Conservative Activists Rebel Against Fox News: Saudi Ownership Is ‘Really Dangerous For America’

[babylonsister]

Conservative Activists Rebel Against Fox News: Saudi Ownership Is ‘Really Dangerous For America’


Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns a 7% stake in News Corp — the parent company of Fox News — making him the largest shareholder outside the family of News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch. Alwaleed has grown close with the Murdoch enterprise, recently endorsing James Murdoch to succeed his father and creating a content sharing agreement with Fox News for his own media conglomerate, Rotana.

Last weekend, at the right wing Constitutional Coalition’s annual conference in St. Louis, Joseph Farah, publisher of the far right WorldNetDaily, blasted Fox News for its relationship with Alwaleed. Farah noted correctly that Alwaleed had boasted in the past about forcing Fox News to change its content relating to its coverage of riots in Paris, and warned that such foreign ownership of American media is “really dangerous.”

more...

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/10/right-rebels-foxnews/

[bullwinkle428]

1. Fox News was great for all those years when it was owned by that American Rupert Murdoch!

:evilgrin:

[rox63]

3. Isn't he actually an Aussie?

[bullwinkle428]

5. Hence, the "evilgrin" smilie!

;)

[Lorien]

6. Yep. but the RW seems to like Australia because it has a lot of fundies. nt

[randr]

8. His arrival on the American media scene was prompted

by a major change in legislation. Foreign ownership of American media outlets was restricted until Newt and friends bent the law for this creton. Murdock had already despoiled the press in England, a land once famous for its proliferation of newspapers with divergent opinions.
At the time the laws were being manipulated to allow Murdock to build his empire Newt was held in contempt and made to return a million dollar advance from Murdock's publishing company.
A return to American ownership of its media should be considered as a move toward national security given that the Saudis have such an investment in a major outlet.

[rhett o rick]

9. Born in Australia and became a naturalized citizen of the US in 1985.

I believe Newt Gingrich pulled some strings to get Congress to give Murdoch citizenship so he can own US tv stations. Gingrich in turn was offered an advance for two books of $4.5 million dollars. Under scrutiny Gingrich declined the offer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch#Moving_into_the_United_States

[Orsino]

12. A foreigner, but sufficiently pale for wingnuts. n/t

[seafan]

13. With Reagan's help, Murdoch became a US citizen in 1985 to hide Aussie legal/financial problems

Info below from this old thread:

Here in the United States, the Reagan administration helped Murdoch navigate the citizenship laws -- he was then an Australian -- so that he could become a US citizen and acquire Metromedia.

Link

When Rupert Murdoch became an American citizen on 3 September 1985 to offset the Reagan Administration's stance on foreign ownership, his 'virtual' nationality hid financial and legal problems with the Australian Tax Office (Chenoweth, 2001: 52). Murdoch gave different testimony to the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about his 1985 purchase of Metromedia television stations (Chenoweth, 2001: 53). He had formed a strategic alliance with junk bond dealer Michael Milken, who devised a $1.15 billion preference issue for News Limited to purchase Metromedia (Chenoweth: 2001, 62-64). Repaying Milken's debt was tied to News Limited's future stock price.

Murdoch missed News Limited's annual general meeting in Adelaide on 16 October 1987 (Chenoweth, 2001: 77). He was attending producer David Brown's book launch and a Forbes 400 party (Chenoweth, 2001: 78-79). Black Monday, on 18 October 1987, would cost Murdoch $1.7 billion (Chenoweth, 2001: 80). His fateful decision to remain in New York City would stall News Limited's crisis management. .....

And now, the shrieking wingnuts have only recently noticed that the expanding Saudi ownership of News Corp, the parent company of Faux Noise, may not be a good thing...



Especially since now, the Prince has some new buddies:











Good lord, deliver us.

[hatrack]

2. Dumbass Party, your table is ready - more coffee?

:eyes:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. This is where the left wing collectively shouts to the right wing:

I TOLD YOU SO!

[troubledamerican]

14. If you tell them "Liberals are on your side", they'll rebel against their own beliefs.

Works every time.

[Lorien]

7. They think that's bad; wait until they realize that foreigners can own our politicians! nt

[lonestarnot]

10. And our mortgages! Woohoo.

:sarcasm:

[Brewman_Jax]

11. They shoudn't be crying

that is what they wanted, isn't it? :dunce:

[TCJ70]

15. I found a thread on this over at FR...

...they say that because this guy is a Muslim, he's been keeping Fox from completely covering the lack of a birth certificate for Obama. The crazy...it burns...

[gatorboy]

17. I think what's more important here is that he's a Sunni Muslim.

The FR fear that this man has the power to shut down anti-Islamic news stories on Fox and yet don't seem to realize that Fox still seems to have no trouble producing material attacking Iran every chance they get. But then again, they're Shia Islam.

And Iran is the fourth largest oil producer

Maybe the idea of Fox News trying to push an Iranian/US war isn't too bad for business when you happen to live in a country that's the No. 1 producer of oil.

Just a thought.

[gatorboy]

16. Conservatives love to brag about Fox being No. 1 which now makes them the MSM doesn't it?

And the right loves to talk about how they hate mainstream meadia.

*sits back and waits for the heads to explode*

[Sebastian Doyle]

18. FAUX News supports TERRORISTS

I've said so for years, but now it's official. Pull those Al Qaeda funding bastards off the air!

[SpiralHawk]

20. "Saudis are like, cool and stuff." - xCommander AWOL (R)

"I mean, ya gotta put aside the fact that almost all the 9/11 terrarists were Saudi, and appreciate how much MONEY me and my fatcat 'republicon' cronies have raked in from hanging with these dudes. So you noisy proles can just STFU. Smirk."

- xCommander AWOL (R)

[SpiralHawk]

21. "Saudis are FAB for fatcat bottom lines." -xVP Dickie 'Five-military-deferments' Cheney

"As me and my fatcat republicon oil and munitions cronies know, our Saudilicious buds are just FAB when it comes to us profiteering and shit. So you noisy American proles can just STFU. Sneer."

-xVP Dickie 'Five-military-deferments' Cheney (R)

[JCMach1]

19. FOXcasters showing their racism again...

What make Talal different from Murdoch...? Hell, he might actually be more liberal!