Is this the beginning of the end of Rupert Murdoch's media empire?

Yeah, I know.....but hope springs eternal and all....

That's cool . . . and i figure that's what's in operation here. The likelihood, though, is now that dear old Morny Rupert has shown the way, he'd jsut be replaced by an equally squalid exploiter.

Have you been closely following the latest news from the UK, Setanta?
There has been such a load of very damning evidence. I don't know that you could not see that there's a very genuine case against the way that the Murdochs have done their business in the media. Or that you could not see that there has been a severe backlash from all sides of the political spectrum to it.
Murdoch's corporate stocks have had to be rescued by themselves (by buying up US stocks in the face of serious investors' lack of confidence) , the BSkyB take-over appears to have been stymied in the UK & political "friends" who have previously relied on Murdoch patronage to maintain advantage have deserted him ..... etc.

At this point in time I am not arguing that the Murdoch empire is totally washed up .... I'd argue that it's the end of unquestioning subservience to the Murdoch influence, which is what underpins the "empire". Fear of what would happen to any political party if they didn't toe the Murdoch line.
And (hopefully) regulations will be put on place to limit media ownership by any one media organization in the future.

I am not arguing that Murdoch is completely finished ... I'm thinking that the heyday of the Murdoch empire, as we've known it, is probably over.
My original question in starting this thread was : is this the beginning of the end of Rupert Murdoch's media empire?
My hunch, at this point in time, is that his empire's power has been seriously curtailed.
Whether this is a permanent state of affairs, I don't know.
We will have to wait & see.
But, I think there will be a lot more scepticism in the future about the political pronouncements of Murdoch media outlets, following the recent revelations & latest developments.

That said, I'd be very interested to hear, in more detail, what your thinking is.

How can you not see that his "empire" stretches across the globe and the UK is a single jurisdiction among many?

I don't need you to treat as though i were stupid, or deaf, dumb and blind. I know what's happening in Little England, and so far, it is nowhere near spelling the demise of his "empire."

I do see that his empire stretches across the globe, Setanta, & commented earlier in the thread on the possible fall-out from the UK scandal on his media interests in other countries.


I wasn't suggesting you are deaf, dumb & blind, Setanta.
I'm sorry that you think I was. That wasn't my intention.
I was simply asking for more details on the comment you posted & gave you my reasons for seeing things differently to you.

http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/07/12/rupert_murdoch_s_news_corp_tax_profits_investigation_shows_compa.html

Turns out that Murdoch has been using tricks to get tax refunds from the US - large ones. Instead of paying the 3.6 billion or so in taxes on their 10 billion in profits in recent years, they've RECEIVED over 4 billion from the gov't.

Fox News, subsidized by Uncle Sam. What a crazy world we live in.



Cycloptichorn

What more details do you want? His media holdings are world-wide. England is no longer the military center of the world, no longer the colonial center of the world, no longer the mercantile center of the world, and no longer the financial center of the world. Although, due to the extent of the English-speaking world and the continuing cachet of all things English in the Commonwealth, news from England gets splashed and repeated all over the media, a slump in Murdoch's media activities there will not endanger his media empire. It's not even certain right now that he'll be driven out of business in Little England. So far, he's shut down the News of the World and he may, he may, be blocked from acquiring B Sky B--that doesn't mean he's finished, not even in England, and i see no reason to assume that this is the beginning of the end.

From my perspective, it has little to do with whether England is the centre of the world, or not, anymore. Nor is it about the Commonwealth.

To me, it is everything to do with with the ethics (or lack of) of the media organizations he owns, how those organizations have systematically abused power, corrupted government processes for Murdoch's own ends, in what ever country they operate in.
There is now a possibility of legal action against James Murdoch in the US, the Australian government taken the unusual step of blocking a Murdoch bid to broadcast from Australia into China, as I posted earlier in the thread:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/move-to-block-tv-bid-20110703-1gxcj.html

... & the fallout in the UK has grown dramatically, almost on a daily basis, with both major parties now agreeing that his bid for BSkyB should be blocked, say nothing of the impact on the value of Murdoch shares on the stock exchange ...

I am not saying any of this to have a go at you personally, Setanta, I simply disagree with your assessment.

I do think that is the case.

As you'll know from the nymag archives I linked earlier in the thread, the demise of the Murdoch media empire was forecast in 1998 (and 2003 and ...).

I think that once Fox News took off in the U.S., any goings- on elsewhere became nearly irrelevant.

It may still be considered prestigious to be involved in U.K. media, but I don't think it has much financial or political meaning anymore.

As the U.S. continues its slow move to the political right, Fox and the Murdoch group become more powerful and influential.

I know you're not "having a go" at me personally. I think that you simply overestimate the significance of these events.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14142307



Cycloptichorn

Actually, when I started this thread, I couldn't have imagined that Murdoch's situation & reputation would deteriorate as rapidly as it has.

I strongly disagree.

I would argue that Fox & the Murdoch group have played a big part in influencing the move to the right, in the US, the UK, Australia ....

And I think you are underestimating them.

Wow, that's quite a development!

Yup. That had the potential to be a huge cash cow for them; now gone.

Cycloptichorn

But the loss of the possible power & the influence as well!
That would meant a virtual monopoly to Murdoch if he'd been successful.

what matters right now is the U.S.

what will matter very soon is China

if Murdoch can sort out a way into the Chinese market that doesn't involve Australia, I think the group will be close to unstoppable

That will never happen, ever. Much of Murdoch's message and audience revolve around a continual drumbeat of distaste for the government, and whipping up agitation against taxes.

That simply won't be allowed to exist in China; they don't allow it today, why would they allow Murdoch to move in?

Cycloptichorn

I work/have worked with some people who are involved in developing two particular commercial market segments in China. Markets that we wouldn't have thought of existing in China 10 - 15 years ago. They are barn-burners now.

Things are changing so rapidly there. I'm not sure whether to be encouraged or frightened.

the most recent plan was to broadcast from offshore/satellite - much like the Pirate Radio days in England - so they don't actually have to "move in".