HVK Archives: Haunted By Murdoch
Haunted By Murdoch - The India Today
Swapan Dasgupta
()
April 20, 1998
Title: Haunted By Murdoch
Author: Swapan Dasgupta
Publication: The India Today
Date: April 20, 1998
Misinformation being so recurrent in India, it is heartening that
some democracies are unwilling to view the phenomenon with the
same indulgence. Last month, the public administration committee
of the British Parliament decided to summon Prime Minister Tony
Blair's official spokesman to answer charges of misleading the
media. The controversy centres on what the committee chairman
called the "unedifying spectacle" of "half-truths and non-denial
denials" accompanying the revelation that Blair put in a good
word to help media mogul Rupert Murdoch-the owner of our very own
Star TV break into Italian television.
A few years ago, a fuss over ethical norms in Britain would have
happily bypassed India. It is different now. On paper, Murdoch
may be a rather distant individual, the type who jets in and out
of Delhi for a day or two to pay courtesy calls on transient
prime ministers. In reality, as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Government is discovering, he is a little more all-pervasive.
Murdoch's operational methodology is distinct. He is ruthless in
using his media clout to promote a political agenda that, in
turn, furthers his business dealings. Ask BBC World Service why
it was blanked out of China? Ask former Hong Kong governor Chris
Patten why his publishing contract was mysteriously terminated by
a Murdoch-owned company? Ask public broadcasters in the US why
House Speaker Newt Gingrich was offered a staggering $4.5 million
book deal by the same publisher? And ask Blair whether the
Murdoch press drum-beating for him in last year's election
entailed a post-dated IOU?
When an arm of Murdoch's empire pursues an agenda, it is rarely
out of principles and conviction. Which is why liberals and
right-wingers are equally suspicious. Bonding is determined by
expectations of tangible returns. Murdoch has a definite mission
in India: to facilitate the speedy introduction of direct-to-home
(DTH) satellite broadcasting. It is his route to the Indian
market and his local arm has pursued it with dedication and
finesse. Last year, the proposal came a cropper for two reasons:
spirited counter lobbying by the domestic media, including
Doordarshan, and the swadeshi veto of the BJP. Little wonder
that the election season witnessed the Star News channel making
its anti-BJP tilt quite apparent. When Sonia Gandhi joined battle
in January, a new, "objective" and "credible" news channel went
overboard in painting the picture of a resounding Congress win.
No wonder in America, Murdoch's Fox News slogan "We report, you
decide", has been translated to mean "We decide what news you
hear, and you make up your mind based on what we tell you."
Things haven't changed with a new dispensation in Delhi. Today,
the Government is concerned at the way in which news is being
wilfully slanted, particularly with a view to creating strains in
the ruling coalition. Murdoch has become a political player in
India, albeit by proxy. Secular indignation is already a brand
extension of Star News and a large part of the bureaucratic and
political elite has been subverted by the simple expedient of
jobs for the boys (and girls). If the Government retaliates, it
will inevitably be accused of vindictiveness and pursuing the
ubiquitous hidden agenda. If it opts for benign tolerance,
Vajpayee could rind himself outwitted and out of power The
problem is real and the Government will have to hurry its
response to a political challenge from the skies.
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