|
Post by jdredd on Jul 1, 2011 12:56:48 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-myspace-sale-20110630,0,932431.story "Now, Myspace is seemingly no place — a digital castoff that corporate parent News Corp. sold for $35 million in cash and equity to an Orange County digital media firm specializing in online advertising. That's a fraction of the $580 million that the media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch paid to acquire the site a scant six years ago, and well shy of its one-time $65-billion valuation." "The reason Facebook has consistently [drubbed Myspace] is Mark Zuckerberg owns product strategy," said Mark Suster of GRP Partners, a leading venture capital firm in Southern California. "When the company needs to turn on a dime, they're able to do so. You don't get this quagmire of bureaucracy." Myspace's management turmoil delayed the promised relaunch of the struggling site, which continued to hemorrhage users and advertisers and lose money. The inability to stop the slide set the stage for Tuesday's sale to Specific Media, a little-known advertising network in Irvine. Michael Birch, the founder of the Bebo social network, said News Corp. remained focused on monetizing the site instead of constantly innovating to become a huge social network." Zuckerberg ran rings around Murdoch...which is why those old egotistical geezers need to get out of the way whether they want to or not.
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 6, 2011 20:55:04 GMT -5
www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-06/murdoch-gets-dangerous-for-cameron.html"For three decades, Britain’s powerful have sought close relations with Rupert Murdoch and his newspapers. Now politicians, police and businesses are all finding that closeness is becoming dangerous. News International said late yesterday it will investigate allegations its News of the World tabloid hacked the phones of relatives of dead soldiers, after reports that the voicemail of murder and terror victims was intercepted. Ford Motor Co. is among companies pulling advertising. Senior policemen who dined editors of the paper now have 45 detectives investigating it. As Murdoch’s News Corp. (NWSA) attempts to win approval for buying British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY), politicians are questioning the extent of his power. Prime Minister David Cameron is under pressure for hiring a former editor of the News of The World who had already resigned over phone-hacking. The police must now deal with allegations the newspaper made payments to officers. “We have let one man have far too great a sway over our national life,” Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant told Parliament in London in an emergency debate yesterday. “Murdoch is not resident here, does not pay tax here. No other country would allow one man to garner four national newspapers, the second largest broadcaster, a monopoly on sports rights and first-view movies.”
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 6, 2011 22:04:29 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/business/media/hacking-scandal-poses-new-threat-to-news-corporations-image.html?_r=1&hp"Risk-taking and line-skirting have always been just one more cost of doing business for Rupert Murdoch. But the widening voice-mail hacking scandal at the British tabloid News of the World threatens to stain the company’s image in a way that other embarrassing incidents at News Corporation’s far-flung media properties — which also include the Fox networks and The New York Post — have not." "Still, Mr. Murdoch was evidently worried enough about the fallout from the hacking scandal that he convened what someone close to him described as a “war council” in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he was attending a media conference. Mr. Murdoch was there on Wednesday with his wife, Wendi, and his son Lachlan. Ms. Murdoch was seen by a reporter at the conference, but Mr. Murdoch was not. Mr. Murdoch, weighing into the controversy for the first time since some of Britain’s leading politicians called for an investigation into the News Corporation’s news-gathering practices, called the accusations of hacking “deplorable and unacceptable” and vowed to cooperate with any police inquiries."
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 7, 2011 16:21:36 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/uk-soldiers-targeted-murdoch-phone-hacking-scandal-report-030337129.html"LONDON (Reuters) - In an astonishing response to a scandal engulfing his media empire, Rupert Murdoch shut down the News of the World on Thursday, Britain's biggest selling Sunday newspaper. As allegations multiplied that its journalists hacked the voicemails of thousands of people, from child murder victims to the families of Britain's war dead, the tabloid hemorrhaged advertising, alienated millions of readers and posed a growing threat to Murdoch's hopes of buying broadcaster BSkyB. Yet no one, least of all the paper's 200 staff, was prepared for the drama of a single sentence that will surely go down as one of the most startling turns in the 80-year-old Australian-born press baron's long and controversial career. "News International today announces that this Sunday, 10 July 2011, will be the last issue of the News of the World," read the preamble to a statement from Murdoch's son James, who chairs the British newspaper arm of News Corp. Staff gasped and some sobbed as they were told of the planned closure of the 168-year-old title, the profits of whose final edition will go to charity." I have to hand it to Murdoch, he knows how to handle a crisis even at his advanced age. And he knows how to keep his "eyes on the prize", that is of course BskyB. Of course that is no comfort to the 200 sacrificial lambs at News of the World.
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 9, 2011 13:46:32 GMT -5
www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/09/us-newscorp-hacking-ofcom-idUSTRE7681TY20110709(Reuters) - Britain's broadcasting watchdog will come under intense pressure in assessing whether directors of Rupert Murdoch's business empire, including son James, are fit to run UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB -- a decision that could have implications for Murdoch's global operations. Ofcom, which regulates broadcasting in Britain, has said it could consider whether directors at Murdoch's News Corp are "fit and proper" persons to run the pay-TV operator, which News Corp wants to take over, in the wake of a scandal at one of the group's UK newspapers. Previously, those looking at whether Murdoch should get the go-ahead for the multi-billion dollar deal have been focused on whether it would give him too much power over Britain's media. Murdoch's minions "fit and proper"? They need look no further than Fox News.
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 9, 2011 13:52:13 GMT -5
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/09/rupert-murdoch-bskyb-takeover-bid"Rupert Murdoch will fly into the UK this weekend to bolster beleaguered News International executives, including his son James and Rebekah Brooks, as they battle to stop the growing scandal of hacking and police corruption from poisoning his newspaper empire and killing off his bid to take over BSkyB. Murdoch is understood to be deeply concerned that the campaign against his company led by the Mumsnet website and the rch of England could now damage other titles in his stable after car manufacturer Renault became the first major brand to say it would cease advertising in all News International newspapers. The rch of England entered the row over phone hacking yesterday with a threat to sell its £4m shares in News Corporation if it failed to hold "senior managers" to account over the scandal."
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 9, 2011 13:59:19 GMT -5
www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/08/bskyb-murdoch-takeover-phone-hacking"BSkyB shares fall £1.8bn on fears about 'fit and proper' Ofcom test Markets react to phone-hacking scandal as City speculates over Rupert Murdoch's plan to take full control of BSkyB." "Nervous US hedge-fund investors jammed the switchboards of London lawyers, demanding to know the scale of the regulatory threat. By late afternoon, shareholders were dumping the stock and the share price began to fall, down more than 7 percentage points to close at 750p."
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 9, 2011 16:09:54 GMT -5
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8627792/The-Americans-who-are-trying-to-rescue-Rupert-Murdoch-and-News-Corp-from-the-News-of-the-World-phone-hacking-scandal.html"Mr Murdoch was repeatedly asked to comment on events across the Atlantic, where one of News Corporation's most high profile divisions appeared to be coming apart at the seams. "I made my statement yesterday and have nothing further to say," he said, before quickly departing behind the conference cordon. This weekend he is flying into the UK to "take charge" of the hacking scandal which is threatening to engulf News International and has already led to the closure of The News of the World. "Mr Murdoch will be accompanied by Chase Carey, his number two, as the American owners of the UK assets ride in to take control. In terms of revenue and profits, News International is a "little local difficulty" for a global media group that gains its billions of pounds of profits from its TV interests, notably Fox in America and BSkyB in the UK. But there is a growing fear that as News Corp's share price drifts downwards and BSkyB's falls more precipitously, the contagion effect of the UK problems might start affecting vital global ambitions." 'Mr Murdoch has also relied heavily on two of the sharpest legal minds in the US to help stem the flow of negative publicity. Both members of News Corp's board, Joel Klein and Viet Dinh, are now overseeing the investigation. It is being led from the UK by group general manager Will Lewis, public relations head Simon Greenberg, and European general counsel Jeff Palker. Rebekah Brooks was removed from running the process on Friday evening. " Law professor Viet Dinh played a central role in 2001 in drafting the Patriot Act, the US government's legal response to the September 11 terrorist attacks that saw surveillance powers increase dramatically. Mr Dinh, who was born in Vietnam, teaches at Washington's Georgetown University and has sat on News Corp's board since 2004." Where's the conspiracy freaks on this? But evil billionaires usually have the best brains that can be bought.
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 9, 2011 16:52:03 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-murdoch-press-20110709,0,5655756.story "Reporting from New York— The deepening scandal surrounding the London tabloid News of the World is being covered very differently by the media outlets of News Corp. — owner of the paper — and their chief rivals. The home page of the New York Times on Friday morning was splashed with stories about the phone-hacking scandal, including a piece about the arrest of a former aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron; an analysis of the Tory government's connection to News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch; a profile of Rebekah Brooks, the embattled chief executive of News International, Murdoch's British publishing group; a piece about News of the World staffers; and an article about the public uproar in Britain. Most of the stories were given prominent placement, and they came after multiple front-page print stories over the last several days. Meanwhile, the home page of the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal featured one lead story about the ex-Cameron aide, former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, and two less-prominent links, and the Journal put one story about the News of the World on the front page of its print edition. At the Murdoch-owned New York Post, there was no prominent coverage of the scandal on its home page Friday morning, nor on the front page of the newspaper; instead, print coverage was tucked away inside the paper's business section." But that's how propaganda works: You don't lie, as you can be held accountable, you just de-emphasize anything that is negative to your agenda, and exaggerate things that support your agenda. Just watch Fox News for a lesson.
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 10, 2011 19:25:17 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-murdoch-hacking-20110710,0,2827361.story Reporting from London— He's been one of the most powerful forces in British politics for decades, even though he doesn't live here and can't vote in an election. He's been an honored guest at 10 Downing St., as well as one of the most feared.But it's an upside-down world that will greet media kingpin Rupert Murdoch when he arrives in London for an expected visit Sunday as he personally takes on the battle to keep an explosive phone-hacking scandal at one of his tabloids from sinking the rest of his business interests. Almost overnight, open season has been declared on Murdoch, with politicians once too afraid to criticize him now lining up to rail against the Australian-born billionaire and his vast media holdings. The effect has been of a dam bursting in a country whose people are famed for their reticence. "We have let one man have far too great a sway over our national life," Chris Bryant, a member of the Labor Party, declared in Parliament. "No other country would allow one man to garner four national newspapers, the second-largest broadcaster, a monopoly on sports rights and first-view movies," Bryant told his fellow lawmakers last week. "America, the home of the aggressive entrepreneur, doesn't allow it. We shouldn't." Chickens coming home to roost for the media Robber Baron. If only the rot would undermine Fox News next...
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 11, 2011 0:03:30 GMT -5
www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2011/07/british-press-and-phone-hacking-scandal"This is a bad business for News International, the British press in general (who know that vile conduct went well beyond the NotW), and for the Metropolitan Police, who have been left looking at best cowardly and at worst complicit in covering up wrongdoing, after senior officers displayed astonishing reluctance to dig deep into a phone-hacking scandal that dates back to 2005. But it is a nasty moment for Mr Cameron, too. Most people have a pretty low opinion of the tabloid press already, and most of the new revelations merely buttress rumours and suggestions that have been in the ether for a long while. But Mr Cameron's political strength is very much bound up in his personal brand: time and again he uses his own character and life story (eg, talking of his devotion to the National Health Service which looked after a severely disabled son, Ivan, who died in 2009) as proof that the Conservative Party has changed, and is no longer a nasty, heartless outfit. Even people who do not agree with his policies seem at least somewhat willing to accept that as a person, Mr Cameron is decent and broadly honourable. That is pretty rare in modern politics, and means Mr Cameron has something to lose." This scandal will probably not bring down Murdoch, he is too powerful, but maybe it will at least bring down his toady Cameron...one can hope, anyway...
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 11, 2011 3:14:56 GMT -5
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013299/Rupert-Murdoch-10bn-BSkyB-takeover-delayed.html?ITO=1490"James Murdoch’s hopes of succeeding his father at the top of News Corporation were thrown into doubt yesterday as the phone-hacking crisis deepened, writes Hugo Duncan. Rupert Murdoch’s embattled son, who is chairman of News Corp’s News International arm, which owns the News of the World, could be quizzed by police in the wake of the scandal at the Sunday tabloid. Analysts and investors are now questioning whether the 38-year-old should take over from his father when the 80-year-old media mogul steps down. US investor Yacktman, the eighth largest shareholder in News Corp with a 3.2pc, backed Rupert Murdoch’s right-hand man Chase Carey. ‘We would be thrilled if Chase Carey became successor,’ said Yacktman vice president Jason Subotky."
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 12, 2011 12:57:11 GMT -5
www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-11/murdoch-buys-time-with-bskyb-review.html"News Corp. (NWSA) bought itself time to weather the furor over phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World by pushing U.K. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to refer its bid for British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY) to regulators. Hunt was forced to send the offer for the pay-TV operator to the U.K. Competition Commission for review after Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. yesterday dropped its previous offer to spin off Sky News into a separate company to complete the BSkyB deal. Lawyers called the decision by News Corp. “a clever tactic” and a “smart move.” Sly dog Murdoch dodges a bullet...he still knows how to pull the strings of UK politicians.
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 14, 2011 17:24:58 GMT -5
Gosh, so much going on in Murdoch's evil empire I can't even keep up!
Now the FBI is looking at him about violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act...never even heard of that one, but it sounds promising!
Murdoch's eventual demise was inevitable, but it could be happening a lot quicker than I could have imagined. Sometimes prayers ARE answered...
|
|
|
Post by jdredd on Jul 14, 2011 23:40:50 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/world/europe/15hinton.html?_r=1&hp"Even in a company noted for its loyalty, Mr. Hinton stands out both for his length of service — he has worked for Rupert Murdoch for more than 50 years — and for his wide experience within the News Corporation. He has worked in almost every part of the company and is chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and the crown jewel of Mr. Murdoch’s American news media empire. It can seem difficult to square Mr. Hinton’s 12-year run at News International — a company whose papers ran pictures of nude women and paid sources for information — with his leadership of Dow Jones and The Journal, a paper that until recently preferred sketches over photographs. " "During the eight years that Mr. Hinton was chairman of the body that wrote the journalist’s code of conduct, known as the Editors’ Code of Practice Committee, part of his responsibility was to testify before Parliament or rush to the defense of his colleagues whenever outrage over the press’s aggressive and legally questionable tactics was pitched enough to warrant an inquiry. He resisted even the most minor efforts to regulate practices that many media critics saw as unseemly. After a scandal at The Mirror in which writers were making stock-purchase recommendations for companies from which they expected to profit, Parliament wanted to require journalists to declare their interests in any shares they recommended. Mr. Hinton attacked the proposal as “completely unworkable.”
|
|