Murdoch chimes in - again

He's a 74 year old American who proudly calls Manhattan, New York City, his home, and he exercises arguably more control over Australia's media than any other individual - Australian, American or otherwise. Sounds crazy? Well, not if you're Rupert Murdoch. As jaded Aussie media consumers and scrutineers, who have watched as our robust press - a collective of internationally regarded papers, tv and radio stations - shrivelled to a single behemoth, with a few smaller companies clawing at its heals, our media landscape has become a depressing sight that we can't take our eyes off. That behemoth, of course, is News Limited, and the smaller contenders are Fairfax, PBL, Aus Stereo, Rural Press and a few more struggling others. Well, Murdoch just can't keep his greedy mits off our political and out of our media pie.

"Tear up everything, and make it an open go for everybody, otherwise leave it alone", is Murdoch's latest foray into Australia's long-time political debate over changes to cross media laws. According to Murdoch, who has just been named, by The Bulletin no less, the most influential Australian of all time, it's time to leave it to the consumers and the media companies to thrash out who owns what news outlet and who produces what news. I would have more confidence in the concept of a free and open media market if it came from anyone but Murdoch - a man who may have exceptional business skills, but doesn't have a pretension towards the concept of the Fourth Estate. For Murdoch, journalism is a never-ending ATM, and he's thus found out the best way to generate the most cash is to give the people what they want, which isn't journalism, it's entertainment. And he's done so ever since he inherited his father's Adelaide paper, the Adelaide News. It's been a slippery downhill slope ever since.