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Lachlan Murdoch defends FOX News

Lachlan Murdoch says FOX News' biggest critics don't watch the network.

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Lachlan Murdoch, who will lead New FOX, has responded to criticism by Modern Family co-creator Steve Levitan’s critique of the network.

Levitan this week vowed to never work for FOX again if it continued owning the cable news network.

“I sincerely hope Lachlan Murdoch recognises the damage this is doing and finally brings sound journalistic ethics and standards to his network before more unhinged people are riled up to send bombs and shoot up churches and synagogues,” he said.

Speaking at a session at The New York Times DealBook conference Murdoch told moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin, he thinks Levitan is a “genius storyteller” and said he “completely understands” his position, but disagreed.

“What Steve is doing, and I completely understand this, and I accept his opinion on this: He feels that, frankly, the anger and the intolerance of opinions that we’re seeing across all of our community today in America — and so, when I hear that, or read it on Twitter, or wherever he wrote that, I completely understand where that’s coming from. Having said that, you have to look at our platforms,” he said.

He added that FOX News’ biggest critics don’t watch the network.

“They’re picking up pieces from Twitter and social media and elsewhere,” he said.

Asked whether his network is radicalising criminals like a mail bomber suspect, Murdoch replied,
“I don’t take responsibility for a criminal who was a criminal before FOX News even started. I think it’s unfair to make that criticism of me or FOX news or any other media organisation.”

New Yorker journalist Ken Auletta also asked if Murdoch would implement any changes to the FOX News lineup given his own mixed political views.

Murdoch shrugged, “I don’t tell journalists what to say, or what to write.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter, Deadline

2 Responses

  1. ‘“They’re picking up pieces from Twitter and social media and elsewhere,” he said.’

    From what I’ve seen from discussions online, the “pieces” are representative of the whole and people who do watch the full thing find even more examples. A Fox Business commentator was shown the door recently because of an anti-Semitic comment. Turns out Fox has been allowing him to sprout such nonsense for ages but this was the first time “Twitter and social media” outside of the right-wing bubble noticed.

    The whole is a reflection of the parts. The only time they do anything about inflammatory rhetoric is when they get caught.

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