdoch tried to claim that NoW was a rogue player in this and they shut it down to contain the 'infection.' Now word comes out that News International, Murdoch's parent company in the UK, is implicated in the cover-up: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/08/phone-hacking-emails-news-international
ReplyDeleteThis could get very, very ugly for the criminal enterprise known as NewsCorp.
All there needs is for one example of them doing the exact same thing here in the U.S. and advertisers will be pulling out of Fox, NYT and WSJ in droves. If there is one thing Americans don't take lightly it is illegal hacking of our privacy.
ReplyDeleteAnd if it ends up it was Fox that did it, they're toast.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/
ReplyDeleteattytood/Murdochs-American-sins-
Less-sensational-but-more-dangerous.html
That's the kind of ethical question that doesn't get asked any more at Murdoch's Fox News Channel than it was asked at Murdoch's News of the World. But the stakes in this country -- endless wars, looming environmental disasters, lousy policies that are leaving America mired in economic despair -- are far greater. So if you are outraged tonight by what the Murdoch empire was up to in Great Britain all these years -- and you should be -- than you should be doubly outraged by what they've pulled off here.
The only real question for America is what are we going to do about Rupert Murdoch now?
I find it interesting that regarding this, blame is rightly laid at the feet of management, but when it comes to the cheating scandals in Atlanta and Baltimore school districts it's the teachers getting the blame.
ReplyDeleteAfter I read about what Murdoch did in Australia, I don't trust him, period. The man enjoys getting power, and using it. He appears to enjoy making and breaking people just to show off. He has no empathy, and care nothing for the general public.
ReplyDeleteAND you think that Cluster-Fox doesn't tap phones, voice and e-mail, and on-line social media channels?? Do you come from Mars???
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder how far these galoots will go to make the news. I'm thinking of the London bombings and 9/11. Just think of all the coverage Sky and the rest of them got.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem highly probable that Tank and Rex are in the employ, now, of the Palins.
ReplyDeleteFor Levi's lawyers to not force the Palin menagerie to live up to the conditions of the court that not sharing parental rights and not bad mouthing the other parent, is, on the part of Levi's counsel, in itself a breach of judiciary responsibility. If they are in the hire or thrall of the Palins, (and I can't think of why they would not take Bristol to court and after having the judge remind her of the responsibilitis of the person granted custody, have Bristol pay the whole process as the loser and as the wealthier party), if they are in the hire of the Palins they are committing a disbarable breach of legal ethics.
A lawyer cannot represent the interest of both parties in a legal matter. It is the ultimate conflict of interest.
Gryph you and Celtic Diva and McLeod need to do some diggin,' these guys stink of illicit. And they are as guilty of "unmanning Levi" as St. Sarah the Shriveler.
("Little Big Man" as a great line given by Dustin Hoffman's character about that biological phenomenon.)
This Hugh Grant interview where he explains how he exposed the News of the World phone hacking is a must see:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSWHzGRksvo
I have no doubt that 1) News of the World will reappear under a new banner and continue their wickedness, and 2) NewsCorp is somehow behind the Anthony Wiener scandal. He was making the Koch Brothers household nemeses, and I think they hired hookers and the like to go after AW. (Unfortunately, he obliged & they "caught" him.) Just a theory.
ReplyDelete