So Sorry, Sorry Sorry Sorry
Little Rupert Murdoch, Anxious To Speak About His Sincerity, After
Schlau
(adjective) clever, shrewd; cunning, crafty, slick
ein schlauer Bursche; a crafty or cunning player
Our Business Was Founded On The Idea That A Free And Open Press Should Be a Positive Force In Society.
-- Rupert Murdoch, July 14, 2011
In this past week, Little Rupert Murdoch, five years old, shut down the 168-year old newspaper he'd acquired in the mid-1960's,
The News Of The World. Andy Coulson (former Editor-In-Chief at Rupert's
News Of The World; former head of Rupert's
News International division of News Corp; and former head of communications for the UK's conservative Prime Minister, Davy Cameron) was arrested for involvement in the cop-bribing and phone-hacking scandal.
Davy Cameron, once a close BFF of Little Rupert, was forced to agree (no; he had to be seen to lead by
demanding) that a government inquiry begin immediately into the entire phone-hacking scandal, and that Little Rupert and His Issue, along with the current head of News International, Rebecca Brooks (also formerly Editor-In-Chief at 'The News Of The World') appear to testify in person and in public.
Rupert squirmed. At first, he refused: As a naturalized American citizen, he could decline to participate in the UK's official inquiry. He attempted to have conservative allies in the British government move his testimony to an
in camera venue, before of another kind of governmental body, or to agree to submit answers to written questions. When it became clear if he didn't appear, he'd be subpoenaed, Little Rupert had to agree.
Yesterday (
as the New York Times' Opinionator blog noted), Rebecca Brooks resigned, still claiming no involvement in the hacking and bribing, walking back any apology by minimizing the effects of what took place.
Brooks issued a statement. Here’s the apology part: “As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place.” And here’s the backdown: “Therefore I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted.”
Also on Friday, Les Hinton -- A Little Rupert's News Corporation executive, former chief of News International and publisher of The Wall Street Journal (another Little Rupert property) -- publicly released letters of resignation he sent to both Lil' Rupert, and a farewell to his employees and staff.
Hinton will be called to testify in London as well; a longtime confidant of Little Rupert's, Hinton had been chief executive at News International when the hacking and bribing were taking place at
The News Of The World; and, he had been Brooks' and Coulson's boss.
News Corporation is now being advised by a professional damage-control team from one of the world's best public relations firms. On Friday, Little Rupert, in person, went to see the family of Milly Dowler, the 13-year-old girl murdered in 2002 whose voicemail account had been hacked by
New Of The World reporters and paid staff.
He was
reported by Guardian.co.uk to have put his his head, literally, in his hands and say repeatedly that he was sorry. He was described as "very sincere... shaken..." -- clearly, an 80-year old Oligarch with a human side;
of course he feels things. Just like you and me.
The global head of News Corporation "held his head in his hands" and repeatedly told the family he was "very, very sorry", according to the Dowlers' lawyer Mark Lewis.
"He was very humbled and very shaken and very sincere," said Lewis speaking outside the meeting at the five-star hotel. "I think this was something that had hit him on a very personal level and was something that shouldn't have happened. He apologised many times. I don't think somebody could have held their head in their hands so many times and say that they were sorry."
An Oligarch, with a reputation for ruthlessness, hardassed language and behavior, facing a crisis to his business and to his family's personal fortune. He's used to taking meetings where he knows what outcome he wants, and hasn't been above throwing the occasional tantrum or turning on the charm; whatever it took to outmaneuver or cajole whoever he deals with. So long as the 'outcome' he wanted was reached. That's business, boys and girls. That's what Little Rupert has done his entire life.
Would he allow himself to be coached by the damage-control team (who have probably quickly and thoroughly researched the backgrounds of the father and mother of the murdered girl; I would've done, were I working for Lil' Rupert) about what language, what visual cues to use with a working-class British family -- so they will believe his apology is sincere? So that he get the 'outcome' he wants?
You judge. Remember, the same kind of advice was given to Queen Elizabeth after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Little Lizzie doesn't care for the peasantry, and
most of the Royals despised Diana, something the British public well knew from the occasional leaked reports. The Queen and the rest of the Royals left London when Diana died and remained at Balmoral.
However, it quickly became clear that the outpouring of public grief at Diana's death from among those same peasants contained more than a whiff of anger at the "coldness" and lack of comment or response from The Royals. The peasants had a quaint notion, you see (based on historical precedents) that a death in the Royal Family meant at least some show of outward sympathy and grief.
Saving The Brand: Lizzie Works The Crowd On The Day Of Diana's
PR advisors said respectfully that Lizzie's refusal to comment or show any concern over the death of a person everyone knew she disliked could boomerang badly on "The Firm", as the Royals refer to themselves. It could damage the Windsor 'brand'.
Even though Princes William and Harry had just lost their mother, Liz believed it was all a Family Thang and, yo, that bitch be dead and nobody should be gettin' up in they business -- and while I doubt The Queen would have described her feelings in quite that way, that's pretty much the essence of it.
But, Liz understands duty; yes, she does; and in quick succession she taped an address to The Nation, saying how sorry sorry sorry she was at the passing of Diana. On the day of the funeral, she worked the rope lines and spoke to a few of the crowd. And, standing at a Buckingham Palace gate as Diana's coffin went past, bowing her head -- a nod, really, but several times, just to make sure the cameras caught it.
A Queen bows her head to no one; and so the gesture was noted, approvingly, by the press. As it was meant to be. Liz did it for the Firm, The Brand. This is how the Game is played, and none better as Players than the British upper classes.
My opinion of Rupert's apology? You need to have a heart before you can say anything 'heartfelt'. Rupert's portrayal of an anguished, frail old man was one for the
Palm d'Or -- the finest acting job of his life.
It's all about the Outcome, the maneuvering for position; nearly a requirement in business or organizations. Not so much when it calls for being honest, or accurate, or real -- and Rupert has built a business empire on lying, manipulation and deceit.
He's a true Press Baron out of the late 19th and early 20th century.
He drove his businesses, personally.
He provided the direction and was the role model for how to conduct yourself and succeed in his organization. Now that everything seems to have turned to shit, I'd tell Little Rupert to go and look in a mirror if he wants to blame someone.
An honest, heartfelt apology? To preserve his business empire through this crisis, and hand a huge fortune on more or less intact to his two sons and daughter, Rupert would have crawled on his wizened potbelly and eaten dirt to prove how sorry, sorry, sorry he was; so sorry -- if that level of abasement was required. It's all a matter of returns.
The Ad: Not Quite Up To Joey Goebbels' Standards, But Adequate
On the very same day he was playacting, Rupert's hired damage-control-machine kept up the pace: Full-page advertisements in every newspaper in England (even the few Rupert
doesn't own!), using the same phrase:
We Are Sorry. And, he did give one in-depth interview -- to his own
Wall Street Journal.
Sehr Nett; Sehr Schlau.
The boss himself did his own apologizing: but not before an interview on Thursday with The Wall Street Journal, a paper he owns, in which he defended the handling of the crisis and seemed to minimize the British paper’s wrongdoing.
But on Friday Murdoch apologized in person to the family of a 13-year-old murder victim, whose phone messages were hacked by News of the World staff. A broader gesture is planned for the weekend, when Murdoch will publish a full-page apology to all targets of his staff’s actions in all national papers in Britain, under the headline “We Are Sorry” in order to leave no doubt.
Sorry; sorry; sorry. Do you believe it? Well, it's up to you.
Little Davy Cameron, Rightist Prime Minister Of Jolly Olde England, who Hearts The New Austerity for his soon-to-be squeezed people, has tried to distance himself from the whole
l'affaire Petit Rupert by actually going on the attack; championing an inquiry; demanding Something Must be Done.
Unfortunately, the "cozy and Comfortable" relationship between Britian's Right wing and Little Rupert's media empire has made him stain his pants, too.
The NYT noted:
...Mr. Cameron’s aides released a diary of his meetings with executives and editors of News International.
The diary shed light on what Mr. Cameron acknowledged last week was the “cozy and comfortable” world in which politicians, the press and the police in Britain have functioned for decades... The diary showed that since taking office in May 2010, Mr. Cameron has met 26 times with Murdoch executives, including Mr. Murdoch; his son James, the top official of News International; and Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of the British subsidiary and editor of The News of the World, who resigned on Friday.
...Most of the meetings cited in the diary took place at the prime minister’s London headquarters at 10 Downing Street, or at Chequers, his official country residence northwest of London. His meetings with the Murdoch officials exceeded all those with other British media representatives put together....
(Wonder how many times Fox 'News' and News Corp executives were guests at The White House and the Crawford ranch, during the reign of "Lil' Boots' Bush? Just asking.)
Now, the FBI is conducting an assessment of reports (first revealed in the UK
Mirror [plainly, not a Little Rupert newspaper] this past Monday) that the telephone records of victims in the September 11th attack on the Trade Center towers were hacked by either a former NYPD officer or a then-current NYPD lieutenant.
Two members of Congress requested a probe of the allegations; the NYT reported that the FBI's assessment (a preliminary investigative stage, where it's determined what records or testimony are necessary to establish if a crime has been committed) was under way, and also involved cybercrime specialists.
I'd like to predict (given how Little Rupert has done business, and his penchant for replicating similar business tactics) that some level of phone or email hacking has gone on in the U.S. as it did in Britain. Further, I'd predict that Fox broadcasting, and News Corp newspapers, were involved -- and that some amount of information was being shared with the Republicans or other conservatives.
I'd also like to say that would be the end of Little Rupert's right-wing stranglehold on America's media, and lessen his predatory, corrosive effects on the rest of the world.
But somehow, I doubt it. Because
It's Chinatown, Jake.
Mehr: Little 'Becka Brooks, formerly the apple of Lil' Rupert's eye, was arrested last night by the same British police department News International's paper, 'The News Of The World', used to bribe.
Per The New York Times:
'Becka And Lil' Rupert In Happier Times, When He Still Used
Hair Coloring (Photo:
Reuters, via The Telegraph UK)
Britain’s Press Association news agency said she was arrested by appointment at a London police station at around midday and remained in custody...
It also came two days before Ms. Brooks was to join Rupert Murdoch and his son James to testify before a parliamentary panel investigating the phone-hacking scandal ... Ms. Brooks was editor of the newspaper at the time but has denied knowledge of the phone hacking...
Mr. Murdoch and his family still own the top-selling daily tabloid, The Sun, as well as The Times of London and The Sunday Times of London. He also has a 39 percent stake in British Sky Broadcasting [BSkyB].
"Arrested by appointment". Love to see the Calendar entry about that in her SmartPhone ("Therapist 2:00PM-3:00PM; Detention and Booking 4:30PM - ?") -- proof that even amazingly arrogant, mendacious and despicable people can use mobile telecommunications equipment that are smarter than they are.
Noch Einmal: Yesterday, Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner of the (National) Police Service, known as 'the Met', announced that he would resign as Britain's top uniformed police officer because "the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met’s links with News International at a senior level" had made it "difficult for him to do his job.
It might have had something to do with the fact that Stephenson recently spent a vacation at a spa, worth $18,500 US, for free -- and that Neil Wallis, a former
News of the World deputy editor, was then a public relations consultant for the spa.
Not long after The Chief got his spa trip, Wallis was hired, by Stephenson, as a public-relations consultant for the Metropolitan police. Wallis was arrested in the widening phone-hacking and police corruption case last week.
(I'm always amazed at how cheaply people are bought. It's a matter of record that American Congressmen and Senators are paid
tens of thousands by corporations for their votes on issues worth
tens or hundreds of millions to those same businesses.)
And on Monday morning, the
NYT reported that
...John Yates, the deputy commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police resigned, a day after Britain’s top police officer quit and Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s News International, was arrested on suspicion of illegally intercepting phone calls and bribing the police.
This is where the real shock-and-awe of this crisis -- and it is one -- exists. Little Rupert and his parasitic business had, over the past twenty years, been the source of endless attacks on Labor and socialist politicians --
typich, for the Ol' Digger; it's what Fox does here for the American Right. At the same time, he and his people forged links with the police.
I don't think many Americans understand or appreciate the magnitude of what we're watching unfold in London. Murdoch and his media apparatus has apparently had pervasive and corrosive influence over British politics and institutions -- more than any private business concern should ever be allowed. They subverted democratic processes, bought the cops, and made the Right wing of British politics kiss his wrinkled behind.
Oh, the old Aussie must've loved it;
I'll show you Pommy bastards who's in charge.
Oh, and my favorite part is where the leader of the Labor Opposition in the Commons, Ed Millbrand, "has taken a lead in assailing Mr. Murdoch’s operations, called for the breakup of News International, the British subsidiary of Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation" (This, from the New York
Times -- not the London Times,
Aber natürlich). Ed called the newspaper group’s influence in Britain “dangerous.”
Indeed. I'd say that's a fair and balanced analysis.
