RUPERT MURDOCH’S MEDIA EMPIRE SHAKEN

The 168 year old newspaper ‘News of the World’ based in London and owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is part of history now. It was forced to shut down following allegations of massive phone - hacking scandals which invited the wrath of British public. Abuse of media ethics by the 168 year old newspaper assumed gargantuan proportions and still it was self-adulatory calling itself ‘the greatest newspaper in the world’.
Chief Executive Rebecca Brooks had to quit the post as most of the phone-hacking scandals had taken place while she was serving as the editor of ‘News of the World’. It is estimated that more than 4000 phone - hacking scandals undertaken by the paper came out into the open which included the victims of 7/7 train bombings with the collusion of politicians-police nexus.
The whole hell broke loose with the news of the phone hacking of a recently murdered teen-aged girl child Milly Dowler breaking out which rocked entire Britain calling for action against the media empire under Rupert Murdoch. It is alleged that most of the hacking took place while Rebecca Brooks was in charge of editorial affairs which she denied initially. Later owning up responsibility she resigned her post of Chief Executive of New International. Rebecca Brooks is widely known as close-confident of Mr.Murdoch and was ‘considered’ as his fifth daughter. In spite of his strong support there was a large outcry for her ouster calling her a liability in the media world.
Immediately after she quit the post British police took her under custody the other day. Mr.Murdoch, his son James currently the Chairman of News International and Rebecca Brooks are summoned by the media committee of the House of Commons to be grilled by those handling the charges on Tuesday. Besides Prime Minister David Cameroon has ordered a judicial inquiry into the whole episode. And he has termed the nasty practices followed by the newspaper violating all media ethics as ‘disgraceful’.
In the meanwhile Mr.Murdoch’s plan to own the B Sky B, the satellite broadcaster has been shelved. He holds 39 percent stake in the satellite broadcaster and his plan to acquire the remaining 61 percent stakes has been blocked for the time being.
The man is shrewd and wily. To regain the lost confidence among the discerning public he advertised a full page ‘We are sorry’ advert in almost all newspapers in Britain. Feeling not enough, the next day too the newspapers carried another advert.
British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband has called for the ‘break-up’ of the media empire ostensibly to break the monopoly in the media world in Britain. At present Mr.Murdoch alone commands 20 percent of the media empire in Britain. Along with Ed Miliband the Liberal party leader and Deputy PM Nick Clegg has called for ‘plurality’ in the media world in support of Ed Miliband’s call for the break-up of Mr.Murdoch’s media fiefdom. It is noteworthy here that before all the hell broke loose British PM David Cameroon was known to be close to him.
While all these were transpiring in Britian, America’s FBI is in a hot pursuit of the phone-hacking scandals of the victims of the 9/11 World Trade Centre attack.
Upon going thru all these developments we can very well reach the conclusion that the tidings are not good for Murdoch and his vast empire. He reminds me of a fictional character – a media baron – in an acclaimed American novel.
Murdoch and his employees’ stooping to such low levels throwing to wind all media ethics is to put it mildly ‘nasty, deplorable and abhorrent. The man’s only ambition even in the twilight of life is widening his empire’. Tabloids and spicy TV channels cater to the wishes of the public and to raise the level of standard of public at large is not his forte.