Murdoch need PR

In China there is a saying: a person is so poor that he has only money left. It suggests that wealthy as they are, people are very poor in other respects, like knowledge, good image, or happiness.
This could be applied to Mr. Rupert Murdoch, who is undoutedly rich, given his expanisve media empire. But he is so poor in other areas like reputation.
The recent reports could underline my argument. The first is Murdoch's takeover of Dow Jones. People, whether politicians or journalists, had voiced their concern over Murdoch's hands-on approach to editorial policy. Though the takeover went ahead eventually, Murdoch had to fend off criticism which normally reserved for "genocidal tyrants", which he himself had confessed.
The second example is the decision by a green group to drop an attempt to becoming charity partner with BskyB, a media property owned by Murdoch. The environmental group, Friends of the Earth, had thought of using the proposed close tie with BskyB to access its great number of customers as well as donations from the broadcaster, however, the staff of the organisation warned that this could damage its reputation as indepedence, and the deal therefore was scraped.
The third example is that the Office of Fair Trading is considering referring BSkyB's purchase of Sir Alan Sugar's Amstrad electronics company to the Competition Commission. Currently, BskyB is also subject to competition investigation for his purchase of the ITV shares late last year.
So the priority for Murdoch, in my view, is no longer the continued expansion of his media empire, but some reflection on people's responses to his business development, and turn to PR guru to burnish its image.
In a sense, Murdoch is so rich that he has only money to burn.

More to come after Dow Jones deal

Whether you like it or not, the fact is that Murdoch managed to add Dow Jones to his expansive media empire. Sad? Yes, I can't help feeling that. In the protracted debate on Murdoch's bid, the forces supporting Dow Jones' editorial independence have been locked in a bitter fight with the forces seeking commercial profit. At the end of the day, money speak louder, and Murdoch's smiles are splashed across the frontpages of the world newspapers.

More sadly, the media, the special instrument to democracy, will continue to see concentration through merger or takeover. As Amercian scholar Mchesney pointed out, media concentration begets concentration, Murdoch's takeover of Dow Jones will spark a new wave of concentration. Other rivals like Financial Times or NBC, among others, will have to responde to the takeover to survive in the market dominated by jungle law.

I may have to say that in the age of capitalism, money is the master. You could fight for public interest, but at the end of the day, money will carry the day.