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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

Murdoch: media mogul, master manipulator

Sociopaths can be scary people. They can hold the hand of a lover while feeling no spark or lie themselves into a cold, callous nature. With no resignations, the appetite of a sociopath craves power, stimulation and legitimacy. The ideal building blocks of a major corporation.

Despite pleas of victimhood, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has proven that even at 81, dire manipulation and denial can be whipped out at will in the name of personal salvation. Murdoch has called his own tabloid an “aberration” after accusing journalists of unethical standards and practices. In a recent trial, his journalists were busted for phone hacking and blackmailing women about an orgy sponsored by Max Mosely, the former Formula One boss.

In a report from The Guardian, Mosely sent the Murdoch party several letters and emails. Mosely was flabbergasted at the negation of a response for more than a year.

Inside the letters, Mosely demanded that an investigation be taken underway into claims that Murdoch’s tabloid, News of the World played a role in blackmailing two of the women who allegedly participated in the orgy.

Although unethical journalism seems like a minuscule problem by today’s standards, Rupert Murdoch is an economically inclined man. He doesn’t just own a tiny British tabloid that exploits the lives of erotically charged soccer moms. No, News Corp. is in control of more than 120 television stations in Europe, Asia, China and the U.S. Fox News is one of them. It owns four production and distribution companies, 150 newspapers and Harper Collins Publishing. Besides that, Murdoch’s hands wring the neck of a list of websites that include photobucket.com, dowjones.com and even myspace.com.

This type of media imperialism has caused not only smaller countries, but the humanity within them to sacrifice identities for the sake of being informed. It is unlikely that News of the World is the only branch of Murdoch’s corporation to have metastasized into a tumor of deceitful information. If that man was running the show, so was his lack of integrity and crooked standards.

The reign of terror implied by Murdoch’s regime has also distorted perceptions of power, making it impossible for the common man to legitimize his or her views. He controlled an aspect of almost every media outlet and defined the importance of national events based on his promotion of them. If the average person tried to clash heads with this giant, they would undoubtly lose based on their lack of resources and followers. “Too much power can be problematic when people aren’t thinking for themselves because of the media presence in their society,” said DePaul sophomore Taylor Kohen.

In a report from The Associated Press, 11 Parliamentary lawmakers stated, “Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company.” But still he has tried to apologize by blaming anyone but himself, “Someone took charge of a cover-up, which we were victim to and I regret.” Aside from his media imperialism, alarming manipulation skills, and shocking ability to feel no remorse for the ethical stain he has left on a company and an industry, what perhaps in the most shocking is Murdoch’s belief that we actually buy it.

It’s obvious that Murdoch and every aspect of his corporation have denied the public honest information through the illegitimate tactics they have long thrived upon. By debasing the standards of journalism, he will not only be sentenced in court but on a level of much higher condemnation.

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