Rupert Murdoch continues to expand his vast global media empire and this week the Uncultured Secretary Jeremy Hunt gave Murdoch permission to attempt to control the whole of Sky TV. If the BSkyB shareholders accept Murdoch's offer, Newscorp will easily be the largest private media company in British media history with an expected turnover of £9billion. This is almost double the turnover of the BBC whose licence fee was recently frozen by Jeremy Hunt and Hunt has also appointed Lord Patten- an ex-Tory MP- as the next chairman of the BBC Trust. This has inspired accusations that the current government is anti-BBC and pro-Murdoch.
Hunt's decision was described by Ivan Lewis, the Shadow Culture Secretary, as: '...utter cowardice....this process has exposed an arrogant government, cavalier about its responsibility to be impartial and contemptuous of the importance of transparency in circumstances where there is a high level of public mistrust..' Dennis Skinner, a left wing Labour MP, described the decision as 'a disastrous day for democracy'.
Students should be aware that the Labour Party had courted the support of Murdoch and many believe Murdoch's support of Tony Blair was crucial in the 1997 General Election when the Conservative government was defeated. Therefore the Labour Party could be accused of extreme hypocrisy.
Why do British politicians court Murdoch? Why was Murdoch the first person to meet David Cameron in No:10 Downing Street after Cameron formed the Coalition Government? What does this tell us about Media and Politics? Why did Cameron appoint an ex-Newscorp employee
-Andy Coulson, who resigned as Cameron's advisor after being implicated in the 'telephone tapping' scandal involving the News of the World- as his media advisor?
Any media student with a flicker of interest in media studies should be aware of the issues and debates that surround Rupert and James Murdoch and the existence of Newscorp. Issues such as media regulation, institutional bias, plurality, marxist theory, audience theory, media and democracy, and representation can all be explored through a study of Murdoch and his media empire.
This link will navigate students towards the blog of Adam Curtis, a filmmaker who is clearly suspicious of Murdoch's motives, but the footage is incredibly interesting. There are interviews with Murdoch from the 1960s and footage of editorial meetings from the same period. This may be a resource aimed more at media teachers BUT any individual with an interest in media should find this archive footage fascinating. It provides an overview of Murdoch's position in British media history. Included in the material is an episode of the BBC's Panorama titled: Who is afraid of Rupert Murdoch? This resource is superb and includes a studio interview with Murdoch. Enjoy. Click on link below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/01/rupert_murdoch_-_a_portrait_of.html
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