How Murdoch the Sun King sold out the planet

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A year ago, I moved my family from New York to London. I had prepared myself for the wet English weather. I was not prepared for the heat. London has sweated through devastating heatwaves this year – the hottest day reached 38 degrees – in a country where most houses, mine included, do not have air-conditioning.

I should not have been surprised. For the past 20 years, I have reported on Rupert Murdoch, who built something beyond a conservative news empire: a fourth branch of government. His machine monetised outrage, spread conspiracy theories and shaped the politics of three continents. He has done more than any living person, I’ve come to believe, to prevent governments from acting on the emissions that are heating the planet.

The tragedy is that it didn’t have to be this way. In 2006, Murdoch invited Al Gore to address a News Corp retreat in Monterey, California. Gore gave the slide show that became his Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Kathryn Murdoch, wife of Rupert’s son James, was so moved that she became an environmental activist. She and James persuaded Rupert to pledge that News Corp would be carbon-neutral within three years. Rupert hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. He flirted with endorsing Barack Obama.

But in 2008, another of Murdoch’s instincts prevailed. Former Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes threatened to resign after a book portrayed Murdoch as ashamed of the network. Fox was one of News Corp’s most profitable businesses. Murdoch chose the business. He gave Ailes a new five-year contract........

© Brisbane Times