more than a century ago we had another Rupert Murdoch. William Randolph Hearst was the principal, but not the only – there were also other “Yellow Journalists.” (See Patterson and McCormick.)
In an age when print journalism dominated the social and political scene, Hearst was tops. (If you saw “Citizen Kane” or read Lunberg’s “Imperial Hearst – you were not surprised.) Even the august New York Times was not immune from the attraction of personal vendetta. Witness the Times continuous badgering of Cornelius Vanderbilt. But that is another story.
The story here is that reality should have finally caught up with this gossip-mongering slimebag. He doesn’t seem to think so. His son was seen widely on TV in the last few days extolling the virtues of the Murdoch Press and apologizing for whoever (it certainly wasn’t his beloved Daddy!) caused News of The World to collapse in into a pit of shame and criminal accusations. In fact, do not be surprised to see the Sun (in London that is) when it starts publishing on Sunday, to be a clone of the now disgraced NOTW.
Just as Hearst managed to influence history, Murdoch has his dirty hands all over police and politicians. Hearst virtually caused America to go to war with Spain over the explosion that destroyed the battleship Maine in Havana Harbour. Colonel McCormack and Cissie Patterson in later years, led the Isolationist (sometimes almost pro-Nazi) attitude toward involvement in “foreign wars.”
The tragedy is not that under the rubric of “free press” Murdoch has corrupted the truth and has shamelessly endorsed the Far Right, aided and abetted by half-truths and downright lies about the current administration. Every so often conscience, or a kind of cowardly backtracking, led Murdoch to act against the most flagrant violators. He recently told Glen Beck he was not wanted. Beck was the godfather of the Tea Party movement, and a completely bonkers conspiracy theorist. Last year his book reached number one on the best-seller lists. And that is why I continue to wonder if these revelations will have any effect on the loonies of the Far Right in America – the ones who continue to insist Obama is a Muslim and that he was not born in the U.S. They are the ones who believe that the State of Hawaii is in on the conspiracy.
All that is food and drink to Rupert Murdoch. What his imperative is, we can only guess. Does he want some kind of oracle-like power? Does he really believe the rubbish his media outlets produce? Can anyone be that stupid?
A few years ago Al Franken, former Saturday Night live performer and now United States Senator from Minnesota wrote “Lies and The Liars That Tell Them.” It was Franken’s denunciation of the right-wing press with special emphasis on the concoctions that came out of the Murdoch media. People who read the book enjoyed it only if it supported their beliefs that Murdoch was a scoundrel. The religious Right and the Tea Party folks were not enamoured of the Franken screed.
America seems not to want to violate what it perceives as its dedication to the Constitution and the amendment that guarantees free speech and a free press. The British are not so squeamish about legalistic bombast. They have chosen to recognize Murdoch’s duplicity. But they still have to be able to prove criminality i.e. the “hacking” of the email and voice mail messages of prominent and not so prominent. Anything for a good scandal. Anything to give them leg up on the competition. And Fleet Street abounds with sensationalism. The press in America (although Murdoch is trying) has never reached the heights of gossip mongering that Fleet Street has. Just a shocking is that the venerable Times of London, even though it has always had a politically conservative bent, is owned by the rapacious Murdoch.
Finally, I do wonder why the world seems so surprised. I do wonder if the scandal will tarnish Murdoch. I haven’t bothering to check for myself, but I wonder what Fox News (or as David Olive of the Toronto Tar calls “faux news) is saying about their boss.
Most of all will a public that includes people, millions of them. who only want their own prejudices given legitimacy, stand behind the New York Post and Fox News?
Makes you wonder.
Friday, July 8, 2011
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