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Wednesday 8 November 2017

Murdoch Sky Bid Leak Dynamite

Yesterday, broadcaster and publisher Iain Dale mused “So, Murdoch threatens to close Sky News if his deal isn’t green lighted … Three words … Call … His … Bluff”. What he may not have known is that the moment of bluff calling may be approaching rather faster than could ever have been imagined, after an anonymous former employee of what was then News International gave evidence to the Government on the Sky bid.
Put directly, what that witness said was dynamite - not just for the Murdochs’ attempt to secure the 61% of Sky that they do not yet own, but also their newspaper interests in the UK and elsewhere, and even the security services. Because the evidence given points to the use of the Murdoch press, with management’s full knowledge and cooperation, as a part of MI5’s disinformation and propaganda machine.

Here’s some of what was volunteered: “During the period News of the World operated Rupert Murdoch took a direct, personal interest in that newspaper, looking at key news stories especially political ones. He personally authorised a number of payments for politically oriented ‘news’ and checked all payments over £100,000 in later years”. That is a mere hors d’oeuvre, though, for a much tastier entrée.
Because there is more. “There was a direct link between M15 and the NOW editor, allowing that agency to drop off tips that, ultimately, were used for political blackmail. The sudden closure of NOW had two hidden objectives. First to conceal the scale of political surveillance by the paper, and the de jure blackmail operated by the paper. Secondly, to conceal the link with the Security Services and the Whips Offices in Parliament”.

When was the late and not at all lamented Screws closed? In 2011. Remember all those clowns who tried to blame it on the Guardian? Who claimed that any use by the Screws of dirty tricks was merely the sign of tinfoil hat conspiracists? What are they saying right now? How about they are saying nothing. Zip. Zilch. Not a sausage. Bugger all.

And they’ll carry on saying bugger all after the next and even more explosive comment: “Between 2009 and the closure of the paper extensive ‘weeding’ was undertaken in order to eliminate signs of blackmail, especially in relation to political stories”. That sounds very much like the deliberate destruction of evidence - which has long been suspected.
Then comes the equally damaging sign-off: “Rupert Murdoch’s personal interest in his UK media is political, not journalistic. This is evidenced by both the way he handled the NOW in particular but also in the news agenda of the Sun, Times and Sunday Times. All run a right wing agenda but more profoundly all ignore, most of the time, stories that might expose this bias and which might damage or embarrass parties Murdoch is supporting in Government”. As this blog has said time and again - selective reporting.

And reporting by omission - another way of loading the deck in the favour of whoever is doing the bidding of the staff. So right now the Murdochs' ambitions are in tatters, and on top of that, the manipulation of our free and fearless press by the security agencies is revealed for all to see. It wasn’t just about hard drives at the Guardian offices.

Be careful what you wish for, Iain Dale. You might just get it - sooner rather than later.

5 comments:

fuse said...

so who was/were the editor/s?

1994: Piers Morgan
1995: Phil Hall
2000: Rebekah Wade
2003: Andy Coulson
2007: Colin Myler[30]

Anonymous said...

Two things here.

(a) Sheer delight if the Dirty Digger closes Sky News and makes all its far right gobshites redundant.

(b) Anybody surprised by M15 "links" to mainstream media is an utter, ignorant knobhead. They've been doing it since forever. It's part of MI5's brief - as it is with MI6 and any of the other "intelligence" agencies - to corrupt and manipulate. It's what they do. Apart from organising murder and genocide.

I especially relish the notion that even Scum far right "journalists" might, just might, begin to realise they are nothing more than useful idiots for Murdoch. The same goes for the neoNazi vermin at the Daily Heil. All of them are dispensable economic units and nothing more. If they ARE made redundant I'll be the first to get right in their face and laugh them to scorn. In short......fuck them.

Unknown said...

On 7/5/98 I met Phil Taylor News of the World features editor at his London office to talk about my investigation into the Sheffield Incident. I was there from 10.30am. and our discussions were going well. At 1.00pm Clarke called the News of the World and asked for Phil Taylor by name, informing him I am a drug-dealing liar and was making the whole thing up. This before any trial took place. There is also the issue of how Clarke knew who I was with, when, and what for? I booked my appointment to see Taylor on Saturday 5th May, two days, earlier, and told no-one. How did the usual suspects find out? By now I think you'll only heed one-guess. Roberts was sensitive-on this point, and even asked for evidence Clarke had done this, when-he must surely have known [40]. Unfortunately for him, Clarke had earlier admitted contacting the newspaper, though not how he knew to do so. Clarke wrote, in the end even the News of the World failed to believe Max's far-fetched tale. He's being paranoid once again. If he really thinks a News of the World journalist 'would' allow me to order him not run a story. They did not run the story because I appraised them of the .FACTS; that's all, plain and simple" [41]. The News of the World were running the story right up to Friday morning before publication on Sunday. How did Clarke know I was there? ...................http://www.checktheevidence.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=179&Itemid=51

Anonymous said...

Watson, a supposed Labour politician, has just told Boulton, that suppurating pile of Murdochised lard, that Sky News is "a great organisation" doing "a great job".

Jesus wept.

Tells you all you need to know about Watson: Just another right wing plant not to be trusted under any circumstances. A weasel politician.

The sooner Sky News is closed the better for the cultural health of Britain. Boulton and co could always get on their bikes and look for work in Newcastle......

DBC said...

In other news - The reason that Fox News was closed down in the UK was not that of "poor audience figures" (the line trotted out by Murdoch) but because the channel was found guilty by OFCOM of multiple and severe breaches of UK broadcasting rules surrounding due impartially. :-

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/107569/issue-341-broadcast-on-demand-bulletin.pdf