Murdoch Goes From Darling to Pariah

[ej510]

At the News International party last month, Rupert Murdoch got the reception he’s used to in London, with political figures of every stripe and from the prime minister down paying court at the Kensington Palace event.

>snip

Allegations last week that News Corp. staff hacked into the phones of murdered schoolgirls and terror victims and paid police for stories prompted Murdoch to close the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid on which his U.K. media empire was founded. Politicians from all parties have called for his planned purchase of British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSY) to be scrapped and some question whether his company is fit to own a broadcasting license at all.

“The days of Rupert Murdoch as a man that people will fly halfway around the world to see, whose phone calls get taken, are over,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Sussex University and the author of “The Conservative Party From Thatcher to Cameron.” “All the party leaders have been distancing themselves.”

Thatcher Backer
U.K. prime ministers have felt the need to curry favor with Murdoch since he was allowed by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1981 to add the Times and Sunday Times to his stable of newspapers, which already included the Sun and the News of the World. He was the only newspaper owner invited to a lunch to celebrate Thatcher’s decade in power in 1989 and was more than once invited to spend Christmas with her family, according to John Campbell’s biography of Thatcher.

Cont'd at the link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-11/murdoch-goes-from-party-darling-to-pariah.html

[ej510]

1. Here is a video link:

http://bloom.bg/qwsZ9D#ooid=MweDhuMjpVuuFyH-Zj7FwCSzlv2jS6LM

[judy]

2. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy...

Hope he goes all the way, and good riddance, mate!