Damage Is What Damage Does, Spare No Expense

Michael Hedges April 24, 2017 Follow on Twitter

Loyalty is a highly admired trait. It is necessary for soldiers, military and otherwise, to know that leaders and compatriots have their back, so to speak. To be resolute in battle means reciprocating. It is a matter of survival. In business, however, loyalty ends at the bottom line. This is a good thing.

Loyalty is a highly admired trait. It is necessary for soldiers, military and otherwise, to know that leaders and compatriots have their back, so to speak. To be resolute in battle means reciprocating. It is a matter of survival. In business, however, loyalty ends at the bottom line. This is a good thing.

UK tabloid The Sun published an apology last week. (April 22). Considering its legacy of histrionic hyperbole it’s only slightly notable. Apologies have been published before, following public outrage or threat of legal action. Tabloids being what they are, editors tend to publish first and confess to injury later.

The particular event spawning outrage was a profoundly racist column comparing star football player Ross Barkley to a gorilla written by Kelvin MacKenzie, a well-known and controversial fixture in the UK media sphere since the last century. In its page five and online unsigned apology The Sun stated “there was never any slur intended.” The column also disparaged people living in Liverpool, not mentioned in the apology. Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson, calling the slur “something we won’t tolerate,” asked the Merseyside Police to investigate, reported the Liverpool Echo (April 21).

Between the time the column was published (April 14) and the police being called News UK, publisher of The Sun, suspended the vacationing Mr. MacKenzie saying the “views expressed … were wrong, unfunny and are not the view of the paper” and promised an investigation. News UK is a subsidiary of News Corporation, principally owned by the Murdoch family. Editorially The Sun has long espoused a populist, conservative point of view, often at odds with reality. Apologies to more than a few notables have been published in this century and last.

The most renowned apology from The Sun came in 2004, fifteen years after publishing a series of defamatory articles about the tragedy at the Hillsborough football stadium where the “human crush” resulted in mass injuries and the deaths of nearly 100 people. Among other claims proved false and inflammatory The Sun reported “fans picked pockets of victims.” At the time the editor of The Sun was Kelvin MacKenzie, who refuted the 2004 apology saying he had been ordered to publish it by Rupert Murdoch. Mr. MacKenzie changed his tone and offered “profuse apologies” in 2012.

Mr. MacKenzie remained The Sun’s editor until 1994 when he briefly joined television channel BSkyB, now known as Sky, also principally controlled by News Corporation, now 21st Century Fox. From there he was involved in cable channel Live TV, owned by Mirror Group, and infamous for the News Bunny and scantily-clad female presenters. It failed, closing in 1996, and after a two year hiatus Mr. MacKenzie reappeared as licensee of national commercial radio channel TalkSport, significant investor being News Corporation. TalkSport was eventually sold in 2005 and Mr. MacKenzie relieved. Then it was back to The Sun as a columnist, followed by similar stints at the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, then other odd jobs before reappearing as a columnist for the Sun in 2014. Through thick and thin the relationship between Mr. MacKenzie and the elder Mr. Murdoch continued. News UK recently acquired TalkSport but that seems more about sports rights than a landing zone for Mr. MacKenzie.

A flair for the outrageous, mixed with populism and general distain for conventional civility has long been championed within the “walk on the wild side” Murdoch-owned media sphere. Remember The Simpsons. Remember the Fox News channel. Remember phone hacking.

While the priority for News Corporation in the UK and elsewhere has been to keep the publishing business, print and online, afloat and support right-wing politicians 21st Century Fox needs to grow, meaning acquisitions. A badly conceived bid for Time Warner went, predictably, nowhere. Telecom AT&T picked it up for a mere US$85 billion. Buying the Los Angeles Times, long an ambition of the elder Mr. Murdoch, seems out of reach.

Of utmost importance to maximize existing investments in content production and sports rights is fully acquiring, through 21st Century Fox, the Sky pay-TV operations in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. And, right now, there is a certain currency exchange rate advantage. The share bid stands at about US$ 15 billion. A previous attempt failed during that phone hacking backlash. But that was 2010 and things have changed.

The last hurdle to jump is approval from UK media regulator Ofcom. The European Commission simply waved approval not wanting to deal with UK issues or Mr. Murdoch. Ofcom set public consultations was preparing to submit reports to Culture Secretary Karen Bradley on May 16th. The reports are to illuminate whether or not 21st Century Fox is “fit and proper.”

Coming to the attention of Ofcom have been issues of management competence at the 21st Century Fox television channel Fox News. Many in the UK continue to be fearful that a complete takeover of Sky would lead to a UK TV news channel based on populism and conspiracy theories, arguably worse than the UK tabloids. Sky News is well-regarded as independent from those meanderings.

Tortured and not at all swift has been the removal of both the president of Fox News Roger Ailes and, more recently, its star talkshow host Bill O’Reilly for repeated sexual harassment and other less than “fit and< proper” behaviors. The elder Mr. Murdoch, reported the New York Times (April 7), had resisted dismissing both, despite painful ad boycotts, until the sons - Lachlan and James - made the persuasive case that spending a little more to make them go away would be good for business, generally, and the Sky takeover, specifically.

The Ofcom reports have been delayed by Culture Secretary Bradley until after the “snap” general election on June 8th.

See also in ftm Knowledge

Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation and 21st Century Fox

News Corporation and 21st Century Fox are highly competitive media giants with global, multi-media footprints. From paywalls and pay-TV to tabloid troubles and new ventures the media industry watches Rupert Murdoch. Update includes family ties, succession plans and other News Of The World. 210 pages PDF (September 2012)

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