WSJ and Fox defend Murdoch, editorial compares NOTW scandal to a First Amendment challenge

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Monday, Jul 18, 2011 10:01 ET
WSJ and Fox defend Murdoch
An editorial on "freedom of the press" compares the NOTW scandal to a First Amendment challenge
By Mary Elizabeth Williams

http://www.salon.com/news/media_criticism/index.html?story=/ent/tv/2011/07/18/wall_street_journal_news_corp_scandal



One of the most entertaining aspects of the ever-deepening News Corp hacking scandal is the way Rupert Murdoch's legion of other media outlets have been scrambling to figure out how to cover the story. They can't ignore it completely. But how can they pay lip service to the irrefutable newsworthiness of the tale while taking pains not to bite the Australian mogul hand that feeds them? In an extremely awkward manner, that's how.

First, there was a stunning "Fox and Friends" segment Friday in which guest Robert Dilenschneider compared the News of the World's scandal to a set of recent corporate security breaches. "It's a hacking scandal; it can't be denied," he said. "Why are so many people are piling on at this point? Shouldn't we get beyond it and really deal with the issue of hacking? Citicorp has been hacked into. Bank of America has been hacked into. American Express has been hacked into. We've got a serious hacking problem in this country." To which host Steve Doocy replied, "This happened a long time ago. At a tabloid. In London. Somebody did something really bad and the company reacted... They're piling on." Apparently Fox News has a bit of trouble distinguishing its hackees from its hackers.

Now, in a Monday Wall Street Journal editorial on "News and Its Critics" that borders on brilliant satire, the Murdoch-owned paper rails on about how "our competitors are using the phone-hacking years ago at a British corner of News Corp. to assail the Journal, and perhaps injure press freedom in general." That's right, haters, when you criticize an organization that breaks into a murdered girl's voicemails, and believes paying off cops and tampering with individual privacy is "part of the game," you're messing with the First Amendment itself. Though the editorial is unsigned, one can't help noting its spiritual kinship with the persuasive rhetoric of that legendary debater, Eric "Otter" Stratton, who once noted, "The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules or took a few liberties... You can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few sick, perverted individuals... for isn't this an indictment of our entire American society?"

The piece goes on swinging from there, defending recently resigned publisher and CEO Les Hinton, who "said he knew nothing about wide-scale hacking," and noting that "on ethical questions, his judgment was as sound as that of any editor we've had."

[fredamae]

1. I ain't buying this load of crap...Next excuse please? n/t

[LAGC]

2. I hope this whole scandal spreads clear to the top.

It would be sweet justice if Fox News and the Wall Street Journal had to fold it in and go out of business as well.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Amerigo Vespucci.

[C_U_L8R]

4. do they protest too much?

tell it to the judge