5 ms·

with this being australia, chances are the power will shift from google to murdoch owned companies. however, the monopoly power of google is there for everyone

by dzonga 5y ago

with this being australia, chances are the power will shift from google to murdoch owned companies. however, the monopoly power of google is there for everyone to see. no way, should one company be controlling both sides of an auction market

BoxOfRain 5y ago
I'd honestly rank Rupert Murdoch up there with the worst human beings who have ever lived. It may seem strange on the surface to rank him alongside the tyrants and warlords of human history, but history will condemn him utterly for building one of world's most powerful influence machines and using it to promote climate change denial on an unprecedented scale.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  You'll love this then. From Fox Corp's proxy statement, to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1754301/000119312521276133/d181730ddef14a.htm#rom181730_42 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1754301/000119312521... "PROPOSAL NO. 5: TRANSITION TO PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION Shareholders request our Board of Directors take steps necessary to amend our certificate of incorporation and, if necessary, bylaws [...] to become a public benefit corporation [...]. Shareholders request that one of the public benefits included in the amendment be provision of the Company’s viewers with an accurate understanding of current events through the exercise of journalistic integrity [...]" I thought it was a pretty classy troll. Credit to Matt Levine for the pointer. And in all fairness, the insurgents do put a veneer of reasoning over why it would make sense: "The vast majority of our diversified shareholders lose when companies harm the economy, because the value of diversified portfolios rises and falls with GDP. While a concentrated holder may profit when the Company inflicts costs on society by emphasizing viewership over accuracy, diversified shareholders internalize those costs."
  - BoxOfRain 5y ago
    One has to admire the bare-faced cheek on display here!
mrjangles 5y ago
The fact people believe this sort of stuff should make it clear exactly who has the power in Australian media and who is feeding propaganda to whom. Just the facts on the matter: Murdoch owns zero (yes zero) of the 5 major public TV channels and 23% of newspapers in Australia. Hardly a monopoly. The truth behind the matter is that Australian's elites are constantly trying to force their point of view on to the Australian people by my monopolizing all the public channels, and using government money to push out private organization. Unfortunately for them, no one is interested in listening to them. Instead of admitting they are out of touch and that their ideas are not based in reality, they make these crazy claims that the whole country is under some kind of magic spell cast by Rupert Murdoch which makes it impossible for them to hear anything but those 23% of Newspapers that Murdoch owns.
- thornjm 5y ago
  The easiest way to lie is with statistics. It’s also true that: News Corp earns 40% of total Australian television revenues — combining free-to-air television advertising and subscriptions — almost double that of second- place holder Nine. News Corp owns a 59% share of the metropolitan and national print media markets by readership. News Corp has 23% of total radio market by revenue.
  - sk2020 5y ago
    Everything you stated suggests that News Corp is better at producing content consumers actually want. Maybe I’m just out of touch with the modern, dystopian total-state, but that seems to be a result of market incentives.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - over_bridge 5y ago
      Do people want it or are they hooked by it? Rage and fear with a dash of FOMO are the best ways to keep people consuming your products, to their detriment...

by dzonga 5y ago

BoxOfRain 5y ago

I'd honestly rank Rupert Murdoch up there with the worst human beings who have ever lived. It may seem strange on the surface to rank him alongside the tyrants and warlords of human history, but history will condemn him utterly for building one of world's most powerful influence machines and using it to promote climate change denial on an unprecedented scale.

ethbr0 5y ago
You'll love this then. From Fox Corp's proxy statement, to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1754301/000119312521276133/d181730ddef14a.htm#rom181730_42 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1754301/000119312521... "PROPOSAL NO. 5: TRANSITION TO PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION Shareholders request our Board of Directors take steps necessary to amend our certificate of incorporation and, if necessary, bylaws [...] to become a public benefit corporation [...]. Shareholders request that one of the public benefits included in the amendment be provision of the Company’s viewers with an accurate understanding of current events through the exercise of journalistic integrity [...]" I thought it was a pretty classy troll. Credit to Matt Levine for the pointer. And in all fairness, the insurgents do put a veneer of reasoning over why it would make sense: "The vast majority of our diversified shareholders lose when companies harm the economy, because the value of diversified portfolios rises and falls with GDP. While a concentrated holder may profit when the Company inflicts costs on society by emphasizing viewership over accuracy, diversified shareholders internalize those costs."
- BoxOfRain 5y ago
  One has to admire the bare-faced cheek on display here!

mrjangles 5y ago

The fact people believe this sort of stuff should make it clear exactly who has the power in Australian media and who is feeding propaganda to whom. Just the facts on the matter: Murdoch owns zero (yes zero) of the 5 major public TV channels and 23% of newspapers in Australia. Hardly a monopoly. The truth behind the matter is that Australian's elites are constantly trying to force their point of view on to the Australian people by my monopolizing all the public channels, and using government money to push out private organization. Unfortunately for them, no one is interested in listening to them. Instead of admitting they are out of touch and that their ideas are not based in reality, they make these crazy claims that the whole country is under some kind of magic spell cast by Rupert Murdoch which makes it impossible for them to hear anything but those 23% of Newspapers that Murdoch owns.

thornjm 5y ago
The easiest way to lie is with statistics. It’s also true that: News Corp earns 40% of total Australian television revenues — combining free-to-air television advertising and subscriptions — almost double that of second- place holder Nine. News Corp owns a 59% share of the metropolitan and national print media markets by readership. News Corp has 23% of total radio market by revenue.
- sk2020 5y ago
  Everything you stated suggests that News Corp is better at producing content consumers actually want. Maybe I’m just out of touch with the modern, dystopian total-state, but that seems to be a result of market incentives.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - over_bridge 5y ago
    Do people want it or are they hooked by it? Rage and fear with a dash of FOMO are the best ways to keep people consuming your products, to their detriment...