The Murdoch testimonies – a human story

I have been glued to the T.V. all day, firstly watching the grilling of the two recently resigned senior police in the home affairs select committee swiftly followed by an action packed afternoon with the Murdochs.

The parliamentary select committee investigating the phone hacking scandal held my attention all afternoon.  I spent longer watching these public interrogations than the Royal Wedding and apart from the lack of champagne, in many ways it was as gripping. What promised to be an enlightening and entertaining humiliation of power-crazed heartless businessmen instead took on a very human spectacle.

Perhaps I’m a sucker for handsome intelligent young men, but I found James Murdoch compelling and believable. I really felt he was telling the truth. His father, Rupert, on the other hand appeared surprisingly frail, doddery and at times confused. As he started to try without much success to answer Tom Watson’s gentle but persistent, questions one began to sense embarrassment in the room.  Rupert’s wife Wendi sitting directly behind him looked anxious and kept leaning forward as if she wished to take his place. James was equally protective reaching to touch his father’s arm occasionally. Twitter went mad with tweets suggesting dementia, and wondering if the next resignation would be Rupert’s, as NewsCorp board members would observe these frailties.

One has to question (as did the select committee) how the men at the top could be ignorant of major transgressions such as bribery of the police and hacking of innocent victim’s phones by those in the pay of News International and clearly they are ultimately responsible. But whether it was good PR training, arrogance, or excellent interpersonal skills, this experience was no means a blood bath for the Murdochs.

However the story that will grab the headlines is, of course, the idiot who lunged at Rupert Murdoch with a foam filled pie. His intent could have been far more menacing and for a moment, those around the ageing mogul seemed frozen to the spot. With the exception of Wendi Murdoch. Arms flailing, she flew forward, intent on protecting her husband landing a blow on the assailant with no thought for her own safety.

Call me a romantic, but whatever Rupert Murdoch has or hasn’t done, however many billion dollars he’s worth – with the loyal support of a son like that and the obvious love of his wife, he is a rich man indeed.

I'd rather write about Kate than Rebekah...

I must confess to getting very little work done this afternoon. The breaking news item that flashed up on my computer sent me rushing to my T.V. to watch the news channels while keeping one eye on Twitter.

So Rupert Murdoch was pulling the plug on The News of the World. In the light of this gobsmacking development about the closure of the newspaper with the biggest circulation in the UK, I wanted to write a post about corporate social responsibility and ethics in the workplace etc etc..

James Murdoch, son of Rupert, and News International Chairman, stated that in closing News of the World he was ‘committed to doing the right thing’. He went on to state that he is satisfied with the conduct of Rebekah Brooks. That would be the same Rebekah Brooks who was editor of the newspaper at the time that alleged hacking of the phones of murder victim, Milly Dowler, relatives of the London 7/7 bombings and loved ones of soldiers killed on active duty. The same Rebekah Brooks who keeps her job as 200 employees of the newspaper lose theirs.

And how did they hear that they were losing their jobs? On the newswire, just as the rest of the world received Murdoch’s statement. No staff meeting, no courtesy, no consideration for these people who are completely innocent of the heartless and tasteless activities that a few ‘rogue individuals’ undertook on behalf of the tabloid several years ago.

I started to write this blog with indignant commentary about how corporate culture is shaped from the top – that the regime where Brooks and her sidekicks were known as ‘the princes of darkness’ should be brought to account. The alleged hacking, invasion of privacy and potential interference of a police investigation all took place on Rebekah Brook’s watch.  

As the news coverage continued I became more depressed. This was a clear example of how the big boys play nasty and the little people get bruised.  But I have very little to add on this tragic story.

So I switched channels and watched a delightful programme about William and Kate’s visit to Canada. The love that shines between them, the joy that they both seemed to bring to every public occasion and the positive way they represented this country  is clear for all to see.

What a wonderful antidote to the murky goings on back home.