That’ll Cost You, Sport – 9

Two years ago, Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal, and many commentators had misgivings about the sale. Many still do, even though the paper has not become quite as downmarket as many of Rupe’s titles in the UK and his native Australia.

What has happened, though, is that the WSJ has shifted to the right, and now exhibits the usual Murdoch traits: Obama bashing, anti health care reform, and of course anti anything to do with global warming. These attributes can be seen, in rather sharper focus, on Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).

This move rightwards has been picked up by the New York Times, in this article which points up the WSJ’s change to a more general and less analytical perspective. In an interesting coincidence, some from the right and libertarian part of the blogosphere have been enthusing recently about the WSJ and putting the boot in to the Financial Times, even to the point of painting the FT as left wing (I kid you not).

As Private Eye might have said, “I wonder if the two are in any way related? I think we should be told”.