Over half a million Australians sign ex-PM's call for Murdoch inquiry // Are Trumpworld and Fox News Headed for a Messy Divorce?

By Dilip -

An online petition by former Australian PM Kevin Rudd calling for an inquiry into Rupert Murdoch's media dominance has got a record number of signatures. More than 500,000 Australians have signed the petition to parliament since it launched three weeks ago. News Corp Australia controls 70% of local newspaper circulation. Mr Murdoch has not commented on the petition. The petition will likely be presented to parliament, but it is not obligated to act on it.

Mr Rudd, a Labor prime minister from 2007-2010 and again in 2013, has been a frequent critic of Mr Murdoch and his newspapers, which advocated against his re-election. He praised the level of public response on Wednesday, saying he was "grateful and overwhelmed". "Half a million Australians have spoken. They've smashed the records to make their voice heard: Australia needs a  Murdoch Royal Commission to protect the lifeblood of our democracy," he tweeted. Like Mr Murdoch, News Corp has not responded to the public petition and have ignored it in their news coverage....

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54819803

Are Trumpworld and Fox News Headed for a Messy Divorce?

It’s true that Fox propped Trump up when other networks were treating him as a novelty, reliably televising his stemwinder speeches and letting his proxies spin away his blatant untruths and off-the-cuff insults. And it’s true that Fox was proud to have the president as Viewer Number One, taking his calls and often seemingly broadcasting directly to his bedroom TV.

That all makes it easy to forget that Trump was never Murdoch and Fox’s first choice for president in 2016, or even their second. The network shined brighter for Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. “When is Donald Trump going to stop embarrassing his friends, let alone the whole country?” Murdoch famously tweeted in July 2015. Fox and Trump rumbled so frequently during the 2016 primary season—Trump even skipped the Fox primary debate—some observers called it a “feud.” Murdoch opposed Trump’s signature policies on immigrants, the Muslim ban and trade.

But being the Machiavellian that he is, Murdoch courted Trump once he emerged as the likely nominee, and Trump, never one to spurn an adoring TV audience, said yes.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/11/06/are-trumpworld-and-fox-news-headed-for-a-messy-divorce-434775

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