In Search of One Last Hurrah for Rupert Murdoch, Fading Press Baron
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When I saw the recent headlines about Rupert Murdoch wanting to buy the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, the first thing that came to mind was the old “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live” called “Really!?! with Seth & Amy” — the one where Seth Myers and Amy Poehler would serve up a heady mix of incredulousness and condescension.
I thought: Really, Rupert!?! Your empire is coming apart at the seams because of newspapers, so you want to buy more newspapers? Really!?! You’re endlessly mired in a phone-hacking scandal — the one that started at your British tabloid newspaper News of the World — so you think you should spread Murdoch-style ethics to other papers? Really!?! You’re worth a gazillion dollars and could afford to invest in anything (steam locomotives, whale-oil lamps…), but you’re still banking on newspapers? Really!?!
The funny thing about Murdoch’s rumored interest in buying the L.A. Times is that word of it first appeared in a Murdoch property, The Wall Street Journal; The Chicago Tribune, a sister paper of the Times, was tacked on in later stories by other outlets.
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