"This defense is a smoke screen. The real transgressions of the Murdoch empire are not its outré partisanship, its tabloid sleaze, its Washington lobbying, or even what liberals most love to hate, the bogus 'fair and balanced' propaganda masquerading as journalism at Fox News. In fact, these misdemeanors are red herrings—distractions from the real News Corp. corruption that now threatens to bring down its management and radically reconfigure and reduce its international corporate footprint. The bigger story is this: An otherwise archetypal media colossus, with apolitical TV shows (American Idol), movies (Avatar), and cable channels (FX) like any other, is controlled by a family (and its tight coterie of made men and women, exemplified by the recently departed Rebekah Brooks) that countenances the intimidation and silencing of politicians, regulators, competitors, journalists, and even ordinary citizens to maximize its profits and power and to punish perceived corporate, political, and personal enemies. And, as we now know conclusively, some of this behavior has broken the law."
-- Frank Rich in New York Magazine
Take 20 minutes or so out of your day if you can and read Rich's entire piece; it's relentlessly detailed in its excoriation of Murdoch's empire as anything but your average media conglomerate.
Expanding on what both Rich and the previously linked Peter Daou piece have to say, you might also want to take a look at Fox News's latest completely-made-up controversy that's sure to turn into its next very public crusade. And then read a classic and thoroughly brilliant piece by Matt Osborne that dissects the Orwellian origins of the right-wing fear factory.
Yeah, it's a lot to take in -- but it's gotta be better than staring blankly at that little flashing cursor on your computer screen for hours on end.
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