BBC Confirms ‘Doctor Who’ Season 8 
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $22M Friday For Lower … 
Finally, Cannes Dealing! Radius-TWC Nabs Director’s … 
Hammond On Cannes: Wet Fest’s Official Competition … 
‘Vampire Academy’ Adds ‘Modern … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Shark Tank’ Finale Up, … 
Cannes: Worldview Options Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn … 
UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
‘Mike & Molly’ Creator Mark Roberts To … 
Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Set For … 
Hammond On Cannes: Weinstein Brings Out Stars For 2013 … 
Cannes: Fake Gunshots Interrupt Canal Plus Live Broadcast … 
‘The Great Gatsby’ Starts With $5.4M … 
Cannes: Music Box Snags Competition’s ‘Michael … 
UPDATE: Amazon Studios Begins Pilot Pickups; … 
Bruce Rosenblum Bids Classy Goodbye 
RATINGS RAT RACE UPDATE: ‘American Idol’ Hits … 
UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ Box Office Crosses $1B … 
Upfront Market: Will Auto Makers Subsidize TV … 
Cannes: Thief Makes Off With $1M+ In Chopard Jewelry Meant … 
‘Scandal’ Finale On Small Screen And Onstage At … 
Murdoch To Close News Of The World: “We Have Made Mistakes” In Phone-Hacking Scandal
James Murdoch’s decision to close the News of the World is seen here as the biggest gesture News Corp can make to try and save its takeover of BSkyB. Jeremy Hunt, the UK culture secretary in charge of approving the BSkyB deal, has saved face by announcing that any decision over the deal will be delayed until the fall. Hunt was due to finally approve the deal tomorrow. Owning BSkyB outright would mean News Corp getting its hands on its swelling £5.7 billion ($9 billion) revenues. It would also cement Rupert Murdoch’s position as the most powerful media magnate in Britain.
The decision to close the News of the World tabloid at the center of the deepening phone-hacking scandal has stunned media over here. One insider at News International — Murdoch’s newspaper arm — has told the BBC that “Rupert Murdoch is losing his judgement” in deciding to close the paper rather than fire CEO Rebekah Brooks, who was editing the News of the World at the time of the alleged phone hacking of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler and the families of the London bombing victims. Questions are being asked as to why around 200 journalists on the News of the World should lose their jobs when those at the top of News International such as Brooks or indeed James Murdoch himself are still in place after self-admitted management failure. Murdoch’s biographer Michael Wolff said that Rupert Murdoch is “scared out of his wits … he’s scared for the business commercially. Scandals reach the point where you can’t stop them.” The UK government is considering pulling advertising from all Murdoch newspapers. Wolff added that until this point, Rupert Murdoch has always been seen as invulnerable. Observers says that this afternoon’s announcement may be dramatic, but it doesn’t do much to address the deeper issues facing the News Corp brand: James Murdoch may have sawn off one foot, but it will be enough to stop gangrene spreading to the rest of the company?
Loading ...
if this isn’t enough to stop the cancer that is the murdoch empire taking over britain, i don’t know what is. you can see how deep cameron is in the pocket of murdoch as it is. the BskyB deal should never have been allowed to go ahead even without this scandal.
So Murdoch closes down NOTW instead of firing Rebekah Brooks… Brooks in turn blames the Guardian and turns a blind eye on the hacking issue.
They all deserve each other, these fevered egos. No sense of responsibility whatsoever.
You’d have to be living in a comedic black hole to not see the Funny in all this…
If it wasn’t for the part about interfering in a kidnapped dead girl’s police investigation (by deleting messages on her cell phone) and hacking into the cell phones of dead service members, maybe there’d be some funny in it. Even a heartless comedy writer like myself is completely repulsed by this corporate behavior.
I know. Changing evidence, bullying, lying, favoritism.
It’s like when your boss is supposed to be neutral, and has been part of the bullying all along, then you get a chance to explain yourself, and…
Murdoch is quite clever. He takes this opportunity to shutter a property in a dying media to help his lucrative takeover bid.
Rupert knows he can’t fire Rebekah Brooks because she knows too much and she might talk if he kicks her to the side of the road. And he can’t fire James Murdoch because it would make family gatherings very awkward.
“Rupert knows he can’t fire Rebekah Brooks because she knows too much and she might talk if he kicks her to the side of the road.”
On the other hand, Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire went to jail to protect Brooks and Andy Coulson, and so far they still haven’t talked. A big enough payoff can buy anyone’s silence.
i think there are other reasons. That for some reason, he loves her, despite all evidence she cannot do her job.
There was an article about this phone hacking in Vanity Fair in the last couple months. The jist was that not only did RM’s corp try to cover all this up and make it go away, but authorities did also. B/c they didn’t want it coming out that there are many spies in all levels of law enforcement on RM’s payroll, giving info to gthe tabloids.
But i seem to recall that she was not viewed favorably by those around her when she was given her position.
Would someone please remind Rupert Murdoch that News Corporation is a PUBLIC company and that his number one responsibility is to enrich the shareholders. Lets look at the wonders he’s done in recent years:
- Sold MySpace for 35 Million after buying it for 500 Million in 2006.
- Overpaying for the WSJ.
- Keeping on Rebekah Brooks despite the mass exodus of advertisers at NOTW which probably was what made it close.
Murdoch, News Corp is owned by the shareholders and is only your company to the extent of the number of shares you own (around 30%). Stop treating it like a clubhouse for your friends and your tool for power trips and get back to work creating shareholder value.
And for fucks sake, fire Rebekah Brooks. She has no place in a public company.
John V. Karavitis Such consistent blunders underscore the fact that the skills (and luck) that got one to the top of the mountain aren’t the same that one needs to stay on top of the mountain. ANd not only that, but I have to wonder about the judgment of a media mogual who allows all his and his company’s dirty laundry to be aired so publicly and so thoroughly. That alone isn’t helping either the company or the shareholders. This, coupled with the fact that thte Internet is decimating the traditional news industry (regardless of the medium) does not bode well for the future of Rupert Murdoch. John V. Karavitis
The criminal phone hacking should be investigated thoroughly and the suits also should be held accountable. These multibillion media magnets are the biggest threat to a democratic society.
they’re shutting it down because there is more dirt to come. this is the only way to counter the ongoing drumbeat of revelations.
it also seems to me the timing of this is suspiciously convenient. while murdoch may have lapdogs in downing street, it seems he also has enemies with excellent information and a superb sense of timing. congratulations to them. the uk may still avoid becoming one man’s media plaything. italy is the inspiration.
and the comment about rebekah brooks knowing too much strikes me as right on….
Murdoch is beyond scum. All of the NOTW’s hacking and police bribing took place on Rebekah Brooks’ watch, but she claims she knew nothing and also happened to be on vacation at the time! Now hundreds of journalists lose their jobs through no fault of their own as Murdoch seeks to save this creature. There will be an inquiry into the police’s bribe taking and earlier non-investigation and also who knew what and when at the NOTW. But the rot most likely goes much deeper. What was the NOTW’s sister paper, The Sun, getting up to? Make no mistake, News Corp.’s culture is rotten to the core. Whilst Britain’s politicians crept before and brown nosed Murdoch in fear, I take my hat off the British people who rose up and said enough is enough.
Reminds me of a (bad) episode of Brothers and Sisters…
BSkyB is a dead deal. Only more damaging information will be known by the fall decision date…and, still only the surface of this will be exposed.
If this deal passes…the Brits will have no credibility at all.
As I said in my other post…get out your checkbook, Rupert…the cost of buying off politicians has now exceeded even your wealth.
Additional comment:
Those who believe that closing the paper will solve the issues are the same people who believe Jim Tressel stepping down as coach at OSU will solve their problems.
And, in fact, it has only just begun with the worst still to follow.
WOW…today, OSU took a pre emptive move by putting itself on a two year probation and vacating all 2010 victories…before they even meet with the NCAA infractions committee.
And, News Corp is attempting the same “punish thyself” concept…but, it too won’t be the end of this…just the beginning.
Can’t believe the timing from OSU and my comment yesterday.
I have to assume most of the comments I’m seeing now came LONG before there was some intelligent analysis and additional information released on these matters.
In true Murdoch fashion, he’s putting literally hundreds of people out of work to create the appearance of responding to the revelations, when in fact those who should be held responsible remain comfortably employed, whether by Murdoch, or the government.
He owns the “competition” that will most benefit from closure of NOTW, and while the BSkyB acquisition may take a wee bit longer than hoped, it will nonetheless, ultimately be approved. Those who have enjoyed Murdoch’s supposed largesse, and silent support – and the support of his newspapers’ silence – will, in the end, come through for him.
Tossing 168 years of history, and the lives of 500 employees is really nothing to the likes of Murdoch, though I do imagine he’s a bit sentimental about killing the first UK newspaper he purchased, the one whose success literally financed the founding and development of his empire today.
And one still waits for the readers to begin acknowledging THEIR role in this travesty, the sick, greedy and ignorant bastards who’ve made tabloids an actual genre of “journalism,” and rewarded greatly those who make them into the gutters for sewage that they are. Whomever can tout the deepest “insider” report as to what Hugh Grant’s willy has been up to, the real scoop on a TV presenter’s scandalous affair, the close-up pictures of the bodies mangled by a bomb wins! It’s the idiots who lapped all that up like cream who have made Murdoch wealthy, and who inspired reporters and “detectives” to stoop to whatever low was required to come up with something more scandalous, more intimate and more private than the others have.
Murdoch is a repugnant, disgusting man, and he will do as so many repugnant, disgusting men have done before him: He will “fall up.” He will find opportunity in chaos, and capitalize on it. His stock may have a rough couple of weeks ahead, but this, too, shall pass.
Even if Ms. Brooks’ resignation is finally accepted (it’s reportedly been declined twice already), she’ll doubtless be cushioned and comforted from any serious hardship by the embracing arms of Murdoch and his conglomerates. Unlike, of course, the totally innocent and uninvolved hundreds who’ve lost their jobs this week as part of a public relations gesture.
The next time you think of Rupert Murdoch and his multi-headed media hydra (including Faux News), remember this classic line of dialogue from the 1964 kitsch-tabloid flick, “Where Love Has Gone,” as spoken by Bette Davis:
“Somewhere down the line, the world has lost all its standards and all its taste.”
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Glad to see the old gargoyle twist in the wind on this. Hey, where are the hysterical, irrational Drudgebots on this issue. Their sugar daddy of Conservative bullshit is getting his ass handed to him. Hopefully, Fux News will be the next Murdoch dung heap to go down.
Wish you were right, but I’m sure you’re not. Rupert will be just fine, and then he’ll continue to flourish – as much as a twisted, wizened old piece of shit can “flourish,” anyway. Which I guess means he’ll continue to get richer.
Not that Murdoch would ever do the honorable thing to make amends for this public scandal, but two words come to mind: Robert Maxwell.
You don’t really think Maxwell capped himself do you Santayana?
Murdock may yet bight the dust if his enemies are determined enough.
Bribes Police, taps Phones, contributed funds to Political parties. Wake up World, 27 years after 1984! The Police in his pocket, Politicians too scared to do anything against his commercial lust for venal media control. Right wing and damage control, all the way along like father like son, media mavens. Ring, write to his sponsors, his income stream, tell them you won’t buy their products and services as they support the lies and distortions. He’s smart enough and/or can buy the brains to have planned for this. If he bribed the Police, what about politicians and bureaucrats, that’s the next part of the control chain. What dirt does he have to stop them sniffing around? Pure genius to have those investigating him in his control as well. And now delaying any BSKYB decision till it all blows over. Ultimate control in the face of this abuse of Public. Genius. Wake up everyone!!
This isn’t over. The fallout has barely started. Even the “reluctant” PM can see through the nonsense of shutting down the newspaper (what’s that to Murdoch?) to save the more lucrative BSkyB deal. Hopefully enough furor will build up over the summer to scuttle that deal.
Murdoch is a bully and a pig and his son is no different. I wish they would kick his slimy ass back to Australia
We don’t want him back in Australia. He’s your problem now.