There's been a great deal of debate over Serena Williams'Â loss in the U.S. Open this weekend to Naomi Osaka, with some arguing that the penalties leveled on her by umpire Carlos Ramos were merited, and others arguing they were the result of his racial blindness. While I stand on ...read more
The Daily Banter Headline grab (from the L.A Times): News Corp. reported a nearly $1.6-billion loss in its fiscal fourth quarter, reflecting the declining value of its publishing businesses — a beleaguered unit that it intends to spin off into a separate publicly traded ...read more
Tony Blair has told the Leveson inquiry that Rupert Murdoch did not lobby him directly over media policy when he was prime minister and highlighted examples where his government had gone against the News Corporation founder's wishes. Blair said on Monday that he and Murdoch had ...read more
The Occupy Wall Street movement has attempted to breathe new life into its campaign against inequities in the global financial system with a series of May Day protests across around the US. Thousands of people turned out in New York for a day of action that culminated in a ...read more
Rupert Murdoch is "not a fit person" to exercise stewardship of a major international company, a committee of MPs has concluded, in a report highly critical of the mogul and his son James's role in the News of the World phone-hacking affair. The Commons culture, media and sport ...read more
By Cora Currier: In front of a British government panel this week, Rupert Murdoch denied that he tried to wield political influence or use his media holdings to further the business interests of News Corp. “I take particular pride in the fact that we’ve never pushed our ...read more
British satellite broadcaster BSkyB, part of Rupert Murdoch's UK media business, is facing an escalating investigation into whether it is a "fit and proper" owner of a broadcasting licence, Britain's telecoms regulator said on Thursday. Ofcom said it set up a dedicated team in ...read more
Martin Lewis on Rupert Murdoch's motivation to build a reactionary Right Wing press: Murdoch's smarts told him that he could profit mightily if only there was a permanent Conservative government in power in the UK. But how to do that when working class people selfishly ...read more
Despite his best efforts to avoid incriminating himself in Parliament, James Murdoch's testimony has been seriously challenged by two former News of the World senior executives. If Murdoch's account is proven false, the ramifications will be nothing short of devastating. From the ...read more
As more and more details emerge from the phone hacking scandal in the UK, we are seeing a clearer picture of just how deeply intertwined the Murdoch media and political establishment have been. Jeff Jarvis writes: What was exposed in Parliament during the Murdochs' testimony ...read more
Two key quotes from Rupert Murdoch and his son James Murdoch during the parliamentary hearing in the UK today (transcript via the Guardian): Rupert Murdoch: I didn't know of it [paying police bribes]. I'm sorry... if I can just say something. And this is not as an excuse - ...read more
Image by HowardLake Succumbing to enormous public pressure, Rebekah Brooks has finally resigned from News Corp. From the Telegraph: Mrs Brooks, 43, was editor of the News of the World at the time that the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was allegedly hacked on behalf ...read more
Flying too close to the sun. Image by Len Radin It now appears that the phone hacking scandal that is threatening to bring down the Murdoch empire in the UK is going transatlantic. If Murdoch thought things were going badly, he couldn't have been more wrong. From Politico: New ...read more
In a move that clearly indicates just how seriously Rupert Murdoch takes the phone hacking scandal, News Corp has withdrawn its bid for BSkyB. From the Independent: Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation withdrew its BSkyB takeover bid today as David Cameron announced details of ...read more
Breathtaking news from the UK. Via the Guardian: News International announced on Thursday that it is closing the News of the World after this Sunday's edition, with no end in sight to the political and commercial fallout from the phone-hacking scandal after 72 hours of ...read more
Former editor of the British newspaper 'The Sun' Kelvin MacKenzie has written a forceful defense in the Guardian of his former paymaster and perhaps the most reviled man in modern media history, Rupert Murdoch. He writes: Sky is not Fox News and I have my doubts that in ...read more
