Let them eat cake...humble pie with a slice of crow, that is.
UPDATE July 17: The world is watching as Rupert Murdoch, his son, James and that fiery red-head Rebekah Brooks appear before Parliament today. Talk about “what goes around comes around”. To quote Marie Antoinette: “Let them eat cake!” Well, these folks are about to nibble on some just desserts all right. A nice big wedge of humble pie and a big slice of crow. (Who would have thunk that it would be taken literally. Did you see the pie in the face thing? OY!) And may the Fox News Channel feel the grapes of wrath regarding future investigations, while we are at it. Any channel that is basically a 24-hour hate-spewing fest, can not have a clean record. The timing could not be better for our man Barack Obama.
UPDATE July 10: The News of the World may be over, but the drama surrounding Rupert Murdoch is still unfolding. Today’s News of Rupert’s World is all about whether News Corp. should be able to buy out BSkyB, a lucrative, television broadcasting system. So here’s what I say: Clearly Murdoch is addicted to power, and having more control over yet another media deliverable can only mean, well, we see what came about so far. Giving heroin to an addict is not the best way to reform an addict. I rest my case.
FROM July 9:
Lord knows, I am a major proponent for freedom of the press and speech, or else you would not be reading this. The big news of the world is the demise of News Of The World. The master controversy in Rupert Murdoch’s dynasty is probably the most exciting thing to happen to and in the media for quite some time. Weinergate… pshaw. This scandal is being compared to Watergate, which rings true. Let’s face it, when you build a house of cards, the risk is that the wind will blow. Sensationalist journalism can be attributed to the demise of our genteel society. Once cameras became commonplace, being a yenta became an enterprise. There is a great British series called Edward the Seventh that includes a reference in the film made by then Prince of Whales, who was embroiled in his fair share of controversy at that time, about being hounded by the cameras. The comment he makes reflects how this had changed the media. We can call this the Paparazzi Prequel.
Tabloid journalism seems to have been birthed in England with their unending interest in the Royals. That has since trickled down to the interest in the Twittering of a penis and the D-list celebrity coverage of reality television histrionics. In the case of News against the world, being caught wiretapping phones in an effort to get the dish is clearly not a good thing to do. Illegal gotten gains should not be tolerated and these guys should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I am sure George Clooney is dancing on a ceiling right about now, as is Sean Penn. These guys hate paparazzi and anything that reeks of tabloid journalism. And while I am at it, Sumner Redstone must be doing the jig himself. Do I think things will become more regulated? Ish. Is this a moment to review how we cover celebrities? Hopefully.
Watch this great bitch-fest between Steve Coogan and a “journalist” from News of the World on BBC’s Newsnight. It’s gene.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkeSJLgzG8k
