As with accounting fraud and embezzlement, the safeguards put into place fail to work when the problem goes all the way to the top.
The Trumpp admin is demonstrating that the same applies to the problem of incompetence.
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I believe Rupert is 86 years old. As soon as he dies, James Murdoch will take over. That will be the end of Fox News as we know it today. Jennifer Rubin and the NYT both had good articles on James Murdoch and the the changes he will bring. Google this headline: How James Murdoch could turn Fox News into something to be proud of.
If you prefer the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/business/media/murdoch-family-21st-century-fox.html?_r=0
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Humans have incredible ability to deal with information that comtradicts hopes and beliefs. I this particular case, female Fox fans have several options: assume the accusers are lying about what happened; assume the accusers were willing participants; assume the accusers enticed the accused; assume the accusers were the predators; boys will be boys; it was just harmless flirting; accusers could have just said “sorry, not interested;” PC has gone amuck; or accusers should have gone and worked somewhere else; and, of course, George Soros is paying the accusers to bring down the only news source that isn’t dedicated to broadcasting liberal propaganda.
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That allowed Murdoch to purchase more local TV stations by removing the restrictions on ownership in a given area. He was able to buy up TV stations and convert them to FOX News outlets along with purchasing local newspapers and radio, but the REAL damage was the massive consolidation and complete takeover of the AM radio stations by right-wing propagandists like “Clear-Chanel Communications” who snapped up 75% of the AM radio stations and replaced all local programming with bloviating blowhards like Rush Limbaugh and Hannity and Michael Savage. This was especially damaging in the rural areas where the TV stations are few and far away in the big cities and internet access is slow and expensive.
In rural areas RADIO is still king, and AM radio is far beyond FM due to it’s range and power into those rural areas. AM radio is now the chief right-wing propagandist in the country with a much larger hold on their listeners than FOX News could ever dream of. The dominance of Facebook and Google is killing the Internet in much the same way.
The consolidation of the FM radio stations led to the demise of many independent stations their replacement by national programming and artificial segmentation into a few categories in each market: Hip-Hop, Classic-Rock, Pop, and Latino stations with NO competition in any markets anymore. This was led by one or two corporations (and the death of decent music and the rise of the Industrial Music Business which is really a return to the bad old days of the 50’s radio where payola and corporate control is rampant.)
Even Internet STREAMING is now facing massive consolidation and is falling into the same trap.
Between the complete takeover of AM radio, the soul-crushing corporatization of FM radio, and the massive consolidation of News into 3 or 4 massive conglomerates and the death of local programming and news organizations we have the perfect recipe for a Fascist Dictator to take power (gee, I wonder when?)
People can no longer tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t, and frankly, they don’t care anymore. They just want to have their pre-existing biases and bigotries reinforced and live in their own bubbles of reality (left and right.)
America, it was great while it lasted.
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They’re smarmy, privileged frat boys who all grew up and found a way to remain smarmy, privileged frat boys while collecting huge paychecks.
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You just gotta cut that shit… If you keep taking it pure, you’re gonna OD.
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I hope this doesn’t finish you off, but consider that Trump was a longtime contributor at Fox, he has publicly defended the character of Ailes and O’Reilly, and stated that O’Reilly has done nothing wrong. Judging by his history of harassing women and demeaning staff, I think there’s a real chance that Trump gets caught up in some of these lawsuits.
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Live by the Sword…DIE by the Sword…
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I didn’t think it could happen, but FUX has become too stupid for the stupid, and too vile for the vile.
There goes their key demographic.
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Rupert Murdock has no intention of going soon. His mother lived to be over 100.
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Wow, right now I’m watching a press conference on CBSN.com, they have a group of minorities suing Fox for systemic racism. I missed the beginning of the conference so I don’t have the full story. There will be headlines about this soon, but the press conference is still going on.
Edit: LOL the attorney called them “18th Century Fox.” Haven’t heard that one before.
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“…Here’s what we’re not hearing about: How many women at Fox did sleep with Ailes, or O’Reilly, or Hannity? …”
I’ve said this before: In a mid-town Fortune 500 where I worked in the mid-70s, sexual harassment was rife and outrageous. So, too, were women openly carrying on with their bosses.
They would sit next to their bosses at meetings to let everyone know they’re not to be f**ked with – like the head wife in the harem. They got the best assignments.
I couldn’t stand it. Place was a brothel. I left inside a year.
Everyone – men and women both – are harmed in these environments.
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Regardless of how intelligent some of these women clearly are (Carlson has multiple degrees), they are hired for their beauty queen looks and their principle role is to offer a sexually appealing package to deliver a reassuring but culturally combative message to viewers who are mostly old and white and skew male. The men are not hired for their looks but as the verbal equivalent to an enforcer in an old-style hockey game. In short, Fox is the embodiment of patriarchal ideals. Of course the women are abused as sexual playthings. THAT’S WHAT WOMEN ARE FOR IN THIS CULTURAL BUBBLE. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for suing the shit out of Fox but the real treasure is, where does Fox go from here? It’s like that California congressman who once upon a time whined that if you don’t get to rape your wife who do you get to rape? What is Fox left with when you take away the threat of subjugating everyone around you?
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Interestingly, Wall Street has often been described as “A church on one end, a river on the other and a kindergarten in between.” Speaks to the lesser nature of so many and how financial success so often only concentrates it.
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It’s got to the point where when discussing fox so-called news or even the gop in general, it is no longer necessary to use the snark signifier.
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The only thing required for Murdoch to own media outlets is that he be a US citizen, which he became.
The FCC regulations changes under Reagan allowed for consolidation of media, and had nothing to do with Murdoch per se.
The Fairness Doctrine would not have applied to FoxNews, because it was about regulating the public airwaves—the over-the-air broadcast networks----and would have no effect on cable channels like FoxNews, which is not a “network” in the traditional sense of the word.
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…Women Unite. Fire burn and cauldron bubble…
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I am not holding my breath for there to be a sky-parting event on the occasion of James assuming the handles of power abuse.
It is up to us, not them to affect change.
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I think they have buried the lede. While it is commonly believed that Fox News is the private playground of the Murdoch family and Rupert’s buddies, 20th Century Fox is a publically traded company with very strict legal obligations to its shareholders and regulators. .
The Federal securities fraud investigations are much bigger than understood and could result in someone not named Murdoch running the company going forward. This is the story to follow.
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That’s an excellent summary.
People talk about Trump’s America, but it’s really Reagan’s America. It is the natural conclusion of a process started over 30 years ago.
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