Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Week in the Life of a Media Mogul

What's Up With Rupert.
(Illustration by James Hindle)
While two former lieutenants in the U.K. are to be charged for bribery and corruption,

 … http://nyti.ms/T0VStP

Rupert Murdoch's fortunes are turning in the U.S.,

 … http://nyti.ms/QpTrp2

where Obama's top FCC official is planning to lift media ownership limits,

 … http://bit.ly/USQkr6

It's a News Corp.-friendly move that would pave the way for Murdoch to fulfill ambitions to buy the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune,

 … http://bit.ly/T8Z7Cu

Don't Believe the Spin. Dark Money Won.

(Illustration by Bill Brown)
Before Nov. 6 is written into history, we need to correct assumptions now circulating among Washington's pundit class.

First, the Obama victory didn't signal the demise of big-money politics. It didn't spell the end of the Super PAC, far from it. And the election wasn't a train wreck for political advertising -- even after groups paid billions for spots that supported losing candidates.

"The bad news is that money ran rampant in the 2012 campaigns, perhaps as much as $6 billion when it's all added up," Former Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps said during a recent event in Washington.