The real godfather
Rupert Murdoch believes in having friends right across the political spectrum. During the phone-hacking scandal it was revealed that his executives were rather too chummy with British Prime Minister David Cameron, who belongs to the Conservative Party. But the wily old media baron did not break off ties with the defeated Labour Party either; it has just emerged that former Prime Minister Tony Blair is godfather to Mr Murdoch’s daughters by his third wife Wendi.
The deep nexus between the media and politics is hardly news, but in Britain it appears to have reached epidemic proportions. Mr Murdoch does not make influential friends for their own sake; they often help his companies which control a huge chunk of the British media. No politician has dared put an end to this unhealthy situation, since inviting Mr Murdoch’s wrath would mean that influential newspapers like The Times, The Sunday Times, the Sun and the late lamented News of the World would turn against them. Who wants to find one’s indiscretions splashed all over a newspaper selling over 2.5 million copies daily?
The hacking scandal has felled many Murdoch executives, but the man himself has managed to remain untouched. All those powerful friends do come in handy at crunch time. Which makes us wonder whether it is Mr Murdoch — not Mr Blair — who is the biggest godfather of them all.
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