Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires
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Page 253 Romney met privately with Fox News executives: Friend of Ailes, interview by author.
Page 253 Then he sat down with Fox’s Bret Baier: Romney, interview by Bret Baier, Fox News Special Report, November 29, 2011.
Page 253 the “Fox primary”: Walter Shapiro, “The Idiot Box,” New Republic, September 14, 2011.
Page 253 “Can’t resist this tweet”: Rupert Murdoch Twitter account, @rupertmurdoch, January 2, 2012.
Page 253 hold his former employers at Fox responsible: Zev Chafets, “Exclusive Excerpt: Roger Ailes Off Camera,” VanityFair.com, March 2013.
Page 253 So, for that matter, did Gingrich: Scott Conroy, “Gingrich Charges Fox News with Pro-Romney Bias,” Real Clear Politics, April 11, 2012. “Were Murdoch and News Corp Anti-Gingrich?” the4thEstate.net, May 3, 2012; “News Corp Not Only Media Corporation Hostile to Gingrich,” the4thEstate.net, May 15, 2012.
Page 254 like a political hit piece: Dylan Byers, “Fox Releases 4-Minute Attack on Obama,” Politico, May 30, 2012.
Page 254 Fox removed the video: Jeremy W. Peters, “Enemies and Allies for ‘Friends,’” New York Times, June 20, 2012.
Page 254 CNN posted a correction and an apology: Jane Mayer, “The Health Care Ruling That Wasn’t,” New Yorker, June 28, 2012.
Page 254 Fox said it had gotten the story right: Bill Hemmer, Fox News rolling coverage of the Supreme Court ruling, June 28, 2012.
Page 255 Christie took to Fox News: Chris Christie, interview on Fox & Friends, October 30, 2012.
Page 255 Obama further rewarded him: Matt Katz, “Christie Makes a Friend Named Bruce Springsteen,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 5, 2012.
Page 256 Murdoch and Ailes met with Romney: A friend of Ailes, interview by author.
Page 256 “Can’t blame Christie”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 3, 2012.
Page 256 “first Republican gov to support Romney”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 3, 2012.
Page 256 As a mark of respect: Michael Barbaro, “After Obama, Christie Wants a G.O.P. Hug,” New York Times, November 19, 2012.
Page 256 “Monolithic media will spend next three days”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 3, 2012.
Page 257 “Romney seeing small late surge”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 4, 2012.
Page 257 his column in the Journal: Karl Rove, “Can We Believe the Presidential Polls?” Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2012.
Page 258 “we’ve already painted those red”: David Paleologos, interview, O’Reilly Factor, October 9, 2012.
Page 258 “this momentum will continue”: Dick Morris, interview, Hannity, October 15, 2012.
Page 258 the Times took a gamble: New York Times editor, interview by author.
Page 258 offered the Fox audience a vision: Dick Morris, interview, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, November 1, 2012.
Page 258 “My personal guess”: Newt Gingrich, interview, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, November 5, 2012.
Page 259 “about a seven-point margin”: Dick Morris, interview, Hannity, November 5, 2012.
Page 259 arranged to write a memoir: Bill Keller, “Murdoch’s Pride is America’s Poison,” New York Times, May 5, 2012.
Page 260 whether he took prescription pills: Eddie Scarry of FishbowlDC, email to Gabriel Sherman, May 7, 2013. Sherman provided the email to the author.
Page 260 bought a bunch of domain addresses: Erik Wemple, “Roger Ailes Biography Sparks an Internet Shopping Spree,” WashingtonPost.com, January 25, 2013.
Page 260 obsessed with the pay of David Zaslav: Author’s interview with two Ailes associates for this account of his flirtation with Newsmax.
Page 260 he was aging and had health issues: Chafets, Roger Ailes, p. 234.
Page 260 He had never groomed a successor: Two former News Corp officials, interview by author. Ailes told Zev Chafets that he had indeed made plans for his succession but was keeping them secret. However, the job, strictly speaking, is not Ailes’s to bestow.
Page 261 Ailes had signed a four-year contract extension: Sam Thielman, “Roger Ailes Renews News Corp. Contract,” Adweek, October 19, 2012.
Page 261 “looking like someone ran over your dog”: Ailes, quoted in Gabriel Sherman, “How Karl Rove Fought with Fox News over the Ohio Call,” New York Magazine, November 7, 2012.
Page 262 “That’s pretty strong medicine”: Brit Hume, remarks on Fox News channel’s election night coverage, November 6, 2012. Subsequent statements from Fox News anchors and pundits in this section—Bill O’Reilly, Dana Perino, Bret Baier, Chris Wallace, Megyn Kelly, and Karl Rove—are also taken from that Fox News broadcast, stretching from Tuesday evening through early morning Wednesday, unless otherwise noted.
Page 262 “Just look at European welfare state”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 3, 2012.
Page 263 Ailes later said he had called Michael Clemente: Chris Ariens, “Roger Ailes on Election Night: ‘Rove was wrong. He backed down. Our guys were right,’” TVNewser, November 16, 2012.
Page 263 illegal immigrants can no longer be treated with hostility: Chafets, Roger Ailes, pp. 244–245.
Page 264 “Nearly every piece of data”: Matthew Dowd, Twitter feed, November 8, 2012.
Page 264 Hume had offered the closest: Brit Hume, Fox News election night coverage, November 6, 2012.
Page 264 a blog promising to “unskew” the polls: Dean Chambers, interview by author.
Page 264 Romney did not draft a concession speech: Byron York, “In Boston, Stunned Romney Supporters Struggle to Explain Defeat,” Washington Examiner, November 7, 2012.
Page 264 “strengthened and amplified by what I wanted to happen”: John Podhoretz, interview by author.
Page 264 “The conservative followership has been fleeced”: David Frum, Morning Joe, November 9, 2012.
Page 264 Morris explained himself: Dick Morris, Hannity, November 12, 2012.
Page 265 Ailes fired Morris . . . and kept Rove off the air: Gabriel Sherman, “Fox News Puts Karl Rove on the Bench,” New York Magazine, December 4, 2012.
Page 265 Jon Huntsman Sr. . . . took Fox to task: Jon Huntsman Sr., interview, Your World with Neil Cavuto, November 16, 2012.
Chapter 21
Page 266 the plan was to allow the Sun to thrive: One News International executive and two knowledgeable former News Corp executives, interviews by author.
Page 267 “We have the horns and the tails”: Jane Croft and Ben Fenton, “Hacking Victims Say News Group Destroyed Evidence,” Financial Times, January 19, 2012; Erik Larson, “News Corp. Must Search Laptops After ‘Startling’ E-mails,” Bloomberg News, January 23, 2012. Judge Vos’s comments also drawn from these articles.
Page 267 Lewis was quickly losing: Two News Corp executives, interviews by author.
Page 267 Lewis declined to answer: William Lewis, testimony to Leveson Inquiry, January 10, 2012, afternoon session.
Page 267 they labored to forestall punitive federal action: Two current News Corp executives and one former News Corp executive, interviews by author; Sarah Ellison, “Murdoch’s Civil War,” Vanity Fair, June 2012.
Page 268 “drain the swamp”: David Barrett, Robert Mendick, and Patrick Sawer, “Sun Executives Arrested over Illegal Police Payments,” Telegraph, January 28, 2012.
Page 268 Trevor Kavanagh . . . spoke out twice: Kavanagh, interview, BBC Radio 5 Live; Radio 4 World at One, February 13, 2012.
Page 268 called the investigation a witch-hunt: Trevor Kavanagh, “This Witch-Hunt Has Put Us Behind Ex-Soviet States on Press Freedom,” Sun, February 13, 2012.
Page 268 Murdoch signaled they retained his affinity: “Street of Shame: Sun hacks have Murdoch taped,” Private Eye, Issue 1342, June 28, 2013.
Page 269 emails from 2006 suggesting Rebekah Brooks knew: Rick Dewsbury, “Rebekah Brooks Knew in 2006 About Widespread Phone Hacking at News of the World—After Being Tipped Off by Police,” Daily Mail, February 28, 2012.
Page 269 The co
mpany presented [James’s] resignation: News Corp executive, interview by author; “James Murdoch Steps Down as Executive Chairman, News International to Focus on Expanding International TV Businesses,” News Corp press release, February 29, 2012.
Page 269 once again attempted damage control: Tom Harper, “I’ve Looked After Horses All My Life and We Gave It Back in Good Condition,” Independent, February 29, 2012.
Page 269 Reporters for the Telegraph . . . badgered 10 Downing Street: See, for example, Gordon Raynor, “Rebekah Brooks and the Police Gift Horse,” Telegraph, February 29, 2012; Martin Evans, “‘Gift Horse’ to Brooks Surprised Me, Says Scotland Yard Chief,” Telegraph, March 1, 2012; Christopher Hope, “Cameron Silent on Rides with Raisa,” Telegraph, March 1, 2012; Hope, “Tale of the Police Horse and the Chipping Norton Set That Grew Legs,” Telegraph, March 1, 2012; Hope, “Horsegate: I Did Ride Brooks’s Police Horse Raisa, Says David Cameron,” Telegraph, March 2, 2012.
Page 269 “He’s a good friend, and he’s a neighbor”: Christopher Hope, “At Last, Cameron Talks Some Horse Sense,” Telegraph, March 3, 2012.
Page 270 Tory fund-raiser promising “premier league” access: “Tory Charges £250,000 to Meet PM,” Sunday Times, March 25, 2012.
Page 270 a two-month campaign against a consumption tax: Tom Newton Dunn and Steve Hawker, “Pasty La Vista, Taxman,” Sun, May 29, 2012.
Page 270 quietly girded for more bad headlines: “News Corp and the Permira Funds Sign Agreement to Sell NDS Group Ltd,” News Corp press release, March 15, 2012.
Page 270 a satellite TV encryption company vital to Sky TV’s enterprises: This passage is based on author’s interviews with News Corp official; a News International spokeswoman; Neil Chenoweth; Mark Lewis; and correspondence between News Corp and the Australian Financial Review.
Page 271 Panorama had teamed up: “Murdoch’s TV Pirates,” BBC 1 Panorama, April 2, 2012.
Page 271 Chenoweth had obtained 14,000 emails: Neil Chenoweth, “Pay Piracy Hits News,” Australian Financial Review, March 28, 2012, and subsequent articles in the AFR.
Page 271 derailed a related lawsuit: Richard Verrier, “Canal Plus Sues NDS Group,” Los Angeles Times, March 13, 2002; “Vivendi to Sell Unit to News Corp,” Bloomberg News as reposted on LosAngelesTimes.com, June 10, 2002; “BSkyB Eyes Expansion into Europe,” Bloomberg News, republished by Investment Week, August 26, 2003.
Page 271 “old toffs and right-wingers” . . . “lies and libels . . . easy to hit back hard”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter account, March 28, 2012.
Page 271 accused Chenoweth of relying on stolen emails: Darren Davidson, “News to AFR: Put Up or Shut Up over Piracy Allegations,” Australian, April 2, 2012.
Page 271 “Panorama presented manipulated”: “Statement from Chase Carey, President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation Regarding Misrepresentation of NDS by the BBC’s Panorama,” News Corp press release, March 28, 2012; Dr. Abe Peled and NDS issued six statements and letters to refute the BBC and the Australian Financial Review in six successive days starting on March 28, 2012, http://nds.com/Media_Center/Press_Releases.
Page 272 Lawyers for News Corp wrote letters cautioning: Mark Hughes, “BBC to Make Fresh Claims of Murdoch Firm Law-Breaking,” Telegraph, March 24, 2012.
Page 272 a News Corp official: News Corp official, interview by author.
Page 272 OfCom had stepped up its review: Elizabeth Rigby, Salamander Davoudi, and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, “Challenge to Murdoch Grip on BSkyB,” Financial Times, March 8, 2012.
Page 272 His retreat from the UK was nearly complete: “Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, and Chase Carey, President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation Regarding James Murdoch’s Decision to Step Down as Chairman of BSkyB,” News Corp press release, April 3, 2012.
Page 272 Sky News admitted that it had hacked: Dan Sabbagh, Nick Davies, and Robert Booth, “Sky News Admits Hacking Emails of ‘Canoe Man,’” Guardian, April 5, 2012; Lilly Vitorovich, “Sky News Says Emails Were Hacked in ‘Public Interest,’” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2012.
Page 273 Murdoch seemed to relish the testimony: Rupert Murdoch, testimony to Leveson Inquiry, April 26, 2012, morning session. Murdoch’s ensuing quotations and events are drawn from Murdoch’s testimony on April 25 and 26 before the inquiry, as cited in the text.
Page 274 called Murdoch effectively a cabinet member: Price, Spin Doctor’s Diary, p. xii.
Page 275 a senior aide to Thatcher had taken notes: “Prime Minister: Rupert Murdoch Lunch,” memo by Bernard Ingham, January 5, 1981, www.margaretthatcher.org/document/FA5DB3D8544A461DACEDF181801765AE.pdf.
Page 275 “Margaret is very keen”: Woodrow Wyatt note cited by Robert Jay in Leveson Inquiry, Rupert Murdoch testimony, April 25, 2012, morning session.
Page 275 John Major later alleged, under oath: John Major, testimony before Leveson Inquiry, June 12, 2012.
Page 276 the broadcaster’s budget was to be cut: Harry Phibbs, “Budget Cuts Will Give the BBC a Taste of the Real World,” Daily Mail, October 19, 2010; James Robinson and Mark Sweney, “BBC Budget Cut by 16 Percent in Spending Review, George Osborne Confirms,” Guardian, October 20, 2010.
Page 276 “get this fucking thing over with”: Murdoch, as overheard by Guardian media reporter Dan Sabbagh, cited in Nick Davies, “Rupert Murdoch Gives More Away Than Planned at Leveson,” Guardian, April 25, 2012.
Page 277 Tom Watson read aloud: “Murdoch ‘Not Fit to Run’ International Company,” BBC News, May 1, 2012.
Page 277 driven by partisan politics: “News Corporation Statement of UK’s Parliamentary Select Committee of Culture, Media, and Sport’s News of the World Report,” News Corp press release, May 1, 2012. It includes this assessment: “News Corporation regrets that the Select Committee’s analysis of the factual record was followed by some commentary that we, and indeed several members of the committee, consider unjustified and highly partisan. These remarks divided the members along party lines.”
Page 277 the ghost of the News of the World caught a break: John Macdonald, witness statement, Leveson Inquiry, May 8, 2012; Martin Evans, “Leveson Inquiry: Milly Dowler’s Phone Was Hacked but Messages May Not Have Been Deliberately Deleted,” Telegraph, May 9, 2012.
Page 278 he now agreed to sever the newspaper side: “News Corporation Announces Intent to Pursue Separation of Businesses to Enhance Strategic Alignment and Increase Operational Flexibility,” News Corp press release, June 28, 2012; three News Corp officials, interviews by author.
Page 279 The split represented a reckoning: Author’s interview with a senior Murdoch newspaper editor, a former News Corp executive, and an adviser to one of the adult Murdoch children. Much of the history, particularly from the perspective of Murdoch critics, is recounted in News Corp Shareholder Derivative Litigation, C.A. no. 6285-VCN, Delaware State Court of Chancery, Verified Third Amended Consolidated Shareholder Derivative Complaint.
Page 279 “newspaper business is like an ice cube”: Don Yacktman, interview by author.
Page 279 The Daily as a $35 million experiment: “Murdoch Debuts Daily iPad Paper,” All Things Considered, February 2, 2011.
Page 279 Now the Wall Street Journal would be responsible: Senior Wall Street Journal executive, interview by author.
Page 279 “ShitCo” and “GoodCo”: Former Wall Street Journal executives, interviews by author.
Chapter 22
Page 280 the geography of his holdings and the psychology of his children: The account of Rupert Murdoch’s motivations and Lachlan’s reactions in this passage are derived from author’s interviews with current and former News Corp executives and friends of Lachlan Murdoch.
Page 280 it paid $2.2 billion: Elysse Morgan, “Packer Agrees to Consolidated Media Sale,” ABC News (Australia), September 7, 2012.
Page 282 If you don’t have that belief: Friend of Lachlan Murdoch, interview by author.
Page 282 Rupert Murdoch still wanted them all: News
Corp executive and former News Corp executive, interview by author.
Page 282 “a massive pain in the ass”: This quotation from Elisabeth Murdoch and others in this section are taken from her address at the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture, Edinburgh Television Festival, 2012.
Page 283 “the nastiest people besmirching”: Dennis Potter, James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture, August 27, 1993.
Page 283 “the pollution of what was already a fairly polluted press”: Dennis Potter, interview by Melvyn Bragg, BBC Channel 4, April 5, 1994.
Page 285 the show’s editor killed the story: Dan Sabbagh and Josh Halliday, “Jimmy Savile: Newsnight Staff Were Furious After Abuse Report Dropped,” Guardian, October 1, 2012.
Page 285 ITV broadcast a documentary: “The Other Side of Jimmy Savile,” ITV Exposure, October 3, 2012.
Page 285 Murdoch’s old antagonist Chris (now Lord) Patten: Lord Patten, testimony to Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media, and Sport, November 27, 2012.
Page 285 could damage the New York Times: David Folkenflik, “Mark Thompson Takes Over at New York Times Co.,” Morning Edition, November 15, 2012.
Page 285 “Saville [sic]-BBC story long way to run”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, October 14, 2012.
Page 286 if they pushed the matter too hard: News Corp editor, interview by author.
Page 286 invited in Hugh Grant, Charlotte Church: “Charlotte Church’s Media Regulation Hope After David Cameron Meeting,” BBC News, October 9, 2012.
Page 286 “Cameron receiving scumbag celebrities”: Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, October 13, 2012.
Page 286 his liaison with a prostitute: John Hiscock, “Hugh Grant on Prostitution Charge,” Telegraph, June 28, 1995.
Page 286 wrongly claiming Grant had played no role: Lara Gould and Ben Ellery, “About a Boy! Hugh Grant Has Second Child with ‘Fab Mum’ Tinglan Hong,” Mail on Sunday, February 17, 2013.
Page 286 Murdoch apologized . . . but was otherwise unrepentant: Cahal Milmo, “Murdoch Says Sorry to Grant over ‘Love Child’ Remark,” Independent, October 19, 2012.
Page 286 Leveson’s report dismantled layers of rationalizations: Report of the Leveson Inquiry into Culture, Practices, and Ethics of the Press, November 29, 2012.