“Never say anything against the family again”
by digby
This story of the Murdoch empire’s bullying and extortion of British politicians sounds remarkably familiar:
However much they might deplore tabloid methods and articles — the photographers lurking in the bushes; the reporters in disguise entrapping subjects into sexual indiscretion or financial malfeasance; the editors paying tens of thousands of dollars for exclusive access to the mistresses of politicians and sports stars; the hidden taping devices; the constant stream of stories about illicit sex romps — politicians have often been afraid to say so publicly, for fear of losing the papers’ support or finding themselves the target of their wrath.
If showering politicians with political rewards for cultivating his support has been the carrot in the Murdoch equation, then punishing them for speaking out has generally been the stick. But the latest revelations in the phone-hacking scandal appear to have broken the spell, emboldening even Murdoch allies like Prime Minister David Cameron to criticize his organization and convene a commission to examine press regulation.
[…]
[P]oliticians have always been most afraid of the sting of The Sun and its Sunday sister (at least until this Sunday, when it is to close), The News of the World, because the papers’ good will is so important politically.“They go on little feeding frenzies against various politicians,” said Roy Greenslade, a professor of journalism at City University London. Until the floodgates opened on Wednesday, when the outrage over the latest phone-hacking revelations had politicians voicing disgust in a cathartic parliamentary session, most members of Parliament were terrified of crossing Mr. Murdoch, Professor Greenslade said.
“Privately, M.P.’s say all sorts of things, but most of them have kept very, very quiet about Rupert Murdoch until now,” he added. “When you are facing the wrath of News International, you can bet they will turn up anything about you — whether it be true or just spun in a certain way.”
Labour politicians still shudder about the fate of Neil Kinnock, the party leader in the early 1990s, who was leading the Conservative Party’s John Major in the 1992 election when The Sun mounted a sustained attack on him. The reasons were political — the paper supported the Conservative Party — but the means were personal. Mr. Kinnock was the subject of a barrage of articles depicting him as inept, long-winded, strange looking, and even mentally unstable.
Thank goodness that could never happen here.
Our media culture is different and oddly it operates a little bit more subtly than Britain. But the “tabloidization” of our politics since the advent of Drudge (who commonly laundered GOP dirt through the British press) and then Fox News has also taken its toll. And the Murdoch empire’s fundamental thuggish nature is fully operative here as it is there.
Which is why this column by Joe Nocera is so lame — he attributes all this to Murdoch’s high spirits and immaturity:
Most people outgrow their twentysomething selves. As they age, they realize that the impulses and excitements of youth need to be tempered with the judgment, empathy and caution that come with maturity. They get a better feel for the lines that ought not to be crossed. Journalists, in particular, learn that there are stories that ought not to be pursued. Not every scoop is worth it.
Murdoch’s essential problem is that he never grew up. His instincts as a journalist are the same as when he was 22. “I love competition,” he said at the end of that Esquire interview. “And I want to win.”
A little too much, it turns out.
I’m sure old Rupert loves to win. Most business moguls do. And for all I know his early years on Fleet Street were hugely influential in forming his personality and ethics. But the problem is a little deeper than that. Murdoch uses his powerful and highly political media empire explicitly to punish anyone who criticizes the mepire and that’s a lot more insidious than an overweening love desire for a good competition.
And anyway, his boy Ailes also goes ballistic whenever anyone insults the Fox cult here in the US, so I’m guessing this runs much deeper in the corporate ethos. Remember this?
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