At inquiry, Rupert Murdoch defends 50-year record

Associated Press + More

By RAPHAEL SATTER, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch defended his globe-spanning, half-a-century long media career Wednesday, telling an inquiry into U.K. media ethics that he never called in favors from the powerful people his papers covered.

Speaking softly, deliberately and with dry humor, Murdoch parried one question after the other about the influence his dominant media operations had in lobbying lawmakers, favoring politicians or allegedly engineering sweetheart deals.

The litany of denials by the 81-year-old media baron was long but confidently delivered.



Revelations of widespread illegal behavior at the top-selling Sunday publication rocked Britain's establishment with evidence of media misdeeds, police corruption and too-cozy links between the press and politicians. Murdoch's News International have been hit with over 100 lawsuits over phone hacking and dozens of reporters and media executives have been arrested.







Four hours into his testimony, Murdoch largely held his fire, making few concessions to his inquisitor.


He did allow having made a colorful joke reported by Blair: "If our flirtation is ever consummated, Tony, then I suspect we will end up making love like porcupines, very very carefully."



Media-watchers have speculated that Murdoch would seek to inflict political pain on the Cameron's Conservatives, rumors which gained force when his son James gave damning testimony about British Olympics czar Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday. The younger Murdoch released documents that suggested that Hunt had secretly smoothed the way for News Corp.'s proposed takeover of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, a lucrative satellite broadcaster.

Hunt's political aide Adam Smith resigned Wednesday, saying he was responsible for the perception that News Corp. had "too close a relationship" with Hunt's department for culture, media and sport. Smith said he had acted without Hunt's authorization, although there was immediate skepticism of how a special adviser could have acted so independently.

Murdoch was cooperative, but there was a healthy helping of the phrase "I don't remember," particularly when confronted with potentially embarrassing anecdotes about remarks he'd allegedly made over the years.

At one point, Jay quizzed Murdoch about a gleeful comment in which he took credit for smearing his left-wing opponents.



So determined was he that at one point Murdoch seemed to claim he was totally blind to business considerations when deciding which politicians to back.


"Yes," Murdoch said. "Absolutely."

Murdoch's testimony resumes on Thursday.



Inquiry website:

Murdoch's witness statement:
