Questions for News Corp over rival's collapse. Why is this potentially explosive? The Guardian reports:
Part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire employed computer hacking to undermine the business of its chief TV rival in Britain, according to evidence due to be broadcast by BBC1's Panorama programme on Monday.
The allegations stem from apparently incriminating emails the programme-makers have obtained, and on-screen descriptions for the first time from two of the people said to be involved, a German hacker and the operator of a pirate website secretly controlled by a Murdoch company.
If true, at the minimum News Corp loses its tv license (the UK has "fit and proper" test for broadcasters). If true, what do you think News Corp's former rivals will do? Yes, they will sue them out the ass. As if News Corp needs more more legal fees. And I'm no expert in UK law, but destroying your rivals by aiding and abetting--at the minimum--counterfeiting by pirates? That has to have criminal implications.
News Corp rose to prominence by threatening politicians and thrwoing support behind those who were willing to rub their nipples and fellate themselves for Rupert Murdoch's enjoyment. Some people refused and Murdoch's assets made their lives miserable. A lot of people hate that filthy old man. I honestly believe that News Corp could finally go down. And when it does, who will be there to overpay Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity? These fuckers may finally get the future they deserve.
Y shld Moredouche be held to a higher standard than say, billigates or a corporate raider like Buffett? I'm puzzled - why did Lehman Bros get fucked and Goldman Sux rules the world?
Posted by: JDM | March 27, 2012 at 08:46 AM
The Nation hired Marvin Kitman to watch Fox News for 2 weeks continuously in a sort of reprise of Morgan Spurlock's "Supersize Me", done with rightwing propaganda instead of hamburgers.
"Where O’Reilly is semi-demented, Hannity is a total madman. The only thing balanced about him is the part in the middle of his hair."
http://www.thenation.com/article/166668/fox-news-effect
Kitman has an article in the upcoming Harper's on how Murdoch could have been stopped and inveigled his way into US media basically with lies and bribes.
"Murdoch Triumphant: How We Could Have Stopped Him—Twice."
http://www.thenation.com/blog/155351/preview-marvin-kitman-probes-failure-stop-rupert-murdoch-upcoming-iharpersi
The fact that, e.g. a psychopath is a psychopath doesn't mean they're not good at what they do.
Gingrich matches up with Robert Hare's psychopath checklist item-for-item, but managed to become speaker.
In that vein, (psychopaths/sociopaths have X-ray vision for other's weaknesses) I can't fault Murdoch for seeing exactly how to accomplish his goals with threats and bribes. It worked.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in ourselves, but in a system which permits the cancerous growth of economic and political power in a few hands and was designed to do exactly that by the sainted founding fathers. Clarence Thomas and his ilk are just apparatchiks for the real owners.
Posted by: bowtiejack | March 27, 2012 at 10:37 AM
This is incredible. To be clear: News Corp hired hackers to disseminate the codes for accessing a rival satellite channel... and the channel ended up going out of business due to the rampant piracy.
If there was ever a case for the corporate death penalty, this is it.
Posted by: MDC | March 27, 2012 at 11:58 AM
JDM: Well, among other things, Murdoch destroyed his rival with his dirty dealing--not the corporation he was using to get rich.
bowtiejack: Gingrich is a vicious piece of shit. I hope he becomes an invalid and has to hear and watch Callista going down on the help.
MDC: At this point I would be happy with News Corp drowning in legal bills and damages awards. But yes, if corporations are people, this person needs to be killed. GMB
Posted by: gmb | March 27, 2012 at 09:22 PM