"The Truth Behind The UK General Election" & Why Murdoch's Son Stormed Into The Independent's Office

James Murdoch at the Independent: 'like a scene out of Dodge City'

Hugh Muir and Jane Martinson
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 April 2010 19.18 BST

After a lifetime at the helm of the world's most powerful media organisation and in the crosshairs of the left, Rupert Murdoch has, of necessity, developed a reasonably thick skin.

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But his son James seems less ready to turn the other cheek, as it were. And this would seem to be the most plausible explanation for why Murdoch the younger, the chairman and chief executive News Corporation Europe and Asia, caused a media sensation on Wednesday by striding across the editorial floor at the Independent newspaper to berate its editor-in-chief, Simon Kelner.

In common with so many of the unpleasant episodes involving angry young men in modern London, it was a squall about reputation and respect. The newly relaunched Independent had produced a series of relatively innocuous promotional ads assuring readers: "Rupert Murdoch won't decide this election. You will."

There is no evidence that Murdoch senior has even seen the ads, but witnesses report that directly upon seeing Kelner, who was supervising the final production stages of that night's paper, Murdoch the younger began angry remonstrations. "What are you fucking playing at?" was his opening gambit. A bewildered Kelner quickly ushered his visitors into his office, where they remained for what have been described as "frank and full discussions" for another 20 minutes. All were grim-faced as Murdoch, carrying a promotional copy of the Independent, accused the rival editor of breaking the unwritten code that proprietors do not attack each other and of besmirching his father's reputation. With his piece said and with the matter unresolved, the aggrieved media mogul left.

The episode left experienced journalists shocked. "They strode in like a scene out of Dodge City," said one. "Murdoch scanned the room, you could almost hear him saying 'Where is he?'"

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/apr/22/james-murdoch-independent-dodge-city

Will Murdoch Lose Britain?
By MICHAEL WOLFF

Several years ago, Rebekah Wade (now Rebekah Brooks), then the editor of Sun, Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid, started trying to convince Murdoch that his newspapers should support David Cameron, the Conservative party candidate for prime minister.

This took some doing because Murdoch had become a good friend and pretty loyal supporter of Prime Minister Gordon Brown. What’s more, Murdoch’s wife, Wendi, is a great buddy of Brown’s wife, Sarah. But Wade/Brooks is persistent and, in Murdoch’s words, “knows how to work my family.” She convinced Murdoch’s son, James, that Cameron was the certain future. James then went to work on his father, and a reluctant Murdoch—telling everyone who would listen that Cameron was too slick by half—sourly went along.

Now, Murdoch likes winners, even more than he likes Conservatives. One of the most famous headlines of his career appeared in the Sun after the Conservative victory in Britain 1992: “It's The Sun Wot Won It.” Murdoch is still stewing over an ill-timed and inept endorsement of John McCain over Barack Obama (again, against his better judgment—Murdoch likes Obama and was convinced to back McCain by Roger Ailes and New York Post editor Col Allen).


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In turn, the Independent newspaper ran a front pager yesterday with the headline “Rupert Murdoch will not decide the outcome of the election. You will,” challenging the Murdoch coverage of the race.

Later in the afternoon, in a coming-apart-at-the-seams scenario, Rebekah Wade/Brooks and Murdoch’s son, James—who will both face the wrath of Murdoch senior if they don’t produce a winner—stormed over to the Independent, breached its security systems, barged into the offices of the Independent’s editor-in-chief and top executive, Simon Kelner, and commenced, in Brit-speak, a giant row. Their point was that newspaper publishers don’t slag off other newspaper publishers in polite Britain, but also the point was to remind Kelner that he wasn’t just slagging off another publisher, he was slagging off the Murdochs, damn it. Indeed, the high point of the screaming match was Wade/Brooks, in a fit of apoplexy and high drama, neck muscles straining, saying to Kelner: “And I invited you to Blenheim in the first place!” Blenheim being the Murdoch family retreat and the highest social destination for all Murdoch loyalists and ambitious Brits in the media.

This is one way for empires to end.

Full article: http://www.newser.com/off-the-grid/post/448/will-murdoch-lose-britain.html

Indecision Internationale 2010: Taking a Dump on Nick Clegg

POSTED BY: Rich Johnston

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Most of the main newspapers in Britain are conservative ones — and conservative in the way that make Fox News look like Air America. And, today, all the front pages of all these newspapers, selling millions of copies across the country, have been going to war with Nick Clegg. Waking up to them, his wife might as well have tipped his breakfast in bed over his head (including the scalding coffee) as hand him the papers.

Old warhorse, The Daily Mail led with a front page splash "http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1267921/GENERAL-ELECTION-2010-Nick-Clegg-Nazi-slur-Britain.html">Clegg Nazi Slur on Britain" and referred to an eight-year-old newspaper article it had unearthed in which Clegg talked of Britain, saying: "A misplaced sense of superiority, sustained by delusions of grandeur and a tenacious obsession with the last war, is much harder to shake off. We need to be put back in our place." That, however, wasn't good enough for The Mail. It unloaded two further barrels into the Clegg camapign, first alleging that Clegg had accepted payments from donors for his own personal bank account http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1267873/GENERAL-ELECTION-2010-Nick-Clegg-received-donations-directly-bank-account.html">to pay towards a researcher, and then that Hilary Stephenson — Mr Clegg's campaigns and elections director — was responsible for http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1267835/General-Election-2010-Lib-Dem-MPs-told-milk-expenses-leaks-reveal.html">encouraging expenses scams.


None of these were what you could call new stories, but Nick Clegg's sudden rise to ascendancy had forced The Daily Mail to dig deep and get desperate. And it was not alone. The Daily Telegraph led with the donors story, while The Daily Express had "http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/170690">Cleggs's Crazy Immigration Policy," which outlined his desire to let those seeking asylum in Britain work while waiting for their case to be addressed. Meanwhile, The Sun called him a "http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/22/nick-clegg-denies-wrongdoing-payments">Wobble Democrat" over Afghanistan and immigration policy, with a later edition re-imagined as "Fried Clegg."

Those amusing headlines that The Daily Show uses? Business as usual for the front pages of UK newspapers. Although what wasn't business as usual was James Murdoch and Sun representatives http://www.newser.com/off-the-grid/post/448/will-murdoch-lose-britain.html">storming The Independent newspaper earlier today to complain against The Independent's attacks on The Sun's partisan covering of the election so far. A partisan nature that they've http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2661063/The-Sun-Says-Labours-lost-it.html">previously taken pride in.

Which is the equivalent of a troll finishing his rendition of "I'm a troll, fol-de-rol" for the sixty-eight time and then getting incensed when someone calls him a troll.

More: http://www.indecisionforever.com/2010/04/22/indecision-internationale-2010-taking-a-dump-on-nick-clegg/

Jon Stewart Schools the UK on Elections

From Indecision…

Evidently there's an election going on in England right now and they're trying to import some tactics from the US. But as Jon Stewart pointed out on last night's Daily Show, the Brits have a long way to go if they want to truly capture the pure uncut shamelessness of American politics. Still, the British have made a lot of progress (with a long "O" sound) since the days not long ago when all elections were decided solely by monocle size.
http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/2010/04/22/jon-stewart-schools-the-uk-on-elections/