Maybe he’s onto something, but maybe all he wanted to see is how the media itself would jump….?
Rupert Murdoch is not particularly happy with the way the media is covering the burgeoning strife in Gaza.
In fact so distressed is he with the media’s coverage of events there, the self avowed supporter of Israel decided to take to twitter to call out the what he perceives to be the biased coverage of events there courtesy of CNN, AP and CNN. Media agencies which if this journalist/blogger/writer is correct isn’t necessarily Jewish own and run despite those who would think otherwise.
Twitted Murdoch: ‘Why is Jewish-owned press so consistently anti-Israel in every crisis?’
Of note, Murdoch’s controversial tweets came as the White House on Saturday said that Israel had the right to defend itself against attack and decide how to respond to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
At present the White House is blaming the ruling Islamic militant Hamas group for starting the conflict.
To date reaction to Murdoch’s tweet has been one of disbelief and mock humor, which led to the media tycoon receiving a volley of tweets and stern write up from the media castigating him which led to Murdoch later issuing an apology in which he tweeted:
‘Jewish owned press’ have been sternly criticized, suggesting link to Jewish reporters. Don’t see this, but apologize unreservedly.
Nevertheless reaction to Murdoch’s musings were quite riveting and thought provocative, which is to say Murdoch for better or worse still has the capacity to make us think and wonder, which is probably what a good media outlet ought to be doing in the first place.
That said scouring the web, I came across the following points of views, with the dailybeast taking a rather compelling stand:
But Murdoch’s tweet is more than just dumb. It’s also offensive, both to journalists and Jews.
It’s offensive to journalists, because it implies that institutions of the “press” should reflect the ideological biases of their owners. Reading Murdoch’s tweet, it would be logical to conclude that he believes that any newspaper he owns should reflect his right-wing views, even in its news coverage.
Which of course ought not surprise those journalists who do work for Rupert Murdoch who it is commonly known to skew their editorials conservatively and give deference to those entities and points of views that enable big industry and a stand that Mr Murdoch may personally harbor at any given moment.
Then again Mr Murdoch is also known to be a realist and ultimately in the business of being a provider of entertainment content, no matter his own political views and has to date supported both the Tories and the Labor party in the UK when he saw fit, which is to say not even he is ideologically fixated but practically inclined, but to even assume that other media outlets are not in some way betrays contempt. But then again that’s the point, Jews are all suppose to hate themselves right?
The dailybeast also goes on to say the following: Murdoch’s tweet is offensive to Jews, because he’s suggesting that when it comes to Israel, media owners who are Jews should let their Jewishness guide their journalism.
The implication is that Jewish media owners do indeed let their Jewishness define their Israel coverage. That’s why the coverage is “consistently” anti-Israel in “in every crisis.” It’s just that, journalistically, their Jewishness expresses itself as hostility toward Israel.
Why? Murdoch doesn’t say, but given that he has publicly equated hostility toward Israel with anti-Semitism, the best guess is that he’s implying that these “anti-Israel” media owners are Jewish anti-Semites. In other words, self-hating Jews.
The dailybeast’s point of view then led to this compelling retort via commentarymagazine which in many ways validated the notion that maybe once own ‘Jewishness’ may in fact preempt how they do get to report:
Part of Beinart’s own pose as a Jewish critic of Israel is the claim that taking the position that the Jewish state must be saved from itself is so unpopular that it takes courage to stray from the AIPAC playbook. But anyone who has observed the way the media works knows that the opposite is true. The easiest way for any self-identified Jewish writer to get published on the op-ed page of the Times or to get prominent notice most other mainstream publications is to attack Israel. Indeed, at times it seems the only papers that do regularly publish defenses of Israel against these unfair attacks are the ones Murdoch owns.
Though Murdoch expressed this sentiment poorly, he was a lot closer to the truth of the situation than the bile that Beinart directed at him.
Intriguing and pretty close to the money was also this point of view expressed by opposingviews:
As Media Matters noted, the phrase “Jewish-owned press” is something of an anti-Semitic dogwhistle about Jews controlling banks and the media. But to me, what’s objectionable is that there’s a whole lot of heckuva nerve going on there.
Apparently, controlling his own media empire is not enough for Murdoch. He thinks he should have a say in what all the other ones do and how they report it. And his beef is not with their methods of coverage but with their political slant – as he perceives it.
But most insulting to me, as a Jew, is his suggestion that he knows what Jews’ political views should be, even though he’s not Jewish. And then not understanding why Jews are offended!
And then there were these thought provoking comments from readers across the web that caught my attention as well:
In a free democratic America we deserve the freedom to engage in intelligent debate without being reflexively labeled as unpatriotic or anti-Semitic by un-thoughtful jingoistic demagogues.
The story glosses over the fact that literally 95% of major American media are owned or controlled by Jews and somehow Americans should just accept that without thinking. (check out Newsweek’s owner’s board) The other 5% is owned by Rupert who is mysteriously but rabidly pro-Israel. That’s why every single rocket fired out of Gaza gets breathlessly reported but when some Israeli soldier machine-guns a Palestinian child for sport or the IDF drops white phosphorus on Palestinian kids, not a peep. Nearly everything Americans read, see or hear in the media goes has to pass the Jewish perspective test. Rupert got it right for the first time ever.
But for this moron Rupert to expect that the so called “Jewish owned” press would favor Israel in their reporting is like saying black owned press would only look positively on Barack Obama which of course it doesn’t. But this is exactly the ignorant comment from a crabby old man.
Fuck you, Murdoch. Not fuck old rich white men. Not fuck Australian-born journalists. Not fuck right-wing agitators. Not fuck any group. FUCK YOU.
It is becoming apparent that Rupert Murdoch is senile.
What underlies Rupert Murder’s ‘thinking’ is the assumption that Jews think as One, or ought to.
It’s the age old appeal to tribal blood loyalties and smacks of Gentile knows best.
You can google up Israeli newspapers and get English translations. The opinions are as widely varied as any in America. Rupert just doesn’t like opinions that aren’t in agreement with the ones he espouses through his media outlets.
Where is the outrage about the travesty of so-called professional journalists taking sides in important political debates while pretending to present objective information? That is the real scandal, not the personal opinion of an elderly man.
Can you imagine the sputtering outrage on Fox or the NY Post if someone on MSNBC or at the NYT had said anything remotely close to the words “Jewish owned press”?
Much as I am committed to Israel’s survival, and much as I decry the hypocrisy of the leftist line on Israel’s usurpation of Palestinian land (when they themselves live on a continent violently wrested from the First Nations), I truly detest standing on the same side of the road as Murdoch, even for a moment.
The ‘mainstream’ news is by far left of American center, this much is obvious. Because it may ‘appear’ centrist to you, it’s because you in fact lean liberal.
Though Fox is particularly bad, they are actually normal for the rest of the world. Only in America do news outlets pretend to be ‘unbiased’ – when of course they all are.
Try watching: BBC, Al-Jazeera, LeFigaro, RT.com for a few weeks and you’ll see the glaring truth.
granted, Murdoch was “inelegant” in his wording (wasn’t that what Romney was always accused of?) but his question is a good one. I was wondering the same thing, looking at that WaPo front page.
but the problem is not only in HOW they cover news, but WHAT they cover. let’s remember, hundreds of rockets were shot at Israeli civilians for years and the media showed absolutely no interest. suddenly, when Israel says “enough” and decides to defend itself, THEN it’s a crisis for humanity and everyone flocks to Gaza to lament the violence. when it’s just Jews under fire it’s not important enough to report on.
Actual comment I read on a Fox News comment board at Nation.Foxnews.com:
“Where is the conservative voice in the media? MSNBC is as far left as you can get, and Fox is decidedly balanced. There is no news station on TV that leans right.”
Also – to ignore the massive and overwhelmingly disproportionate influence the Jews have in media is also naive. The spokesperson for the Pres of the USA over the last 12 years has more often than not strong Jewish/Israeli ties – same for White House Chief of Staff. There isn’t a single media organization in NYC without a strong ‘Jewish block’ of editors, producers or at least staff that will ensure the voice of the community is heard. I’m not even talking rich/lobbyist/coordinated/right-wing action – just such a large number of concentration of Jewish folks in the media that the issue of Israel cannot go by without bias.
You need look no further than the US’s staunch support of Israel on all issues down to the denial of the Palestenian right to statehood to see the influence of the Jewish community.
Step into any of those circles of power and you will find very, very influential, wealthy and powerful members of the Jewish community (this guys are right wing, AIPAC ‘base’). Often boldly, openly and apologetically in support of Israel.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion – but the issue of Israel is difficult for the US press because of this bias.
The entire rest of the world knows this, only Americans living in naive make-believe have yet to wake up from their Disney adventures to grasp this.
There is a lot of direct control of news by the Jewish community. Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft – all run by Jewish cliques (CEO’s, boards, investors etc..) and they have considerable influence. I’m not saying they necessarily go out of their way … but when Facebook, Google etc. for ‘boards’ to decide what constitutes ‘hate speech’ and what does not – you can be assured that the Jewish voice will be represented … and that the Persian voice may not be – hence – bias. Also – it’s a very ”cliquish’ community, thereby leading to even more over-representation of some issues.
As of last year
ABC, NBC, CBS, the Turner Broadcasting System, CNN, MTV, Universal Studios, MCA Records, Geffen Records, DGC Records, GRP Records, Rising Tide Records, Curb/Universal Records, and Interscope Records, Walt Disney are all Jewish owned. And that doesn’t include numerous independent media outlets.
I don’t care unless they are purposely manipulating Western view point of Israel and I don’t know. However, Murdoch might be expressing a truth. as meaningless as it may be.
Excuse me, Rupert. But who, exactly, are these Jewish-owned press owners? The family that owns the NY Times was Jewish generations ago, but they’ve been Episcopalians for decades. I don’t think Donald Graham, the top person at the Washington Post, is Jewish either. His mother, Katherine Graham, had a Jewish father, but her mother was Lutheran. Which means Katherine, and thus Donald, wasn’t a Jew. So where are these Jewish owners Rupert is talking about? If someone knows, tell me. Mebbe Sam Zell, the real estate biggie who’s top person at the Tribune Co. which owns the Chicago Trib and the LA Times. But I doubt Zell, whom I think is Jewish, has anything to do with his newspapers’ editorial policy re Israel. If he did, I think that policy would be much more pro-Israel. So what’s Rupert talking about?
It’s one thing to lie to every red neck racist in the red states. It’s another thing to have a son who is morally corrupt leaving England with his tail between his legs. But Murdock your anti-semitism is pushing too far and a line in the sand has been drawn. It will become personal very shortly.. so shut the F***Up go back to Australia with your son and the deep hole where you were born.
