How a newspaper humbled Machiavelli’s reincarnation

Jul 13, 2011 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

I believe since the 19th century if you ask the average citizen around the world which section of or who in their country they trust to give them a fair hearing or to lend a sympathetic ear to the wrongs committed against them, he/she will name the institution that we in the media refer to as the Fourth Estate – the press.
Citizens in this country hardly have confidence in the judiciary, the police and the government. They should be suspicious of these three fountainheads of “justice”, because traditionally, all three have pandered to the wealthy classes and have shaped justice to benefit the rich and powerful.
I believe that the press is the only avenue in any country where an ordinary human being can seek to have the truth be told.
This column is not on my country, Guyana, but I say fearlessly that I feel an aggrieved Guyanese has more chances of getting justice through the crusading journalism of the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News than from the judiciary, police force and Government of Guyana. The last one is fascist in my opinion.
The judiciary is not to be trusted and is far from being the place we should put our faith in. As for the Guyana Police Force, it has become a political floor cloth. When President Jagdeo stated that the private media was the new opposition in Guyana, the analyst could only have put one interpretation and it called for one interpretation only – the private media was the only source of exposure of his government.
I come to the main argument in this column here. If you ask the average citizen of the world who is Serena Williams, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Silvio Berlusconi, David Beckham, Jay Leno and other celebrities, they will quickly identify them. But ask them if they ever heard about Rupert Murdoch and they will pause and say no. But since 1975, Murdoch has been the “King of Britain” the reason being his ownership of the two fastest selling tabloids – the Sun and the News of the World (NOTW) – the latter being the world’s largest circulating newspaper in the English language, plus another two more that are widely read.
Because of his ownership of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal in the US, he is also a formidable shaper of American politics.
Murdoch can get you to be the Prime Minister of the UK if he wants to. He can defeat you as he did in what is now known in Britain as the famous headline when in the Sun, it put a front page photo of the Labour leader during the election with the words; “If Neil Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn off the lights?” Among political observers, that was the deciding factor in Kinnock’s defeat. From Thatcher in the seventies to the present British PM, Murdoch has had them begging for his presence. Rupert Murdoch is the reincarnation of Niccolo Machiavelli. He is open about his conceptualization of life and how the means should justify the end. For Murdoch, like Machiavelli, life has no virtues and success in the world rests on brutal methods and self-interest, not sentiments.
Murdoch was brazen enough to publicly state that he wanted the war in Iraq because it would lower oil prices. He controls the British establishment from Prime Ministers to civil servants to Scotland Yard.
In 2009, the independent paper, the Guardian, reported that NOTW was illegally hacking into the cell phones of some of Britain’s famous and powerful citizens. The Cabinet, Press Complaints Commission and Scotland Yard refused to listen. Scotland Yard investigated and found nothing. NOTW’s editor became the Prime Minister’s Director of Communication.
From 2009, the Guardian carried on a crusade of relentless journalistic investigation against Murdoch’s powerful newspaper. Last week, the British society decided to act when the Guardian revealed that Murdoch’s omnipotent newspaper hacked into the phones of over 4,000 citizens and had officers of Scotland Yard on their payroll.
Britain is now in the throes of its biggest scandal since the John Profumo Affair in the sixties.
The bigwigs, including the most powerful political figures, are beginning to dump their most powerful benefactor. The “King of Britain” is without his clothes. His empire is about to fall.
NOTW closed last Sunday, but it is too late to stop a judicial inquiry into the Murdoch empire.
Thanks to the Guardian, the press’s most historical figure of infamy is about to fall. The fallout may reach his American kingdom. The media remains civilization’s best friend.

Latest News

How a newspaper humbled Machiavelli’s reincarnation

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Two more young cricketers benefit from Project “Cricket Gear for...

NSC receives sports uniforms from D8Door &...

Daram Seeram slams 99 not out for Hibernia...

Guyana renews bid to host 2026 CARIFTA Games

Adams, Ramsammy, Williams register impressive...

AAG names record-breaking 42 athletes for 2025...

Features/Columnists

Storms hovering over the Caribbean

The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation

The not invisible US hand

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

How a newspaper humbled Machiavelli’s reincarnation

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]