Rupert Murdoch put his money where is publications, including Faux Noise, are yesterday. He gave $1 million to the Republican Party and nothing to the Democrats.
Yesterday, Bloomberg News reported that News Corp., the Fox News parent company run by Rupert Murdoch, donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association (RGA) in June. As Politico’s Ben Smith noted, “The company’s media outlets play politics more openly than most, but the huge contribution to a party committee is a new step toward an open identification between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the GOP.”
A look at News Corp’s own “Standards of Business Conduct [Murdoch delinked],” however, raises questions about whether the $1 million contribution to the RGA violations company policy:
B. Dealing With Government Officials
Employees who have dealings with government officials shall conform to the following standards:
1. All employees who contact public officials must be familiar with the applicable lobbying laws and public disclosure requirements, particularly those laws or regulations pertaining to registrations or filings that must be made by the Company.
2. No payment shall be made to, or for the benefit of, any public official in order to induce or entice such official to: enact, defeat or violate any law or regulation for the Company’s benefit; influence any official act; or obtain any favorable action by a governmental agency or official on behalf of the Company.
3. Social amenities, entertainment and other courtesies may be extended to government officials or employees only to the extent appropriate and reasonable under applicable laws and customs. Gifts of greater than nominal value to, or lavish entertainment of, public officials are prohibited. No gifts in the form of cash, stock or other similar consideration shall be given, regardless of amount. Any gift about which an employee is uncertain should not be made without the prior written approval of the Company’s General Counsel. Any expenses incurred by a Company employee in connection with the matters discussed herein shall be accurately recorded on the Company’s books and records.
What’s not totally clear is the intent of News Corp’s donation. Was it to “induce or entice” a public official to “enact, defeat or violate any law or regulation for the Company’s benefit”? The only public response from the company so far comes from spokesman Jack Horner, who said, “News Corporation believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy.”… [emphasis original]
Inserted from <Think Progress>
News Corp’s official company policy properly forbids such donations by a news organization, but Fox and Murdoch’s other media properties are not about news. They are about furthering the agenda of the extreme right, no matter how many sheeple they deceive in the process.
Keith Olbermann and Eric Burns, President of Media Matters, discuss the extent to which Faux Noise has become an integral part of the Republican political juggernaut.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
So is Fox the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda? I say YES. What say you?
10 Responses to “Is Fox the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda?”
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So is Fox the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda?
Do bears poop in the deep dark woods?
Is it a bad idea to spit in the wind, tug on Superman’s cape, and mess around with Jim?
Amen, Beach.
It is his right to give what he wants.It is an obvious statement, to say he and his corporation are biased towards Republicans. And to have a motto claiming “fair and balanced” is a lie.
Tom, I’ll disagree. Newscorp is a multi-national. He only has the right through his US subsidiaries.
Herr Goebbels would be very proud to see that, 65 years later, an American “news” channel would be so closely following his methodology and part of his ideology. Rupert Murdoch is a despicable modern-day assassin of truth!
Amen, Jack.
News Corps should be stripped of their license to broadcast or print and be forced to register as a lobbyist.
Leslie, as much as I like the idea, I know of no legal grounds for it.
I’m remembering last year when the Administration said Fox wasn’t a real news outlet. The MSM had a tizzy fit,defending Fox. They’re rather quite now.
Obama has been proved prophetic.