It Takes A Man Of Rupert Murdoch’s Stature To Enter The Lion’s Den To Tell Arab Governments That If They Want To Be Considered As Modern Media States Then They Need To Embrace Press Freedom

Philip Stone March 11, 2010 (Follow on Twitter)

When Rupert Murdoch speaks, people usually listen. They may not necessarily agree, but they listen. So when Murdoch opened a Middle East media summit this week by telling Arab states if they wish to be seen as embracing modern media, which they do, then they must also accept press freedom no matter how “inconvenient or unwelcome” some stories may be.

Murdoch knows there isn’t going to be overnight change to how Arab leaders perceive the role of the press, but at least he told them straight that there need to be reforms. And he basically told them if they wish to become hosts to media powerhouses, attracting the investments that entails, then there is a quid pro quo – accept press freedom, too.

Of course his words were polite and politic, but they came from a rich and powerful man who said he was putting his money where his mouth was by investing in Abu Dhabi -- News Corp. will move various Middle East operations there. That is important, for Abu Dhabi, Dubai and others are adopting national business models that call for diversity from relying just on oil, and becoming major global media players is one area favored for expansion.  

So with that strength behind him here is how Murdoch gently chided his hosts: “I’d like to say a word about freedom and regulation. This city is the capital of one of the Middle East’s most cosmopolitan societies. Your people have one of the highest GDP’s per capita in the world. And every day you continue to grow – in size, in sophistication, in wealth, and in the attention of the global press.

“With this increased global attention comes the occasional inconvenient or unwelcome story. Again, I speak from some personal experience. Throughout my life, I have endured my share of blistering newspaper attacks … unflattering television coverage … and books that grossly distort my views or my businesses or both.

“I have learned that this kind of coverage is a fact of life in a modern media society. I have learned too that it is the price one pays for success. For a nation, the stakes are even higher. In the face of an inconvenient story, it can be tempting to resort to censorship or civil or criminal laws to try to bury it. This is not only a problem here: In France a criminal defamation law remains in place. In the long run, this is counterproductive. Markets that distort their media end up promoting the very panic and distrust that they had hoped to control.

“Certainly each nation and culture has the right to insist that the people they allow into their countries to do business respect their national values and traditions. This is best administered, however, with a gentle touch. Human creativity flourishes in freedom. By making the decision for greater openness, you will signal the importance you have assigned to creativity in your plans for the future – and declare your confidence in your people.”

Gentle, but to the point. Only time will tell if the media there is willing to test the waters, and if they do, what happens next?

Mind you, it’s one thing for Murdoch to talk about how Middle East states should embrace press freedom and quite another to see the millions of pounds his News of the World tabloid is shelling out in the UK to stop people suing for invasion of privacy via phone hacking – in other words press freedom gone a bridge too far.

No matter how much the News of the World would like the story to go away it just won’t.  It first came to public view in August, 2006, when Clive Goodman, the royal editor and reporter, was arrested on charges of intercepting mobile phone messages left with several members of the Royal family. In January, 2007, he received a four-month prison sentence and he was fired. And the NOW hoped that was the end of that.

It was asked about the activities by Parliamentary committees but stonewalled. Scotland Yard and the local police investigated and while there were no charges the leaks seemed to indicate that, indeed, where there is smoke there is fire, including that the newspaper seemed to have the PIN codes for a lot of mobile phones owned by personalities. 

The House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee issued a damning report last month basically saying that News of the World witnesses seemed to suffer from "collective amnesia" and the committee did not believe that Goodman acted alone.

Meanwhile the personalities had been talking with their lawyers. The newspaper agreed to pay the chief executive of the Professional Football Association more than £1 million in return for not suing. Next along was PR guru Max Clifford who got an important court ruling that the newspaper had to release a lot of information that it obviously didn’t want aired in court. Before you knew it, there went another £1 million payout to stop any impending law suit.

So that’s more than £2 million that Murdoch has paid out just to keep things quiet – but for how long can this continue. Other personalities are sure to go the same route as those before – is the newspaper going to pay £1 million plus to all who can get a judge to order the newspaper to release information that it doesn’t want made public?

The fact the NOW is so anxious not to have public trials airing dirty laundry would seem to suggest that what Goodman did originally, and for which the newspaper said he acted alone, may have been just the tip of the iceberg.

So yes, Mr. Murdoch is quite right in telling Middle East governments they need to embrace press freedom, but he needs to get his own act together to ensure that under the guise of press freedom his own newspapers do not  go beyond that line in the sand.

See also in ftm Knowledge

Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation

News Corporation has a global footprint. Rupert Murdoch has a global fingerprint and when he talks everybody hears it. Update includes News Corporation and News International resturcturing, European television and newspapers. 108 pages PDF (April 2009)

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