Breaking News: George Zimmerman to Host FOX "News" Program, Stand Your Ground

Image from source, the brilliant NewsCorpse

No, not really. But would it surprise you?

[Excerpt]

Fox News Signs George Zimmerman As Host: “Stand Your Ground” Premieres This Fall

. . .Sources inside Fox News have confirmed that Zimmerman has agreed to host a nightly crime and social affairs program on the network that is set to premiere in October 2013. The controversial signing is consistent with Fox’s programming philosophy of exploiting the transient publicity of media spectacles by drafting the beneficiaries of inordinate press attention, despite a lack of experience or qualifications – e.g. Sarah Palin. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

Olbermann: Could News Corp. Be Behind "Climategate" Hacking?

Oooh. Do you remember what "climategate" was? A bunch of scientists had their emails hacked, see, and their mails were kind of unprofessional and snarky. It was alleged--often by News Corp. property FOX "News"--that the emails proved that global warming (aka global climate change) was a hoax. Or something. They didn't really do that, but you know how those FOX narratives go. Like how ACORN may have been exonerated, but FOX viewers still believe that James O'Keefe is some sort of folk hero for "bringin' 'em down."

But how interesting would it be if this whole climategate thing was a result of Rupert Murdoch's companies' illegal hacking? For one thing, it would drag this scandal into an even bigger light.

[Excerpt]

Olbermann: News Corp. could be behind ‘Climate Gate’ hacking

On Countdown Wednesday night, Keith Olbermann discussed with Joe Romm, editor of ClimateProgress.org, the possibility that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation was behind the “Climate Gate” hacking. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

MySpace is for Sale: There is One Bidder

MySpace used to be the place to go on the internet. I joined it, but never quite figured it out. In fact, almost every MySpace page I ever went to was so badly designed--with text that couldn't be read over the loud background images, and loud music files playing with no obvious "off button--that it just wasn't worth the time. Then Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp bought MySpace at just about the time that Facebook was taking off. Facebook was easy to understand, easy on the eyes, and much more usable. I don't think I ever went to another MySpace page.

It's kind of interesting to see which services become so common that they are now parts of speech (Google), and which ones wither and die. Sometimes it's sad. Other times--like when Rupert Murdoch is involved--I feel a bit of schadenfreude.

[Excerpt]

Myspace Has Just One Bidder, Sources Say



The tragic tale of once successful Myspace may finally come to an end. . .
 
Read more at: Huffington Post

FOX "News" Chief Instructs Employee to Lie

Image of Alfred Hitchcock
Roger Ailes from source, NYTimes

Yeah, sure, this happened a while back. But it's just coming to light, and it's just further evidence that Rupert Murdoch's empire is run by folks like Roger Ailes who have a very loose relationship with the truth.

[Excerpt]

Fox News Chief, Roger Ailes, Urged Employee to Lie, Records Show



It was an incendiary allegation — and a mystery of great intrigue in the media world: After the publishing powerhouse Judith Regan was fired by HarperCollins in 2006, she claimed that a senior executive at its parent company, News Corporation, had encouraged her to lie two years earlier to federal investigators who were vetting Bernard B. Kerik for the job of homeland security secretary. . . 


Read more at: New York Times

Rupert Murdoch Sarah Palin's Biggest Supporter?

Which is less surprising, that Sarah Palin once again has a--surely ghost written--book out just in time for Christmas, or that Rupert Murdoch is financing the book tour? I curse John McCain for many things, but unleashing this woman upon the world is perhaps the worst thing he ever did to America.

[Excerpt]

Image from Raw Story

Bankrolling book tour, Murdoch emerges as Palin’s top 2012 supporter

As she embarks on her 16-stop book tour promoting "America by Heart," former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has one person to be enormously grateful to: media baron Rupert Murdoch.


Palin's publisher, HarperCollins Publishers, is part of the News Corp. media empire, and they're bankrolling her tour. It's not coincidence that her stops focus inordinately on swing-states, either. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

FOX "News" Parent Company Gives Big Bucks to GOP

Image from source, NewsCorpse

I run this blog as a hobby, mostly by myself (and am grateful for the occasional help I get from friends). But there are times when--even after three years of blogging--that I realize I'm an amateur really.  I was going to write a post about NewsCorp, the parent company of FOX "News" donating a million bucks to a GOP outfit.  Then I read the post excerpted below, and realized that I couldn't put it better.

[Excerpt]

Fair And Balanced Fox News Funds GOP

A report from Business Week reveals that Rupert Murdoch is keen on electing Republican governors. His News Corp donated a million dollars to the Republican Governors Association in June.


This is a significant contribution to a partisan electoral committee. There are 37 governorships on the ballot this year. Democrats currently hold a majority of state houses, Republicans hope reverse that. And since this is census year, the control of state governments can have a huge impact on the make up of Congress for the next decade by managing the redistricting process. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

FOX "News" - MSNBC Merger? It Could Happen.

Republicans seemed to hate everything Bill Clinton did while President. But lot of his liberal criticism comes from those who think he helped open the floodgates for media consolidation. Just looking at the TV networks, we now have ABC/Disney (ESPN, Disney Channel, ABC Family, etc.), CBS/Viacom (Paramount, MTV, etc.) CW/Viacom (Warner Bros. is in there somewhere), NBC/Universal (Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC, etc.) and of course, FOX/NewsCorp (FX, FOX News, etc.).

Now, it looks like that already conglomerated mass could get even more amalgamated. Rupert Murdoch, gruff patriarch of Newscorp might be after NBC/Universal, bringing the five broadcast channels under the control of three companies. Doesn't sound like a particularly good idea to me.

Editor's Note: If you think that I made a jump with the merging of the news divisions, I actually got that from far-right radio back-bencher, Mark Levin, who was crowing about how "we" could make MSNBC a branch of FOX "News." Which should tell you right where FOX "News" really fits in the bias department.

[Excerpt]

GE to have right to sell stake in new NBC venture

General Electric could start to exit a new NBC Universal joint venture with Comcast Corp as soon as three-and-a-half years after the ink is dried, two people familiar with the talks said on Monday. . .

Read more at: Reuters

Murdoch Media Monopoly... Nope, not yet...

Photo of 'Murdoch in the bush' Courtesy of Satan
Well Mr. Moneybags was out smarted on this one. Good. That will be one less opportunity for a foreigner to control & destroy our (and I say this laughingly) freedom of press, assembly & speech.

Story courtesy of the AP via MSNBC
NEW YORK - News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island daily paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.

The decision to revoke the offer came just days after Murdoch confidently predicted he would clinch a deal to buy the newspaper within a week.

...more at MSNBC

Ron Paul Suporters Offloading Rupert Murdoch Stock!

Photo from Salon

This story really entertained me. After Rupert Murdoch's FOX "News" disinvited Ron Paul from their upcoming debate, Paul's supporters decided that they don't like Murdoch's News Corp. so much any more. So they're selling their stock. And it's hurting the value! Heh.

[Excerpt]

Ron Paul Supporters Organizing News Corp. Stock Sell-off

A recent decision by Fox News Network, one of the many news organizations under the umbrella of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, News Corporation, has been to exclude GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul from the upcoming New Hampshire Republican forum on January 6. Ron Paul supporters say this is an act of media censorship designed to marginalize the candidate's message of limited government and sound monetary policy. Candidates invited to the New Hampshire forum include Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. Fred Thompson. . .

Read more at: Associated Content