When Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation purchased The Wall Street Journal in 2007, promises were made by Murdoch, the world's 21st-century William Randolph Hearst, that the Journal's sterling editorial integrity and independence from ownership would go unscathed.
Even when a popular managing editor in Marcus Brauchli was replaced after the acquisition with Murdoch's choice, Robert Thomson, there were few other conspicuous signs that Murdoch had the same sort of stranglehold on the Journal's day-to-day news coverage which he has shown with his other newspapers. In the initial months of News Corp.'s ownership of the Journal, it seemed Murdoch would keep his promise.
But recent developments will truly test the mettle of the United States' second-largest newspaper by circulation. A report by one of the few daring newspapers left in the English-language news media, The Guardian, revealed evidence that the News of the World and other trashy News Corp. tabloids illegally hacked into the phones of British politicians and other public figures. While the news has caught international attention, the Journal's coverage has been markedly muted, and is limited to an un-bylined "Wall Street Journal Roundup" - likely extracted from a wire service. This article makes no disclosure statement that the Journal itself is owned by News Corp. until the 8th paragraph, by which time most readers have already moved their attention to YouTube, Hulu.com (d'oh, also jointly owned by News Corp.!) or Facebook. It is a highly unusual way to cover a highly newsworthy event involving the world's best-known media mogul, no?
Indeed, it's another example of a news organization struggling with its corporate parent, a time-old challenge of keeping big business out of the truth's way (see NBC trying to cover General Electric, or ABC trying to report on Disney - it just doesn't happen). I suppose we shouldn't be surprised.
Posts
3 years ago
2 comments:
This type of conflict of interest happens all the time in the UK as Murdoch owns three of the biggest-selling newspapers - his titles give each other lots of positive coverage and none negative.
What's interesting is the involvement or otherwise of the Prime-Minister-in-waiting's director of communications in all these murky happenings - Andy Couslon's position is now being seen by many as untenable, althoug making a party-political issue out of what may be a criminal affair is none too wise...!
I say if the Tories and Labour wanna' fight over it, let 'em ;)
Post a Comment