Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence

Subject: UK Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 07:13 AM

Thought it worth sharing info (below) about a petition I've just signed; I suspect many UK Catters would be interested...

The Murdoch empire's dirty tactics just brought down 5 more of their top journalists and editors, as well as a police officer, a member of the ministry of defense, and an army man. After 29 News Corp arrests, it's clear: Murdoch must have known about the crimes his employees were committing.

He may have sweet talked Parliament and slipped by the police so far, but we can hold him accountable for the violations of law and privacy that helped pad his pockets.

Tomorrow, the House of Lords will consider whether Murdoch is "fit and proper" to own our media. If we rally a massive show of public support now we can ensure that it's more than a symbolic action. Let's push the regulators to revoke Murdoch's licence to operate and end his dirty dealings for good. Click below to join and then forward to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_murdoch_mafia/?vl

It's clear that Murdoch has long overseen a crooked operation.Saturday's arrests of News Corp senior staff rocked the Sun's newsroom exactly two weeks after the first arrests of other Murdoch editors and execs-- all on suspicion of bribing police and public officials. And it's not over, yet.

The information leading to the arrests came from News Corp, itself. Investigators seized and are searching through more than 300 million News Corp emails, rooting out what appears to be systematic corruption. With an ever-widening net of arrests at all 3 of Murdoch's UK papers, abuses are widespread, even infecting key sections of the British establishment.

Murdoch is set to fly in to London to manage the crisis and try to save his corrupted empire. But what must happen now is clear. In light of everything we know, Murdoch cannot be considered "fit and proper" to run the outlets that provide us our news and the regulator OFCOM must pull the plug. Sign the petition:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_murdoch_mafia/?vl

Rupert Murdoch is the world's most powerful and dangerous media baron. Twice now, Avaaz members took him on to stop the enormous expansion of his empire -- and won! This time, let's show our power again to shrink his dirty domain for good.

With hope and determination,

Dalia, Alex, Brant, Emma, Ricken, Michael, Luis, Antonia and the rest of the Avaaz team

Sources:

Rupert Murdoch faces fresh crisis as key Sun staff arrested (Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/12/murdoch-fresh-crisis-sun-arrests

Sun newspaper 'will continue' says Rupert Murdoch (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16999659

Rupert Murdoch should sell the Sun (Michael Wolff, Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/12/rupert-murdoch-should-sell-the-sun

Rupert Murdoch faces revolt from angry Sun staff (Daily Telegraph)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9077999/Rupert-Murdoch-faces-revolt-from-angry-Sun-staff.html

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Acorn4
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 07:30 AM

Once we've got rid of "The Sun", can we get rid of the "Daily Mail"?

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 07:39 AM

OK by me... ;-)

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: GUEST,davemc
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 07:44 AM

Pointless drivel. The country's going to hell in a hand cart thanks to our lefty politicians, the eurocrats and our pretend democratic values but it's easier to scapegoat a dodgy aussie. Newspapers are last centuries' technology, barely read by anyone but the chatterati, and will soon be defunct. They are a side show and don't matter.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: GUEST,davemc
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 07:47 AM

Frankly, I'd rather get rid of the bunch of whingers at Avaaz who spam you on all their woolly topics if you're daft enough to sign any of their single-issue petitions. Unethical.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 08:39 AM

The concentration of media power in Murdoch's hands has been very harmful to our democracy. Davemc displays considerable ignorance by not realising that cross-media ownership, the ability to control large sections of both broadcast and print media, results in a propaganda machine. That is what has had police and politicians dancing to the dirty digger's tune.

Thatcher started the rot by dismantling controls on cross media ownership as part of her war against Thames TV because they would not toe her line. The problem was aggravated by the governmental mis-handling of the playing field between Sky and BSB in the early days of satellite TV, and doubly aggravated by the stupidity of Thatcher forcing the BBC to pay Sky carriage fees, when in the real world free from Keith Joseph carriage fees were only ever paid by channels who derived revenues from viewer numbers.

I used to do this shit, and have some idea what I am talking about (unlike our neanderthal guest).   UKTV has been getting worse ever since Thatcher destroyed the old regional franchise system out of malice over the "Death on the Rock" documentary.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: GUEST,davemc
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 09:53 AM

Ooh, I was waiting for one of the usual suspects to chip in with "it were fatcher wot dun it". As James Delingpole points out in today's Telegraph, more blame can be placed at the foot of the BBC as "it probably bears greater responsibility than any other institution for Britain's cultural, moral, intellectual and economic decline." The BBC is a far more pernicious organisation than anything Murdoch funds - and we have the joy of a compulsory telly tax to rub our noses in it.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: EBarnacle
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 09:55 AM

Same problem on this side of the pond except that no one has been arrested. Murdoch has subverted the integrity of our newspapers and broadcast media here for more than 35 years with his union busting and sponsorship of overtly biased lies in the name of "news shows" and commentary.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: pdq
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 10:07 AM

"Murdoch must have known about the crimes his employees were committing."

Bunk.

Murdoch's empire employs 53,000 people. He personally meets with a few dozen and plans general strategy.

His various outlets cover all political opinion and range from hard news to tabloid fluff.

For a fair camparison, take a big city with 53,000 government employees and see how many of them are crimmals. It will be far more that Murcdoch's crew.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: DebC
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 10:14 AM

At first I thought we were talking about Bruce Murdoch and was wondering what he had done to get his license revoked. :-)

Deb

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 10:20 AM

Same here Deb! Had me worried!

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 12:28 PM

That has to be the biggest load of shit I ever read, davemc. The BBC is a cultural joy (at least in comparison to any other TV channel, although C4 occasionally remembers its remit). Maybe you really get your rocks off on tractor pulling.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: EBarnacle
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 12:37 PM

pdq, when something occurs with significant frequency in several operations owned by the same people, you have to allow for the possibility that they are policies directed from the top.

The "rogue employee" explanation is rather bogus.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: GUEST,davemc
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 12:53 PM

"The BBC is a cultural joy..." only if you leave your critical faculties at the door, share the lefty-greeny-luvvie faith, and enjoy being preached at, patted on the head and brainwashed with proto-commie eurobilge.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: GUEST,999
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:30 PM

"Frankly, I'd rather get rid of the bunch of whingers at Avaaz who spam you on all their woolly topics if you're daft enough to sign any of their single-issue petitions."

So I take it you're not gonna sign the petition?

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:36 PM

Hmmm...watching several episodes of "Spooks" known as "MI-5" over here, one wonders how much is fiction and how much is on the money...big media moguls included.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:52 PM

I said "cultural", not "political". And anyway the Beeb never been left wing but rather centrist in fact - and has recently pandered shamefully to right-wing stupidity thanks to crypto-fascist morons threatening its funding. Until recently it was the most respected news organisation in the world.   Now its independence is largely gone.

And if you don't think media moguls know who is doing what, you have never learned the truth about Robert Maxwell. Again, from legalling in both directions and haveing friends who worked there, I know what I'm talking about - unlike you it seems DaveMoronCon.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 02:19 PM

What sort of license are we talking about here? Do you need a license to publish a newspaper in Britain? If so, I'm shocked. What does that say about freedom of the press?

If Murdoch has done something illegal, wouldn't justice be better served by sending him to jail, instead of revoking this mysterious license?

And if you can't prove he did anything illegal, what justification can there be for revoking his license?

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: EBarnacle
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 02:36 PM

Good point. If there is no license, perhaps his papers can be disincorporated.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: GUEST,999
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 02:39 PM

Hey, YY. I just looked at your first link. The page shows a dial thingy that records people's names (etc) for the petition. It's spinning better'n one name every five seconds or less.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 05:26 PM

999, thanks for that -- I'm very pleased to hear it.

Richard, thanks for your knowledgeable and articulate support; I really appreciate it (although I think letting your opponent suck you into getting personal is counter-productive).

DebC & Sandie (& 999!) -- sorry about that -- I should have inserted an "R" before Murdoch...

Jim Dixon, I'm sure/I hope Richard will correct me if I'm wrong; I believe the way it works is that you don't necessarily need a licence to publish a newspaper, but if you own/want to own a "controlling portion" of a large media company which is likely to have a lot of influence in the country, then OfCom and/or the government get to decide if you/your company is "fit and proper" to do so.

My take is that lots of people (particularly if they are rich and/or powerful) can do a lot of unethical stuff that is not technically illegal (as well as managing to get away with doing stuff that is), so I'm happy for this assessment to be made.

For more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom, where it says (amongst other things):

Ofcom (officially the Office of Communications; Welsh: Y Swyddfa Gyfathrebiadau) is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
and
In July 2011, in the wake of the News International phone hacking scandal, Ofcom came under pressure to launch an inquiry into whether the parent company of News International, News Corporation, was still the "fit and proper" owner of a controlling stake in the satellite broadcasting company British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). On 13 July former Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Ofcom to launch an investigation. On 15 July the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stated that the Government would launch a review of laws on what constituted a "fit and proper" owner for broadcasting companies in the United Kingdom, and that anyone found not to meet that standard can be forced to give up their current holdings in a company. On 22 July it was reported that Ofcom had begun an investigation into whether the phone-hacking scandal may have changed BSkyB's status as the "fit and proper" holder of a UK broadcasting licence. On the same day Ed Richards, the Chief Executive of Ofcom, replied to Simon Hughes MP, Don Foster MP and Tim Farron MP following a letter which they had written to him on 8 July concerning News Corporation's shareholding in BSkyB. In the letter Richards confirmed that Ofcom considers that News Corporation's current shareholding of 39.14% in BSkyB does give it a material influence over the company; that Ofcom is not precluded from acting by ongoing police investigations; and that Ofcom's process is not dependent upon a criminal conviction being secured. (note: bf added by me.)

DaveMC and PDQ, it's clear we strongly disagree. I suspect there's nothing I (or anyone on Mudcat) could say that would change your minds, and it's highly unlikely that you'll change mine, so I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I posted this thread for like-minded (UK -- meant to preface the thread title with UK! Oh well...) Catters, to let them know there's some (admittedly small) thing they can do if they feel strongly enough.

If you don't want to sign the petition, fine by me.

If you want to debate it &/or slag it off on this thread, that's fine by me, too (for one thing, it will keep its visibility high and more folks will see it), although it would sadden me to see the discussion deteriorate into nastiness and name-calling instead of reasoned debate.

DaveMC -- I may be misremembering, but I believe Avaaz has a tick box that lets you opt out of receiving further e-mails from them. If they don't, then I agree it doesn't reflect well on them (although it's easy enough to opt out using a clicky at the bottom of every e-mail they send); I do think it's a bit OTT to describe their behaviour as "unethical" -- especially compared to the (IMHO) illegal/immoral (and usually outrageous) behaviours of the people/governments who are the subjects of their petitions.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 06:21 PM

Ta' hell with Rupert.....All you who read this as "Bruce" instead need to band together and we'll all sign petitions requesting any and all licenses held by Bruce Murdoch be relinquished immediately......


Spaw

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 06:35 PM

Better yet, I think "Bruce" should replace James and Rupert as head of the company(ies)!

Now, where'd I put that petition...?

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: GUEST,Bluesman
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 06:46 PM

I have no doubt he will change his wicked ways once he reads this thread.

Get that petition signed as soon as possible, it will no doubt close down his empire.

Keep up the good work.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 06:59 PM

You need a licence to run a TV station. Same in the USA - that's why Murdoch took US citizenship - but different detail. Hence the need to be a "fit and proper person".

One of the factors involved is concentration of media ownership - across TV, papers, and sound radio. Murdoch has illustrated the dangers of cross-media ownership brilliantly.

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: Rapparee
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 07:22 PM

Bruce has an empire?

Subject: RE: Petition: revoke Murdoch's licence
From: EBarnacle
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 12:52 AM

Everything's fine, Rap. Go back to sleep.