Two faces of Rupert Murdoch, presented without comment
By Media Reform Coalition / Friday July 5, 2013
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Then:
“I was shocked and appalled by recent allegations concerning the News of the World and I am deeply sorry for the hurt that was caused.
“…I have never tolerated the kind of behaviour that has been described over these past few weeks. It has no place at News Corporation.
“These serious allegations made about some of our former employees at the News of the World directly contravene our codes of conduct and do not reflect the actions and beliefs of our many employees.
…
“The Company will continue to co-operate fully with the authorities wherever the investigations lead. Those who have betrayed our trust must be held accountable under the law. We also welcome and will cooperate with Parliamentary and Judicial inquiries.”
– Rupert Murdoch, letter to News Corporation, 20th July, 2011“I would just like to say one sentence: this is the most humble day of my life.”
– Rupert Murdoch, letter to News Corporation, 20th July, 2011 *Now:
“I don’t know of anybody, or anything, that did anything that wasn’t being done across Fleet Street and wasn’t the culture. And we’re being picked on…there was a sort of – we got caught with dirty hands, I guess, with the News of the World, and everybody piled in.”
– Rupert Murdoch, meeting with the Sun staff, February 2013“I remember when I first bought the News of the World, the first day I went to the office … and there was a big wall-safe … And I said, ‘What’s that for?’
“And they said, ‘We keep some cash in there.’
“And I said, ‘What for?’
“They said, ‘Well, sometimes the editor needs some on a Saturday night for powerful friends. And sometimes the chairman [the late Sir William Carr] is doing badly at the tables, (laughter) and he helps himself …’
“Now there was a law passed against this in 1906. That’s when it was first recognised as a problem … The idea that the cops then started coming after you, kick you out of bed, and your families, at six in the morning, is unbelievable.”
….
“We’re talking about payments for news tips from cops: that’s been going on a hundred years, absolutely…”
– Rupert Murdoch, same meeting, February 2013“All I can say is, for the last several months, we have told, the MSC has told, and Kathleen Harris, who’s a terrific lawyer, has told the police, has said, ‘No, no, no – get a court order. Deal with that.’ “They said, ‘We will,’ and, of course, it never happened.”
– Rupert Murdoch, same meeting, February 2013“Why are the police behaving in this way? It’s the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing.”
– Rupert Murdoch, same meeting, February 2013