No blog post or "whine" suggestion this week. Instead, I thought I'd share an article I wrote for the F-Word blog a few days ago.
Read and Enjoy!
https://www.thefword.org.uk/2016/10/its-data-not-ambition-that-holds-back-female-business-owners/
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Friday, 7 October 2016
Murdoch, the PM and Red Bordeaux
Tasting notes: Bordeaux is one of the better known blended wine varieties, combining various types of grape to give a variety of flavors depending on region, age and grape combination. The older a Bordeaux gets, the more powerful it becomes, commanding higher prices as a result. And so it is with Rupert Murdoch’s relationship with British politics.
Over the years, the relationship a Prime Minister has with the press has become a topic of public discussion. From Margaret Thatcher’s secret deal with Rupert Murdoch to Theresa May’s most recent meeting with the media tycoon, there has never been a shortage of intrigue and speculation over who was controlling whom.
Last month, May, who has a reputation for keeping the media at arm’s length, met Rupert Murdoch in New York, managing to squeeze him into her 36hr trip to the Big Apple. Owner of both The Times and The Sun newspapers, along with Sky, Murdoch now owns a third of the British media, and May’s private meeting with him has not gone unnoticed.
Murdoch is also a massive ‘outie’. He was not shy about his preference for the UK to leave the EU and when asked why he replied:
“When I go to Downing Street, they do what I say; when I go to Brussels, they take no notice.”
Now this is a statement worth exploring.
Back in the early 80’s, the relationship between British politics and the media changed forever.
We should avoid a lazy comparison being drawn between the UK’s only female PMs, but in 1981 a long covered up meeting took place between Margaret Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch, the topic of which was Murdoch’s desire to acquire The Times newspaper.
His purchase would effectively give Murdoch control over 40% of the British press and it was all made possible by Thatcher, who helped him avoid a referral to the Monopolies and Mergers commission which would have probably prevented this from occurring.
The reason behind this move from Thatcher was to gain media support. At the time of the secret meeting, she was lagging behind in the polls and needed all the support she could get. And Murdoch? He wanted an empire – win/win.
In hindsight, this was a horrendous mistake on Thatcher’s part, demonstrating an unforgivable short-term selfishness which was to give an unelected individual far too much power over public opinion. From now on, every PM would need to get Murdoch on-side to stand any chance of achieving favourable coverage.
So how far are politicians in the pocket of Murdoch and his press empire?
Well, May hasn’t done a great job of separating herself from comparisons with her reckless predecessor, given that her meeting with Murdoch seemed equally ‘secret’, taking place across the pond, with Downing Street defensively stating that a “brief meeting” had taken place at the offices of Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal publication.
But this has been going on for years. It is now widely speculated that Tony Blair’s electoral success was largely due to his close relationship with the media mogul, who supported him in all three of his electoral campaigns.
And if you need more evidence of Blair and Murdoch’s special relationship, Blair is a godfather to one of his children!
What about Cameron? Well, guess which billionaire backed Cameron over Brown in his first bid for No.10… that’s right, our good friend Rupert.
Cameron himself admitted, after the phone hacking scandal, that he felt he had become too close to the media, but was quick to stress that this was across a wide range of titles, not just the third owned by Murdoch.
Relations between No.10 and the Murdoch empire have been notably strained since the phone-hacking drama, but it seems as though this bridge is being rebuilt.
It is now clear that May does want Murdoch on-side, and why wouldn’t she? He supported her bid against Gove in the post-Brexit leadership battle and she will need all the support she can get over the next few months, as the EU exit negotiations heat up.
We should end by stating that the use of the press to promote a political agenda is nothing new. There are whole schools of historical thought dedicated to it and it’s been going on for as long as newspapers have existed.
What’s worrying is not really the dynamic between press and politics but the dynamic between the UK’s various elected leader’s and an unelected individual who seems, not only, to have a skill for putting politicians in his pocket but, worse still, gets them to jump in willingly
Labour opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has come out and said that, if Labour were to win the next election, he would put plans in place to break up the big media groups. Interestingly, this was only after he bemoaned the ‘horrendous’ attitude the media was showing towards his party – I’m not so sure he’d be so keen to end the monopoly if they were rallying in his favour.
The fact that the press does hold sway over public opinion is one that cannot be avoided, as much as we hope that we are immune to that kind of ‘mind-control’. It benefits politicians to have media supporters and it’s even more important to keep them on-side during their term if they are to stand any chance of re-election or ongoing public support.
Until the locks on the back-door at No.10 are changed, Murdoch will keep sneaking in.
Why Bordeaux?
Bordeaux is one of the most famous blended wines in the world. It has an illustrious heritage and has secured a reputation for being one of the fine wines of the higher class.
Rupert Murdoch is arguably one of the most powerful men in the world. His influence in both the UK and the US is unrivalled and he most recently became the CEO of Fox News, adding to his already expansive empire. He is a regular on the Forbes rich lists and has had “more impact on the wider world than any other living Australian”, according to former Aussie Prime Minister, Tony Abbott.
Bordeaux is a full-bodied and powerful wine which, when tasted, has an initial fruity flavor, giving way to drying, savory tannins as an after taste. To many, this can be quite overwhelming and unpleasant and the older the wine, the stronger the tannins become.
It’s the same with Murdoch. I’m sure that, at first, Thatcher saw him as merely a tool to help her gain additional support from a disenchanted electorate, but, as he has aged, he has become more powerful and has had a lasting impact on British (and US) politics which, to many, now seems quite unpleasant.
Finally, as a blended wine, the balance of grape varieties is key to the end result. Likewise, the relationship Murdoch has forged with various Prime Minister’s will always be individual and a balance has had to be struck each time. It will be interesting to see the dynamic that emerges with May and the part he will play in successive governments.
What is indisputable is that this relationship, like Bordeaux, it will always have a place in the (wine) Cabinet, whether we can afford it or not.
Over the years, the relationship a Prime Minister has with the press has become a topic of public discussion. From Margaret Thatcher’s secret deal with Rupert Murdoch to Theresa May’s most recent meeting with the media tycoon, there has never been a shortage of intrigue and speculation over who was controlling whom.
Last month, May, who has a reputation for keeping the media at arm’s length, met Rupert Murdoch in New York, managing to squeeze him into her 36hr trip to the Big Apple. Owner of both The Times and The Sun newspapers, along with Sky, Murdoch now owns a third of the British media, and May’s private meeting with him has not gone unnoticed.
Murdoch is also a massive ‘outie’. He was not shy about his preference for the UK to leave the EU and when asked why he replied:
“When I go to Downing Street, they do what I say; when I go to Brussels, they take no notice.”
Now this is a statement worth exploring.
Back in the early 80’s, the relationship between British politics and the media changed forever.
We should avoid a lazy comparison being drawn between the UK’s only female PMs, but in 1981 a long covered up meeting took place between Margaret Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch, the topic of which was Murdoch’s desire to acquire The Times newspaper.
His purchase would effectively give Murdoch control over 40% of the British press and it was all made possible by Thatcher, who helped him avoid a referral to the Monopolies and Mergers commission which would have probably prevented this from occurring.
The reason behind this move from Thatcher was to gain media support. At the time of the secret meeting, she was lagging behind in the polls and needed all the support she could get. And Murdoch? He wanted an empire – win/win.
In hindsight, this was a horrendous mistake on Thatcher’s part, demonstrating an unforgivable short-term selfishness which was to give an unelected individual far too much power over public opinion. From now on, every PM would need to get Murdoch on-side to stand any chance of achieving favourable coverage.
So how far are politicians in the pocket of Murdoch and his press empire?
Well, May hasn’t done a great job of separating herself from comparisons with her reckless predecessor, given that her meeting with Murdoch seemed equally ‘secret’, taking place across the pond, with Downing Street defensively stating that a “brief meeting” had taken place at the offices of Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal publication.
But this has been going on for years. It is now widely speculated that Tony Blair’s electoral success was largely due to his close relationship with the media mogul, who supported him in all three of his electoral campaigns.
And if you need more evidence of Blair and Murdoch’s special relationship, Blair is a godfather to one of his children!
What about Cameron? Well, guess which billionaire backed Cameron over Brown in his first bid for No.10… that’s right, our good friend Rupert.
Cameron himself admitted, after the phone hacking scandal, that he felt he had become too close to the media, but was quick to stress that this was across a wide range of titles, not just the third owned by Murdoch.
Relations between No.10 and the Murdoch empire have been notably strained since the phone-hacking drama, but it seems as though this bridge is being rebuilt.
It is now clear that May does want Murdoch on-side, and why wouldn’t she? He supported her bid against Gove in the post-Brexit leadership battle and she will need all the support she can get over the next few months, as the EU exit negotiations heat up.
We should end by stating that the use of the press to promote a political agenda is nothing new. There are whole schools of historical thought dedicated to it and it’s been going on for as long as newspapers have existed.
What’s worrying is not really the dynamic between press and politics but the dynamic between the UK’s various elected leader’s and an unelected individual who seems, not only, to have a skill for putting politicians in his pocket but, worse still, gets them to jump in willingly
Labour opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has come out and said that, if Labour were to win the next election, he would put plans in place to break up the big media groups. Interestingly, this was only after he bemoaned the ‘horrendous’ attitude the media was showing towards his party – I’m not so sure he’d be so keen to end the monopoly if they were rallying in his favour.
The fact that the press does hold sway over public opinion is one that cannot be avoided, as much as we hope that we are immune to that kind of ‘mind-control’. It benefits politicians to have media supporters and it’s even more important to keep them on-side during their term if they are to stand any chance of re-election or ongoing public support.
Until the locks on the back-door at No.10 are changed, Murdoch will keep sneaking in.
Why Bordeaux?
Bordeaux is one of the most famous blended wines in the world. It has an illustrious heritage and has secured a reputation for being one of the fine wines of the higher class.
Rupert Murdoch is arguably one of the most powerful men in the world. His influence in both the UK and the US is unrivalled and he most recently became the CEO of Fox News, adding to his already expansive empire. He is a regular on the Forbes rich lists and has had “more impact on the wider world than any other living Australian”, according to former Aussie Prime Minister, Tony Abbott.
Bordeaux is a full-bodied and powerful wine which, when tasted, has an initial fruity flavor, giving way to drying, savory tannins as an after taste. To many, this can be quite overwhelming and unpleasant and the older the wine, the stronger the tannins become.
It’s the same with Murdoch. I’m sure that, at first, Thatcher saw him as merely a tool to help her gain additional support from a disenchanted electorate, but, as he has aged, he has become more powerful and has had a lasting impact on British (and US) politics which, to many, now seems quite unpleasant.
Finally, as a blended wine, the balance of grape varieties is key to the end result. Likewise, the relationship Murdoch has forged with various Prime Minister’s will always be individual and a balance has had to be struck each time. It will be interesting to see the dynamic that emerges with May and the part he will play in successive governments.
What is indisputable is that this relationship, like Bordeaux, it will always have a place in the (wine) Cabinet, whether we can afford it or not.
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