Michael Savage Predicts Fox Will "Tone It Down" as of 10/06/2009

[zenbudda]

I am not able to produce any "hard evidence" right now other than on my way home from work on Tuesday, I heard Michael Savage say that "someone of power" visited Fox Network and he is guessing that Fox is expected to "tone it down". He said to pay attention to which guests appear on Fox and how Fox allows these guests to just walk away without a fight.

Isn't there some huge media mogul who is a hard core lib that is in control of a lot of papers/presses/networks? I think it was him that met with Fox.

[American Patriot]

I am not able to produce any "hard evidence" right now other than on my way home from work on Tuesday, I heard Michael Savage say that "someone of power" visited Fox Network and he is guessing that Fox is expected to "tone it down". He said to pay attention to which guests appear on Fox and how Fox allows these guests to just walk away without a fight.

Isn't there some huge media mogul who is a hard core lib that is in control of a lot of papers/presses/networks? I think it was him that met with Fox.

I guess there should be a clip of it someplace perhaps?

I don't listen to Savage because, mostly I don't know when he is on and I try not to inundate myself with too much of that stuff.

I can read for myself. However, I don't think Murdock will bow down to some Liberal, powerful or not...

[zenbudda]

I guess there should be a clip of it someplace perhaps?

I don't listen to Savage because, mostly I don't know when he is on and I try not to inundate myself with too much of that stuff.

I can read for myself. However, I don't think Murdock will bow down to some Liberal, powerful or not...

Still looking. I've called the show twice in the past two days attempting to get information but i waited for 30 minutes to no avail each time.

Your comment on Murdoch. Savage sounded like he likes him but also referred to him as having some liberal ideals ?

[zenbudda]

i wonder if it was the nobel peice prize "issue"? maybe they wanted to warn fox so that they would tone it down for it? still cannot find any info on this. makes me feel sheepish lol.

[vector7]

Well the salvos have opened up and there is war.
The tip from Micheal Savage was correct, it seems David Axlerod did visit with some of the leadership from FOX.
However it seems the management from FOX are not backing down. Every commentary last night was all talking about it.

[vector7]

Obama declares war on FOX

catman2009 said:
on October 12, 2009 06:00 PM ET
edited on October 12, 2009 10:20 PM ET

Anita Dunn is at war with FOX. Obama and his supporters are trying to find a way to silence Fox. I guess they can't stand the truth being broadcast to the American people. There isn't a more inportant issue for the American people than freedom of speech. Obama's czars are looking at ways to control the news. That is exactly what Chavez did. Control what the people know. I hate MSNBC and all the other Obama supporter networks but they have a rite to free speech. What is Obama afraid of. Every day we get closer to a dictatorship. Wake up America. Your freedom is about to be taken away from you. No matter what party you support, you can't let Obama take away the first ammendment. First Fox, then the next network that he doesn't like. Wake up America.

[vector7]

Enemy of the State! White House declares war on Fox News for "Boldly Asking Questions"





Glenn Beck defends free journalism; he defends the right of Fox News to present the news as they see fit! Glenn Beck is defending what George Washington called "the battle field of ideas", which makes one wonder if the liberals are afraid of that battle, and if they are afraid of it, then why? Could it be that they have nothing but a bunch of hot air to bring to that battle? Or could it be that they just don't see the need to have a battle of ideas because as long as they hold all of the power in DC, then they are going to do as they please, not matter what the people think.

I think we are watching a bunch of rookies operating in the White House. But one would think that they would know what they are doing because of all the political experience that they have brought with them form Chicago, but I guess not; Chicago politics must not work in Washington DC. Or it could be because of their arrogance; they think that the world revolves around them and that they can do no wrong, which would account for their shock when they find themselves being questioned by reporters and commenters on Fox News.

The Obama Administration should be aware that they are picking a fight with Fox News at their own peril, that it is they who have the most to lose, not Fox News. This attention that they are bringing Fox News can only increase their viewer ship as people check in to see what all the condemnation is about. Fox News will come out of this smelling like a rose, while the Obama Administration will, well, they will not smell like a rose in the least, they will just stink.
jbranstetter04

White House: Fox News 'a wing of the Republican Party'

WASHINGTON - It's war.

The Obama administration declared Fox News - and its owner, reporters and commentators - shills for the President's Republican opponents Sunday.

"Let's not pretend they're a news network," White House communications director Anita Dunn said on CNN's "Reliable Sources," firing the latest salvo in the long-simmering feud.

"Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party," Dunn said.

"What I think is fair to say about Fox, and certainly the way we view it, is that it really is more a wing of the Republican Party," she added.

White House officials have made no secret that they were incensed the network's coverage of the presidential race, and the bad karma has carried over.

President Obama last month dissed Rupert Murdoch's network by giving Sunday interviews to every TV network and cable outlet except Fox.

Michael Clemente, a Fox senior vice president, hit back that Team Obama is confusing news coverage with the sometimes incendiary opinions of Fox stars Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.

"So, with all due respect to anyone who still might be confused about the difference between news reporting and vibrant opinion," Clemente said, "my suggestion would be to talk about the stories and the facts rather than attack the messenger which, over time, has never worked."

Dunn made clear that the White House doesn't like anything about Fox - news or opinion. Dunn charged that Fox gloated over the U.S. losing the chance to host the 2012 Olympics and mocked the Nobel Peace Prize award to Obama.

Fox is owned by Murdoch's News Corp., which also owns the New York Post.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/polit...

[vector7]

Hacked Fox tweets claim 'Obama dead'

FoxNews.com alerts Secret Service after Twitter account used to post false claims that US president had been shot dead. Last Modified: 04 Jul 2011 19:21

Hackers sent six false tweets from a FoxNews.com account claiming Obama had been shot [GALLO/GETTY] A FoxNews.com Twitter account was hacked briefly on Monday and six false tweets, saying that US President Barack Obama had been shot dead, were sent. In a statement posted on its website later on Monday morning, Fox News called the tweets "malicious" and "false". The media outlet, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, said it was investigating the hacking and had alerted the US Secret Service. "We will be requesting a detailed investigation from Twitter about how this occurred, and measures to prevent future unauthorised access into FoxNews.com accounts,'' said Jeff Misenti, vice president and general manager of Fox News Digital. Obama is celebrating the July 4 Independence Day holiday with his family at the White House and is due to host military families to watch fireworks in the evening. The White House and Secret Service both declined to comment on the incident. The first hacked tweet appeared around 2 am (0600 GMT) and said: "@BarackObama has just passed. The President is dead. A sad 4th of July, indeed. President Barack Obama is dead." The next one, "@BarackObama has just passed. Nearly 45 minutes ago, he was shot twice in the lower pelvic area and in the neck; shooter unknown. Bled out." Monday's breach raised questions about the integrity of news feeds on Twitter, which is increasingly used by news outlets, including Al Jazeera, as well as government officials as a way to reach readers and supporters. Jodi Olson, the Twitter spokesperson, declined to say whether the company would add more security as a result of the attack, but stressed it was important for users to shield their profiles. "We don't comment on specific accounts. In general, though, it's always good to remind people of the importance of actively protecting their account credentials," Olson said, recommending that all users should have a strong password as a "starting point." Cyber breaches A group calling itself The ScriptKiddies claimed responsibility for sending the tweets - including "#ObamaDead, it's a sad 4th of July" - from the "FoxNewspolitics" news feed before Twitter suspended its access. In all some six false tweets were issued, saying Obama had been shot at a restaurant in Iowa while campaigning. Obama was not in Iowa this weekend. He returned on Sunday to the White House from a brief trip to Camp David in neighbouring Maryland. The FoxNews.com account hacking followed a wave of highly publicised cyber security breaches, including attacks on the bank Citigroup, Sony Corp, Apple and the US Senate, the IMF and Brazilian presidential websites. The latest hacking comes two days before Obama's first "Twitter town hall" where he will field tweeted questions about the economy and jobs. Twitter's co-founder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey is due to moderate that Wednesday session at the White House. Fox.com, another Fox Entertainment Group website, was the target of an attack by hacker group Lulz Security in May.

[vector7]

Murdoch hacking crisis deepens with war dead outcry

Thu Jul 7, 2011 8:47am EDT

* Murdoch paper hacked phones of British war dead bereaved -reports
* Veterans' association halts campaign with flag-waving newspaper
* Politicians across board critical, but have ties to media group
* Murdoch backs ex-editor, keeps low profile at conference in Idaho (Adds further comment, analysis)

By Kate Holton and Jodie Ginsberg

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - A scandal rocking Rupert Murdoch's media empire deepened on Thursday with claims his best-selling News of the World paper hacked the phones of relatives of British soldiers killed in action.

Britain's military veterans' association broke off a deal to campaign with the paper on improving conditions for service families, signalling how far the scandal is alienating a core readership, already horrified by suggestions that journalists accessed the messages not only of celebrities and politicians, but also missing children and the relatives of bombing victims.

The British Legion also said it may join major brands in pulling advertising from The Sun, which like its sister paper the News of the World mixes a diet of stories exposing scandal among the rich and famous with populist campaigning.

The long-running saga has taken on dramatic new proportions this week and threatens to delay a planned multi-billion-dollar takeover by Murdoch's News Corp of news and entertainment broadcaster BSkyB .

It has also raised fresh questions about the power the Australian-born Murdoch has wielded for 30 years over the British press, politicians -- including Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron -- and the police.

"We have let one man have too far great a sway over our national life," said lawmaker Chris Bryant, who secured a debate in parliament on Wednesday in which politicians lined up to vent their fury at News of the World and its powerful proprietor.

"No other country would allow one man to garner four national newspapers, the second-largest broadcaster, a monopoly on film rights and first-view movies."

The government has already backed a deal for Murdoch's News Corp to buy out the 61 percent of pay-TV company BSkyB it does not already own, and says the two cases are not linked. But U.S. shares in News Corp fell over 5 percent on Wednesday, while shares in BSkyB also eased on fears the deal may delayed.

"APPALLED AND HORRIFIED"
News International said it would work with the Defence Ministry to investigate a report in the Daily Telegraph that the phone numbers of British soldiers were found in the files of a News of the World investigator jailed in 2007 for hacking.

"If these allegations are true, we are absolutely appalled and horrified," the company said in a statement, echoing language it has used repeatedly as each new case has been brought to light in rival publications. It also noted that it had always been a strong supporter of Britain's armed forces.

The British Legion said it could not campaign with the News of the World, Britain's biggest selling Sunday paper, on behalf of the families of soldiers "while it stands accused of preying on these same families in the lowest depths of their misery".

It added: "The hacking allegations have shocked us to the core."

Cameron has proposed inquiries into the newspaper and also into the wider issue of ethics in the cut-throat, and shrinking, news business. Arguments over privacy, free speech and the power of the press have already stirred heated debate this year.

However, critics called Cameron's move to set up official inquiries a tactic to push the embarrassing affair far into the future. The precise form of those inquiries is still unclear.

Labour opposition leader Ed Miliband has called for the BSkyB deal to be referred to the Competition Commission and said that Rebekah Brooks, a former editor and now Murdoch's most senior British newspaper executive, should quit.

So far, Murdoch has said he will stand by Brooks, 43, who edited the paper from 2000 to 2003, when some of the gravest cases of phone hacking are alleged to have taken place. She is a regular guest of the prime minister, as well as having good relations with previous Labour leaders in power until last year.

Senior politicians from all parties, including Cameron and Miliband, rubbed shoulders with Murdoch, Brooks and other News Corp executives at Murdoch's exclusive annual summer party last month, underlining the power his organisation wields.

Both Miliband and Cameron chose former News International employees as media advisers, although Cameron's choice of Andy Coulson, who succeeded Brooks as News of the World editor, has caused the prime minister the more obvious problems.

Coulson quit the paper over the first hacking case in 2007 and went to work as Cameron's spokesman. He resigned from the prime minister's office in January as police reopened inquiries.

WIDESPREAD OUTRAGE
The scandal dominated front pages on Thursday, including at Murdoch's Times -- though the Sun devoted all but a few lines to allegations about the sex life of soccer star Rio Ferdinand.

The main accusations are that journalists, or their hired investigators, took advantage of often limited security on mobile phone voicemail boxes to listen in to messages left for celebrities, politicians or people involved in major stories.

Disclosure that the practice involved victims of crime came when police said a private detective working for the News of the World in 2002 hacked into messages left on the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler while police were still looking for her.

Mark Lewis, a lawyer for her parents, said other papers had also been involved in underhand pratices to secure circulation-boosting stories, and said News of the World was "unlucky" because its investigator had kept copious notes -- in 2007, he and the paper's royal correspondent went to jail for hacking.

Police are mining those notes kept by investigator Glenn Mulcaire for clues to possible other victims. The list of those named so far by rival publications also includes victims of the London suicide bombings of July 7, 2005, and the parents of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in Portugal in 2007.

Murdoch, the 80-year-old U.S.-based billionaire, kept a low profile at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. He did, however, issue a rare statement saying he found the allegations of hacking, and reports his journalists also bought information from police, "deplorable and unacceptable". He has named a senior News Corp executive to oversee an investigation.

Analysts believe the global Murdoch empire, which includes Fox television and the Wall Street Journal in the United States as well as London's Times, can weather a storm of reproach from advertisers, readers and politicians in Britain -- though there were signs on Thursday of international ramifications.

In Murdoch's native Australia, the leader of the Greens party said he wants the government to examine the ramifications on Australia of the phone hacking scandal.

The secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, said it was concerned by allegations of breaches of privacy. He said:

"Governments need to act resolutely to fight and to prevent violations of this fundamental right, whilst actively protecting and promoting freedom of speech."

(Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

[vector7]

News Corp to close News of the World




A woman speaks on her mobile phone outside the News International HQ building, in east London July 6, 2011. REUTERS/Olivia Harris

On Thursday July 7, 2011, 12:08 pm
By Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation will close its tabloid News of the World after this Sunday's edition, as a result of an escalating phone hacking scandal, James Murdoch said on Thursday.

"The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account," the deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation told staff of the 168-year-old newspaper.

"It failed when it came to itself.

"The good things the News of the World does ... have been sullied by behavior that was wrong. Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company."

News Corporation has been rocked in the last week by claims that its best-selling Sunday tabloid hacked in to the phones of relatives of British soldiers killed in action, of missing children and those caught up in the July 2005 London bombings.

Steven Barnett, professor of communications at Westminster University, said he was "gob-smacked" by the announcement.

"Talk about a nuclear option," he told Reuters. "It will certainly take some of the heat off immediate allegations about journalistic behavior and phone hacking."

[vector7]

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp could face $100m bill for US investigation into 'police payments'

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire could face a bill of more than $100m (£62m) if US authorities launch an investigation into corruption following allegations that the News of the World routinely made payments to police officers totalling more than £100,000.



Rupert Murdoch's News Corp could be caught up in red tape for up to four years

By Katherine Rushton
8:48PM BST 10 Jul 2011
66 Comments

If convicted the company would face a fine many times that size, lawyers have warned.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) have been increasingly aggressive in bringing cases against corporations under America's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). They have so far imposed penalties as high as $800m on companies – such as Siemens – where there has been evidence of persistent and unaccounted for bribery.

FCPA experts told The Telegraph it would be "very surprising" if the DOJ didn't take action against News Corp, and would be likely to do so this week. Any FCPA probe against News Corp would damage its reputation and could further destabilisie James Murdoch's position as Rupert Murdoch's heir apparent.

Experts said it would be likely to involve a "systematic and all encompassing" investigation of every one of its business units worldwide, to uncover unlawful bribery, legitimate payments wrongly accounted for, and to check whether sufficiently robust anti-corruption measures are in place.

News Corp would have to bear the cost of the probe, which sources said would "easily cost north of $100m" and tie the organisation up in red tape for between two and four years.

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In 2008, the DOJ ordered Avon Products to carry out a worldwide investigation after there was evidence of bribery in China. The probe, which is still ongoing, has so far cost the cosmetics giant $154m, according to filings.

Mike Koehler, an FCPA expert and law professor at Butler University, said: "Enquiries often start with a limited set of facts but very quickly morph into an examination of the entire business. They tend to be very cumbersome and because they are newsworthy they cause a lot of reputational damage."

Thomas Fox, a lawyer and FCPA expert based in Houston, added: "It may be difficult to understand how expensive and all-encompassing FCPA is. If you don't have anti-corruption policies in place that's the first strike against you and it's downhill from there."

According to Mr Fox, US authorities have stepped up the number of convictions from five in 2004 to 74 last year, and convicted companies have been fined between $77m and $800m depending on the number of breaches.

[vector7]

James Murdoch 'could face prosecution' in US and UK over hacking scandal

James Murdoch, the chairman of News International, has been warned he could face prosecution in the US and Britain in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal.


Mr Murdoch had admitted in a statement on Thursday that he had approved out of court settlements to hacking victims Photo: PA

By Christopher Hope, Katherine Rushton, and Raf Sanchez
10:49AM BST 10 Jul 2011

Rupert Murdoch's embattled son could face criminal charges after he acknowledged approving out of court settlements to hacking victims and admitted misleading parliament, although he insisted he did not do so deliberately.

Allegations that News of the World journalists also made payments to police officers could also leave Mr Murdoch exposed to prosecution in the US, where Mr Murdoch is listed as deputy chief operating officer of his father Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, the parent company of paper publishers News International.

Under American law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) makes it a crime for American companies to offer corrupt payments to foreign government officials.

If the allegations of payments to police officers are proven, Mr Murdoch could face an American prosecution in his role as deputy chief operating officer the US-listed News Corp.

In 2009, the former Hollywood producer Gerald Green was jailed for six months after being prosecuted under the FCPA for making $1.8m (£1.1m) in bribes to a Thai government official.

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Butler University law professor Mike Koehler, an FCPA expert, told The Guardian: "I would be very surprised if the US authorities don't become involved in this [News International] conduct."

He said the FCPA could be invoked because News Corp is an American company and because the alleged payments would have been made in order for the newspaper to make money from the stories obtained.

Brett Pulley, media correspondent for the Bloomberg news agency in New York, said: “If the fall out were to continue, my goodness, if it were to impact James, then we start to talk about it impacting News Corp’s succession plan, so that affects the company globally.”

Paul Farhi, media correspondent for The Washington Post, added: “There’s a whole domino effect. What else falls apart? Do bankers get nervous?

“He [Rupert Murdoch] had one flirtation with bankruptcy in the early 90s. He’s very dependent on the goodwill of Wall Street and of bankers.

“His company is very profitable now — it’s not quite the same as the 1990s — but he doesn’t want these dominoes to keep toppling …

“The fact he shut down a newspaper reflects how seriously the scandal is affecting a whole empire.”

Meanwhile in Britain, Mr Murdoch's admission that he made out of court settlements to victims of phone hacking could leave him vulnerable to prosecution under anti-snooping legislation.

Alan Johnson MP, the Labour home secretary from June 2009 to May 2010, suggested that Mr Murdoch could be charged under the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act 2000, which covers the “criminal liability of directors”.

It emerged in evidence to a Commons committee in 2009 that Mr Murdoch was aware of a breach of privacy claim by Gordon Taylor, the head of the Professional Footballers’ Association, and had agreed with a decision to settle for £700,000.

Mr Johnson pointed to Mr Murdoch’s statement on Thursday in which he said: “The paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong. The company paid out-of-court settlements approved by me. I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so. This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret.”

In a press conference on Friday, Mr Cameron was asked whether Mr Murdoch remained a fit and proper person to run a large company, following his admission that he personally approved out-of-court payments.

The Prime Minister replied: “I read the statement yesterday. I think it raises lots of questions that need to be answered and these processes that are under way are going to have to answer those questions.”

James Murdoch, the deputy chief operating officer of News Corp, has been at the forefront of most of the company’s recent response to the scandal.

By contrast, his father kept an unusually low profile at the technology and media summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, attending with his wife, Wendi, and son Lachlan. He is due, however, to fly to London today to discuss the phone-hacking scandal.

Corporate governance experts in America already believe News Corp’s annual meeting in October could lead to a showdown between Rupert and shareholders over his son’s involvement in the telephone hacking affair. Experts said they could try to block his re-election to the board.

There has also been speculation that Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, could withdraw BSkyB’s licence to broadcast in Britain because of the scandal.

BSkyB’s share price dropped to 750p by the close on Friday, down 7.6 per cent at a five-month low and wiping £1 billion off the value of the company.