Murdoch's world: No stranger to scandal
Category :
World |
Posted Date :
08/07/2011
Risk-taking and line-skirting have always been just one more cost of doing business for Rupert Murdoch. But before Thursday, the widening voice-mail hacking scandal at the British tabloid News of the World had threatened to stain the company's image in a way that other embarrassing incidents at News Corporation's far-flung media properties - which also include the Fox networks and The New York Post - had not.
In the past, Murdoch has either outlasted his critics or acted swiftly to limit the fallout. On Thursday, he was in damage-control mode again: The company announced it would shut down The News of the World as of Sunday.
The News Corporation is no stranger to scandal. Fines for indecency, lawsuits charging anticompetitive business practices and libel claims are a fact of life for the company, which has been able to easily absorb the financial inconvenience.
In 2009, advertisers boycotted Glenn Beck's Fox News program after the host said president Obama was racist. Taking the action in stride, Fox said the advertising dollars merely shifted to other time slots. And in January the company paid a $500 million settlement to Valassis Communications, which had accused a News Corporation subsidiary of trying to obtain a monopoly in the in-store coupon business.
The most recent prominent incident with the federal communications commission came last year after the network showed an episode of "American Dad" in which a horse appeared to ejaculate on a character's face.
The commission proposed a $25,000 fine. This week, The New York Post was sued for libel by the hotel maid who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief, of sexual assault. In its coverage of the case, The Post has called the maid a prostitute.
In Britain, advertisers had begun to shun The News of the World, removing ads from the tabloid. The News Corporation already owns about 39% of the company and has been trying for a year to acquire the rest. The acquisition would tighten the company's grip on British broadcasting, but it has faced scrutiny from critics who say that one company should not have so much control of television market there.
The review of the deal was expected to end on Friday, and all indications had been that the News Corporation would win approval.
|
|