Fox News has poisoned, with its far-right conspiracy theories, far more Americans than Breitbart, Gab, 4chan, Alex Jones, etc. But Rupert Murdoch and his heirs -- who control Fox -- have not been held responsible. My latest story is about them. theintercept.com/2018/11/04/fox…
Fox isn’t watched by everyone but for those who watch, Fox is everything. It's possible to imagine the attacks of the last weeks even if Hillary Clinton was president -- but impossible to imagine them without years of Fox News spreading white nationalism. theintercept.com/2018/10/30/fox…
The U.S. editor of the Financial Times has proposed an advertiser boycott of Fox News. That's a good idea though it won't solve the problem, because Fox gets more revenue from cable subscribers than advertisers.
How can Fox be pressured? The Murdochs are central — without their support, and particularly Rupert Murdoch’s support, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson would be off the air. Rupert is also a key informal adviser to Trump. I wrote the following in January: theintercept.com/2018/01/06/rup…
It's time to shun or ostracize the Murdochs. Steve Bannon became persona non grata in polite society for his role in spreading far-right ideas, but the Murdochs are welcomed into the halls of power and money even though their network has done irreparably more damage to America.
Others are trying to focus attention on the Murdochs, including @BGrueskin and @JuddApatow. If the Murdochs (especially Rupert's heirs, who may care about their reputations) got half the negative attention of Hannity or Carlson, things might change.
Murdoch’s sons, Lachlan and James, are key. Each has held senior positions in the Murdoch empire in recent years, though James has been edged aside in a restructuring that leaves Lachlan with direct control over Fox, albeit under his father’s eye. nytimes.com/2018/05/16/bus…
The other Murdoch children — Prue, Elisabeth, Grace, and Chloe — are not involved in managing the empire (Grace and Chloe are minors), though they are beneficiaries of a family trust that holds an estimated $12 billion in Murdoch assets.
The media has been indulgent of the Murdochs. Lachlan was a guest at the New York Times DealBook conference last week, welcomed with applause and soft questions. Contrast: under pressure, David Remnick withdrew an invitation for Steve Bannon to appear at the New Yorker Festival.
Here's a video of Lachlan Murdoch at the NYT conference, interviewed by Andrew Ross Sorkin. It's fairly nauseating, the friendliness of it. Asked whether he was embarrassed by Fox, Murdoch replied, "I’m not embarrassed by what they do at all."
That quote -- "I'm not embarrassed by what they do at all" -- is key. It's entirely likely that when Rupert Murdoch passes from the scene (he's 87 but his mother lived until 103) things will not change under Lachlan. Passively waiting for better days at Fox -- not a good idea.
What would ostracism of the Murdochs look like? To begin with, it would involve the rescinding of invitations to all the business conferences and society galas they regularly attend (Dealbook, Sun Valley, etc ). They would be as toxic to business-as-usual as Bannon has become.
After the neo-Nazi violence in Charlottesville last year, James Murdoch and his wife donated $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League. But should organizations dedicated to fighting hate crimes accept money from the owners of a network that spreads hatred? nytimes.com/2017/08/17/us/…
James and Kathryn's foundation, Quadrivium, funds organizations involved in environmental protection. Kathryn is also on the board of the Environmental Defense Fund, which fights climate change. Yet Fox regularly expresses skepticism on climate change. qdvm.org/#quadrivium
James and Kathryn are akin to the Javanka of the Murdoch family — the supposedly reasonable (or not reactionary) ones who do what they can to quietly rein in their bigoted patriarch. Kathryn, in fact, has a Twitter account that is decidedly liberal. Here it is --@KathrynAMurdoch
The question now is whether America’s great and good, having deplored the rising tide of far-right violence, are willing to confront the family that controls the largest platform of hate. Don't take their money, don't invite them to events, tell them off whenever you see them.
Here again is the story I wrote that started this thread on the Murdoch family. theintercept.com/2018/11/04/fox…
