Murdoch's had his way with U.S. politicians also

[Judi Lynn]

July 18, 2011 9:34 AM
Murdoch's had his way with U.S. politicians also
By John Nichols

(The Nation) Australian-born billionaire Rupert Murdoch has manipulated not just the news but the news landscape of the United States for decades. He has done so by pressuring the Federal Communications Commission and Congress to alter the laws of the land and regulatory standards in order to give his media conglomerate an unfair advantage in "competition" with more locally focused, more engaged and more responsible media.


Now, with Murdoch’s News Corp. empire in crisis—collapsing bit by bit under the weight of a steady stream of allegations about illegal phone hacking and influence peddling in Britain—there is an odd disconnect occurring in much of the major media of the United States. While there is some acknowledgement that Murdoch has interests in the United States (including not just his Fox News channel but the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post), the suggestion is that Murdoch was more manipulative, more influential, more controlling in Britain than here.

But that’s a fantasy. Just as Murdoch has had far too much control over politics and politicians in Britain during periods of conservative dominance—be it under an actual Tory such as former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major and current Prime Minister David Cameron or under a faux Tory such as former Prime Minister Tony Blair—he has had far too much control in the States. And that control, while ideological to some extent, is focused mainly on improving the bottom line for his media properties by securing for them unfair legal and regulatory advantages.

Over the past decade, as media reform groups have battled to prevent FCC and Congressional moves to undermine controls on media consolidation, Murdoch and his lobbyists been a constant presence—pushing from the other side for the lifting of limits on the amount and types of media that one corporation can own in particular communities and nationally.

More:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/18/opinion/main20080226.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CBSNewsOpinion+%28Opinion%3A+CBSNews.com%29

[Chimichurri]

1. I'm shocked to see the link read CBSNews.com! That brings me hope.

[checks-n-balances]

3. Yeah! I noticed the only comment to the article is a freeper type

questioning why there aren't similar articles against George Soros!
:puke:

[Chimichurri]

4. They are automotons with stupid Frank Luntz talking points programmed in.

Their stupidity knows no bounds.

[Uncle Joe]

2. This is an excellent column.

Thanks for th thread, Judi Lynn.:thumbsup:

[Scottybeamer70]

5. Anyone who thinks he has not bribed politicians in this

country, are not living in the real world. It's all about to hit the fan!

[roxiejules]

6. The Trent Lott tale

The paragraphs below brought back memories of a conversation I had with a co-worker back in 2003.

She was dating a D.C. lobbyist at the time and told me that Trent Lott had been secretly videotaped having sex with 2 blonde lobbyists (by the lobbyists) and was being 'blackmailed'. It was apparently a well known 'secret' in DC.

It now makes me wonder if it was part of this same tale:

Such an inquiry would, undoubtedly, consider the unsettling tale of how former Senate minority leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, seemed to lose interest in challenging media consolidation—an issue on which he had been a good player—after Murdoch’s publishing house offered Lott a $250,000 book deal for the senator’s forgettable memoir, Herding Cats.

In the fall of 2003, a piece of Rupert Murdoch’s sprawling media empire was in jeopardy.

Congress was on the verge of limiting any company from owning local television stations that reached more than 35 percent of American homes. Mr. Murdoch’s Fox stations reached nearly 39 percent, meaning he would have to sell some.

A strike force of Mr. Murdoch’s lobbyists joined other media companies in working on the issue. The White House backed the industry, and in a late-night meeting just before Thanksgiving, Congressional leaders agreed to raise the limit — to 39 percent.

One leader of the Congressional movement to limit ownership was Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi. But in the end, he, too, agreed to the compromise. It turns out he had a business connection to Mr. Murdoch. Months before, HarperCollins, Mr. Murdoch’s publishing house, had signed a $250,000 book deal to publish Mr. Lott’s memoir, “Herding Cats,” records and interviews show.

http://www.newshounds.us/2007/06/25/new_york_times_suggests_fox_news_owner_murdoch_bought_off_top_us_senator.php

[saras]

7. In a sane world, all the policies he pushed for would go down with him