So. Did anyone see this coming? Not really. News Corp, an empire with a reputation of being untouchable. News Corp had a lot going for it. It already until now missed potential damage and got away with it. It was ready to take over the remaining share of BSkyB to become an unstoppable force In the whole media world, in the UK at least. It says a lot when even an MP such as Vince Cable was ready to bring Murdoch down. Was it really that strange how he was exposed in expressing his personal aim and then shifted to another parliamentary sector? Hmm.
It was a massive risk for News Corp to take with the continuing hacking of individuals devices and voice mail at the time of great opportunities in convergence for the company and especially when it came close in 2003 to being found out. The newspapers are only 12% of revenue for the company so not really in business terms a risk worth taking.
So what now? It can only get worse as during the investigation process there is bound to be more scandalous practices. Did Rebekha know what was going on? Of course she did! How does a leader not think on where these remarkable leads were coming from for such sensitive and private information?? Quite clearly someone is protecting the escalation of the issue leading to the Murdocs themselves! let us not forget that the actual information supplied could have been state or national secrets, potentially risking the security of the country. Risking individuals lives such as the royals whereabouts!
Anyhow. I don't need to explain which way this will go. I would however say to think about the consequences this may have on other things such as the political landscape, the style of news papers to come and for the satellite tv and communication service sector. Will it be be better or did we really depend on Murdocs Empire to keep the industry innovating? One thing is clear. It has all changed from now on.
Whilst I worked for Ofcom, it was clear to me how sensitive it was to take on cases involving News Corp. Reducing the wholesale price of Sky movies for example took years of consulting and planning due to the fear of a legal revolt at the end of it. Will this be the case in the future? I hope not. No organisation should be able to apply such a pressure to a regulator. It gives them a clear and unfair advantage over other companies. Stifling competition which is only bad news to you, the consumer.
I didn't see any possibility in stopping the BSkyB takeover during this government. The Conservaties like Labour with the Unions need to be on News Corps side. To my relief of such revelations ( but not with what they actually did to the individuals ), the regulators and the government now does not need to fight as hard against News Corp. It is likely to be able to provide all the evidence it needs to justify its decisions. Remember also that News Corp has major shares on broadcasting, journalistic and communication sector in many parts of the world. Could this also spark a revolt that can change the landscape in those countries? Fox news in the USA is one of them and has a direct link with the Republican party, it has a heavily weighted influence over it.
A change is coming. I hope it is a good one!
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Location:London
