Commentary
Could Murdoch's Hacking Problem Happen At A TV News Network?
- by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, July 12, 2011
Closing down a profitable newspaper seems like a dramatic move for any media owner, and especially Rupert Murdoch. Let's go one step further: Could this happen to a TV news network?
TV news networks are surely just as competitive as newspapers. But to what extent can anyone imagine TV journalists or editors systemically hacking phone lines of government officials and others, as well as bribing police with cash payments as News Corp.'s News of the World seemingly did?
We are not talking about one-off incidents but a planned ongoing strategy to get stories at any cost. U.K. tabloids have been operating in this win-at-all-cost frame of mind for some time. (Seemingly there is a phone hacker in the U.K. that works for many publications).
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It doesn't seem that in this age anyone would abandon a newspaper, let alone a TV network, like News Corp. did with News of the World. For News Corp. it seems like it was an easy TV-versus-newspaper decision. On the surface, News Corp. closes down a profitable, but lower revenue generating newspaper, to gain approval for its takeover of BSkyB, a growing satellite TV programming service.
No TV networks have ever closed down because of alleged illegal activities. It's all about business activities or the lack of them. Two broadcast networks, the WB and UPN, ended some time ago -- pooling resources under the CW, which still isn't profitable. Other cable networks have done the same -- but to morph into something better. More recently, Discovery Health Network became the Oprah Winfrey Network: OWN. And ABC's SoapNet plans to become Disney Jr.
Media owners will do all they can to extend their brand names, even if they wither away. Some time ago, Warner Bros. moved its WB brand to an online area. It's fairly remarkable for any media business -- traditional TV, newspapers, or newer cable or digital businesses -- to completely, and quickly, shut down.
Already some say News Corp's scandal could extend to other newspapers. Will it end there?
Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost. You can reach Wayne at wayne@mediapost.com.
There are stories that planning for the shutdown of NOTW actually started a few months ago, so it's not totally based on the scandal. More likely, it's all part of a Murdoch business decision to roll NOTW into The Sun (which -- surprise, surprise! -- is about to launch a new Sunday edition).
And as for the idea that TV news networks would pay for investigators and hack into phone lines? If they thought it would help the bottom line, they'd do it in a heartbeat. It's no secret the National Enquirer and Star pay for their stories, and cross ethical lines to get them. And nothing that Murdoch's people in London did was much different than what Anthony Pellicano did as the P.I. to the Stars.
Pellicano is currently serving 15 years in a California jail. If all the charges in the news are true, I hope that a number of Murdoch's editors and corporate execs will face a similar future.
You know someone along the skeezy line of somewhere has some info on the Murdochs they don't want out. He is paranoid about that. (I have seen this paranonia in a major publication.) But his personal life, outside of less game pieces to push around will not be affected. Money loss is not what he fears.