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The Independent: News International ‘tried to blackmail select committee’

May 28

Posted by Michael Collins in Big Money, Corruption, Criminal Justice, Murdoch, News Corporation | Comments off

News International ‘tried to blackmail select committee’

Martin Hickman, May 28, 2012

Detectives carrying out the multimillion-pound investigation into illegal newsgathering techniques at Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group have been asked to investigate whether it attempted to blackmail politicians.

The alleged plot centres on News International’s apparent efforts to warn off MPs on a parliamentary committee from disproving its discredited defence that phone hacking was the work of a single “rogue reporter”.

According to the former senior News of the World journalist Neville Thurlbeck, News International ordered the Sunday paper’s reporters to scour the private lives of MPs on the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2009. At the time, Mr Murdoch’s company was mounting what it now admits was a mistakenly “aggressive” response to allegations that the interception of voicemail messages was rife at its headquarters in Wapping, east London. On the advice of the parliamentary authorities, the Labour MP Tom Watson has now asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate the allegation.

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Hunt pushed BSkyB bid to Cameron one month before Cameron gave Hunt final decision on the deal, Leveson Inquiry

May 24

Posted by Michael Collins in Big Money, Murdoch, News Corporation | Comments off

By Michael Collins

“Cameron continues to insist that the inquiry is the best forum to evaluate Hunt’s actions. This signals the beginning of the end for Cameron. He’s proposing a solution for the Hunt investigation that is outside the rules of Parliament, in a forum that has rejected him. Upon closer examination, existing evidence will lead to even stronger condemnation of Hunt’s behaviour. Any new materials produced by the inquiry will bury him.

“Where will that leave Cameron? Finished!” Michael Collins, Independentaustralia.net May 10, 2012

Queens Counsel Robert Jay unearthed a devastating piece of evidence that will surely create calls for the resignation of both culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister David Cameron.
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Australian Media Regulators Looking into Murdoch’s “Fitness”

May 6

Posted by Michael Collins in Big Money, Murdoch, News Corporation, Pay TV Piracy | Comments off

The first crack in Rupert Murdoch’s political facade in Australia occurred Friday, May 4.   The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) announced it was looking closely at the House of Commons committee report that declared Murdoch unfit to run an international business.   ACMA licenses and regulates television broadcasting, digital communication, and radio frequency allocation.

Rupert Murdoch controls 70% of the newspaper market in Australia.  He has major interests in the Foxtel pay TV network.  And his political influence in Australia is even greater than in Great Britain and the United States.

The Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) is reviewing the British parliamentary committee report which described News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch as ‘not fit’ to lead an international company.

The explosive findings also suggested that former chief executive James Murdoch was wilfully ignorant of the extent of the practice of phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World. News Corporation released a statement on Tuesday accepting the report, while rejecting some of its “unjustified and highly partisan” commentary.   Murdoch report: ACMA and US Senate enter the fray, May 4

This is the first sign of any potential challenge to Murdoch’s authority in his former homeland.   Despite a heavily documented expose of alleged pay TV hacking and piracy published by the Australian Financial Review, Australian competition regulators gave approval for a Foxtel (Murdoch controls it) acquisition of a competitor (AUSTAR)  that it is alleged Murdoch’s firm hacked.

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When was the last time a legislative body denounced any business leader by name?

May 4

Posted by Michael Collins in Big Money, Corruption, Murdoch, Phone Hacking | Comments off

By Michael Collins

May Day!  How remarkable (even though Rupert Murdoch was denounced by a committee of the House of Commons, not the entire body).   Murdoch is “not a fit person” to run “a major international company,” we were told in a report released by the Commons’ committee investigating phone hacking on May 1).  He may not be unbalanced, as Murdoch  recently characterized former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, but he’s certainly not fit.  (Image)

Here’s some of what this means:

1)  There’s no way Murdoch will survive the regulatory investigation on his ownership of media in Great Britain..  One of Ofcom’s charters (the regulatory body) is to determine if Murdoch is a “fit and proper” person to own BSkyB and other British media properties.
2)  When it looks like Murdoch has to divest the 39% News Corp interest in the highly profitable BSkyB pay TV network, institutional shareholders will Kirk out!  The Sky enterprise amounted to 20% plus of News Corp’s 2011 profits.  Oops!
3)   Murdoch won’t go gentle into the dark night.  He will become increasingly irrational as seen in his sting operation against his once loyal servant David Cameron.  It is fair to assume that he’s got more dirt on public officials than J. Edgar ever had … and he’ll start using it.
4)  Murdoch will retain the continued loyalty of the News Corp board (see members listed below).  After the release of the condemnation by the Commons committee, Murdoch’s board released a statement expressing “full confidence in Rupert Murdoch’s fitness and support for his continuing to lead News Corporation into the future as its Chairman and CEO.”
5) Murdoch may get the bums rush out of News Corp as a result of an institutional investor like the Christian Brothers Investment Services which has said it would ask the SEC to change the voting rights of shareholders (Murdoch has outsized representation in voting shares).

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Murdoch Hearings – See No Evil, Hear No Evil

Jul 20

Posted by Michael Collins in Big Money, Corruption, Criminal Justice | Comments off

The Murdoch’s and their former chief executive of News International testified before a House of Commons committee yesterday.  Their hours of explanations can be summarized in a phrase:  we knew nothing. (Image)

Rupert Murdoch was too busy flying around the world milking his cash cow media properties to be at all involved.

Number two son James was the executive in direct command and he heard nothing.

Rebekah Brooks, editor of the News of the World at the time of the Milly Dowler hacking, completed the trifecta of ignorance.  Since she knew nothing, her very frequent contact with the Murdoch father-son team had to be, as the Fugs said, “a whole lot of nothing.”

A second House of Commons hearing considered the role of the police in all of this.  Paul Stephenson resigned in disgrace recently as head of the London Metropolitan Police.  He concluded that the conviction of two News of the World phone hackers in 2007 was a “very successful” end of the investigation.  Phone hacking and other invasions of privacy, case closed.
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