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Tuesday 14 January 2020

Murdochs Fall Out Over Climate Change

Last year, Rupert Murdoch asserted that “‘there are no climate change deniers’ around his company and said his business was early to commit to ‘science-based targets to limit climate change’ and was working to reduce its climate emissions”. However, and here we encounter a significantly sized however, “In 2015 he used his Twitter account to describe himself as a ‘climate change sceptic not a denier’”.
(c) The New York Times 2020

But the recent coverage of Australia’s bushfire emergency by the Murdoch press suggests there is at least a little room for climate change denial in his empire, including, as the Guardian has noted, one Andrew Bolt, who complains of “alarmists”, promotes denialism, and “has a programme on the Murdoch-owned Sky News Australia, where he has criticised the ‘constant stream of propaganda’ on the public broadcaster ABC about the role of the climate crisis in the bushfires”. There’s always room to carp about the ABC.

This may well be what has provoked James Murdoch to call out his father’s media empire, and not for the first time recently. The Guardian again: “James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn issued a rare joint statement directly criticising his father’s businesses for their ‘ongoing denial’ on the issue, which has been reflected in the family’s newspapers repeatedly casting doubt on the link between the climate emergency and the bushfires”.

The report adds “US viewers have also heard commentary from Fox News presenters such as Laura Ingraham, who has said that ‘celebrities in the media have been pressing the narrative that the wildfires in Australia are caused by climate change’, before introducing guests who cast doubt on this interpretation”.
Those in the UK may recognise this as a combination of selectively biased presentation combined with the demonisation of celebrities, people that the Mail titles deride as “Luvvies”. They may also need reminding that the rules followed by Sky News Australia on broadcast standards are not those followed by Sky News in the UK.

Murdoch Junior’s dissent is not new. Last September, he “warned that certain unnamed media outlets are using disinformation to divide people and to shore up their own power”. Who might that have meant? “There are views I really disagree with on [Fox News Channel]”. Maybe that’s who he meant. And as the Sun in the UK is said to embody Murdoch’s views, so FNC fulfils the same role in the USA.
He also told the FT last April that he is looking to “distance himself from the conservative media outlets controlled for decades by his father”. In the 2020 Presidential campaign, he is going nowhere near Combover Crybaby Donald Trump, but instead has put his own money into “the presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg”, the mayor of South Bend, IA.

But there is one good thing to come out of this family fractiousness, as the Guardian has said in conclusion: “Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch and News Corp have all separately donated millions of dollars to bushfire recovery efforts in recent days, although the Daily Beast claimed the donations were made after it requested comment about James Murdoch’s statement on climate change”. Pity they had to be prompted.

The Murdoch succession may not be the easiest of deals. Just rejoice at that news.
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9 comments:

Sam said...

One "luvvie" who donated $500K to the bushfire fund was singer Bette Midler who at the same time called out Rupert for his silence & inaction on the current catastrophe.
Andrew Bolt is a much favoured Murdoch apparatchik, so much so Rupert hosted him at his top table last year at the annual Oz corporate dinner even after Bolt wrote a two page tale published in all Murdoch's Oz newspapers claiming Jews (and others) formed ghettos in his hometown of Melbourne and were trying to "change Australian values". The Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies complained to News Corpse about Bolt's racist article asking for an apology but were ignored. Perhaps they need to take tips from their British counterparts who snap their fingers and media moguls come running.

grim northerner said...

'a cultural Chernobyl ', and soon to be an actual Chernobyl in the near future.

Anonymous said...

If they're arguing its root cause can only be which one of the far right thieving shitehawks is profiting most from doing fuck all but lie.

nparker said...

I doubt this is any more than blister designed to protect the family reputation. If Murdoch Jr gets control of Fox, I'm not convinced it would shut down or reform particularly, for example. Do hope I'm wrong though.

opit said...

Some years ago I noted the characterization of 'right-wing' and 'deniers' of people who prefer proofs to speculation and recognize any such characterization demonstrates that 'climate alarm' is political fiction. Situation Normal, in other words.
It is, in fact, possible to find a Wikipedia entry on scandalous 'denier scientists' who have the effrontery to think for themselves. Oh, wait. That's what scientists do.

grim northerner said...

Science is empirical observation of nature, that allows for the accurate prediction of events and standardised procedures that naturally follow . Not 'thinking for youself' reality doesn't care about subjective opinions

Anonymous said...

They are likely nervous because they see the NEGATIVE impact they have on the USA and Oz in future business.
All of a sudden he realizes the damage which can come from his own power?

More to come.

I see Microsoft ended its support for Windows 7 today. Still, it was nice of Bill Gates and his company (who provide computer infrastructure for most of the planet) to raise their concern over Rupert and his minions hacking.
Oh, wait. They didn't!

Good riddance then Microsoft!

Every cloud!

LiamKav said...

I'm not sure why Microsoft need to make comments about hacking. Do the phone companies need to comment too? And Cisco for supplying the routers?

(I am thrilled that Windows 7 and Server 2008 support has ended. It's been a pain in the arse to maintain alongside newer OSes.)

Anonymous said...

@Liam Kav,

Yes, the phone companies should have a say. Absolutely. Why do you think BT have delisted for NYSE?

Yes, Microsoft should have at least acknowledged concerns. Billionaires take the money and run. Just like Richard Branson sold up to US founded company. Why?
Even HMV is owned by a Canadian firm.

What is the plane? To cripple the high streets with Ebay and Amazon and then foreign powers take over the ailing companies?
Some companies just don't belong in the future...

I could go on and on...