Murdock refuses responsibility

Watching a clip of Rupert Murdock give evidence at a government committee, I was flabbergasted when he refused to accept responsibility for what happened in his own company.  He blamed those people he trusted.  Here was a prime example of someone who should be made completely liable and held to account.  In an equally absurd and mind boggling display of madness shares in News Corp gained six percentage points after his interview.

The owner of a business is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in that business.  Murdock doesn't seem to understand this salient point.  It is the owner who sets the standards, makes themselves known, decides the policies and is the vanguard.  If such a person chooses not to be seen and when they do are only interested in the figures of profit how can they give any moral compass to their own company?  They simply can not.  Here is a man who has acted like all short viewing accountants.  He hasn't bothered to find out how those profits come about, what was happening behind the scenes or has he even cared about the content of the newspapers.  This is someone who hadn't heard of the Minnie Dowler case until the phone hacking scandle began to take form.  Then it didn't actually hit him straight away.  Murdock states he has not been more humbled in his life.  In reality what he is saying is he has not been more stupid or ignorant.  An example of this was seen when in a flippant comment to a reporter who asked him about what was going on he said he was keeping an eye on Rebbecca Brooks.  This was so as to assure Rebbecca he was giving her his full support.  Lets not forget, Mrs Brooks is a woman who had only got her post as editor of the NoW because of who she knew.  Not because she had a single journalistic or editorial qualification.  Only because she knows how to mingle in millionaire and billionaire circles.  I nearly wrote class.  When class has nothing to do with it.  Brookes getting her cushy job at the NoW was a prime example of upper societies nepotism.  They look after their own. 

Even more so is this evident in disbanding the entire NoW business and still keeping Brookes on as head of News International.  Murdock simply has a soft spot for Brookes.  It has taken a fiasco of her offering her resignation, Murdock refusing it and then Murdock sacking her.  Probably through some mutual consent because he will have another nice little earner job set up for her somewhere else.  Maybe not immediately.  But I'd put a pint on it.  After the whole episode has been swept under the carpet, Murdock will invite Brookes to a week in the Alps and make her another proposal she can not refuse.  After all he's a billionaire.  He could propose anything for me, at the right price of course.