James Murdoch’s resignation is the result of News Corp’s increasing shift to the right – not just on climate
It is more likely the Trump administration, and the cosy relationship it has with Murdoch’s Fox News, on top of differences on climate change, that was the last straw for James, argues Rodney Tiffen in this crossposting for The Conversation.
James Murdoch is not the most obvious candidate for editorial heroism. His route to resigning from the News Corp board because of “disagreements over certain editorial content” has been circuitous and colourful.
James’s first major managerial role in his father’s media empire was to run the Star satellite services and News Corp’s Asian operations in Hong Kong from 2000 to 2003. He had mixed commercial success in this period, which is best remembered for his determination to gain access to the Chinese market by currying favour with the government.
He accused Western media of painting a falsely negative portrayal of China through their focus on controversial issues such as human rights and Taiwan. In 2001, he advised Hong Kong’s democracy movement to “accept the reality of life under a strong-willed absolutist government”. In one of his dealings with China, he agreed that Murdoch’s cable channels around the world would take China’s propaganda channel CCTV9.
In 2003, he was promoted to run BSkyB in London, where he lived for the best part of the next decade, and where he successfully expanded Murdoch’s satellite services.
To be fair James was as good as gone anyway, marginalised by both the news hacking saga and his continued stance on editorial direction.
He was always the reluctant heir, and seemed both at odds with world domination, and a (comparatively) decent chap.
This is simply a signal by JRM that it’s official, and the gloves are now off.
The interesting narrative start now…
Fox’s fortunes have never been higher, yet Mr Tiffen unaccountably finishes off with “Fox heads into decline.” You would never guess from his account that since the first of June, Fox News Channel has been “not just the most-watched cable news network, but the highest-rated network in all of television” (Forbes, July 5).
Reports of Fox’s imminent demise are wishful thinking. Should Trump win, Fox will remain on a roll. Should Trump lose, it is the CNNs and MSNBCs whose future will be under a cloud, because hate-Trump stories have been their meat and drink for years, and they have nothing else. But a Biden-Harris administration could give Fox a new lease of life. It would galvanise actual and potential Fox viewers as never before.
James Murdoch now the Prince Harry of the Murdoch family?