This week, the media were atwitter (or aXitter) after 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch announced he was stepping down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp. “Succession” memes and puns abounded.
But The Economist stood out for pointing out that he “isn’t going anywhere.” Murdoch was merely engaging in the same dystopian double-speak his Fox News peddles.
Indeed, his ‘gaslighting’ business model is so profitable that he’s not changing it. This is despite it costing him billions in defamation lawsuits. As far as he’s concerned, the joke’s on the Xitter twits who don’t get the mercenary method to his defamation.
Murdoch’s fake news about retiring
Sure, he changed his title from chairman to “chairman emeritus.” But like Donald Trump, his Orwellian golden goose, Murdoch was disarmingly truthful in spinning his big lie.
After all, when ordinary people announce their retirement, they stop doing the work they’re retiring from. But Murdoch made clear his intent to “remain involved” and even warned Fox staff that,
When I visit your countries and companies, you can expect to see me in the office late on a Friday.
The Economist quotes media analyst Claire Enders saying, “It is obvious that he is the ultimate decision-maker as long as he is alive.”
In other words, this would be news only if Fox News were announcing Murdoch’s death.
Murdoch soliciting eulogies while living
Again, like Trump, Murdoch was fishing for compliments. And, sure enough, half of the media universe obliged.
In addition to the ones I linked above, I need only list titles to three of my commentaries on the job Murdoch is pretending to retire from for you to understand why:
- “Phone Hacking Metastasizing Inside Rupert Murdoch’s Empire” on January 31, 2012
- “Rupert Murdoch, the Wizard of Trumpism” on January 23, 2021
- “Podcast: Rupert Murdoch, His Fox News, and the Poisoning of America” on December 21, 2021
Why is Murdoch trying to destroy America?
Murdoch clearly harbors deep-rooted resentment of America. I think it stems from an Aussie sense of inferiority that manifests in congenital envy of British class and jealousy of American wealth. Exhibit A is this gaslighting tidbit from his retirement announcement, courtesy of Thursday’s edition of Newsweek:
Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth.
Whatever his motivation, Murdoch is destroying America from the inside more than Vladimir Putin is from the outside. And his heir, Lachlan, seems hellbent on doubling down on Rupert’s dystopian mission despite costly lawsuits.
Alas, the Potemkin patriots at Fox News are too motivated by greed to give a damn about the welfare of their country.
Murdoch is a naturalized American. But I suspect his heart remained down under. And that explains a lot.
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