Murdoch's Australian and the Shaping of the Nation by Robert Manne - Article Example

Critique of а Quarterly Essаy Critical Review of “Murdoch’s Australian and the shaping of the Nation” by Robert Manne INTRODUCTION This critique examines the article “Murdoch’s Australian and the shaping of the Nation” by Robert Manne. In the article, Robert Manne discusses a global media business empire – spanning News of the World in UK; the Australian in Australia; and Fox News in the Unites States – on the verge of collapse particularly triggered by the British public’s revulsion after discovering through investigative reporting in the Guardian tabloid that reporters in Murdoch’s News of the World hacked into the mobile phone of a teenage girl aged thirteen who had been kidnapped and who was later found murdered (Manne, 2011 p2).  Robert endevours to show that the collapse of Ruppert Murdoch’s Media Empire is eminent and started with a “small event” of hacking into a teenage girl’s mobile phone. Robert asserts that this was not a one-time event! – Reporters in News of the World tabloid had the habit of hacking into phones (Goldsworthy, 2013 p1). SUMMARY In this section, the author summarizes the article “Murdoch’s Australian and the Shaping of the Nation”. In the article’s introduction, Robert declares that by the time he was completing the article, Murdoch’s global media business was “badly weakened” because of what he terms “a small event”, summarized here below as the author’s main points. The British public learnt through investigative reporting in the Guardian that phone hacking was a common practice in the Ruppert Murdoch’s News of the World. This discovery triggered the resignation of Les Hinton as the chairman of News International; while Rebekah Brooks, who headed the Murdoch’s newspaper section in UK, and Andy Coulson, previously an editor in News of the World, were arrested (Manne, 2011 p3). Robert Manne asserts that conspiracies start unraveling when “conspirators turn against each other” and goes on to give these examples: the chairman of News International, James Murdoch assured a House of Commons committee before which he gave evidence that he thought only one journalist was involved in phone hacking (Manne, 2011 p2). However, Tony Crone and Colin Myler, two disgraced employees of News International disagreed with James claiming they had revealed to him an e-mail message depicting a “widespread practice of hacking in News of the World” (p4). This meant that unless James Murdoch successfully disproves their allegation, there will be serious repercussions on him. Furthermore, if it can be proved that Rupert Murdoch was informed about the phone hacking by his son James, then his (Rupert’s) credibility would be seriously damaged to an extent that it would not be easy to recover (Levine, 1996). This is especially so notwithstanding the fact that Rupert Murdoch is “one of the most powerful people in the English-speaking democracies” as noted by Manne (2011). Manne (2011) claims that Murdoch’s genius is inspired by two desires: “the desire for money and thirst for power”. He goes ahead to give the example of Murdoch’s Fox News media in the United States as one of his “most profitable businesses” commanding “great influence” in the US’ political landscape and having injected a poison of “strident populist conservatism” into the American culture of politics (p4). Manne (2011) further intimates that the power of Murdoch’s newspaper in Britain has instilled fear into “prime ministers and leaders of Opposition” with the intention of advancing his commercial interests. He further contends that Murdoch has learnt to use 70% of his “national and statewide press” to ensure that his “right-wing political philosophy” dominates within Australia’s politics. In view of this, Goldsworthy (2013) confirms that Murdoch’s influence seems to have “presented a major problem for the democratic cultures of three Anglophone countries”. The current author however, agrees that Murdoch’s power has been diminished – irrespective of whether temporary or permanently, thus creating a most welcome and favourable climate to evaluate his “political influence” and the “character of his most important political asset” in Australia – the Australian. This argument probably prompted Robert Manne to write the article under criticism for his concern of the Australian’s role over “the question of action on climate change”; convinced that this newspaper played a very vital role to unravel the Rudd government; certain that the newspaper intended to see to Gillard government’s end and to “the destruction of the Labor-Greens alliance” (Beres, 2006). In Robert’s view, the Australian is the “most important newspaper” in Australia, and continues to maintain that “it is ideological and committed to enhancing the causes of neo-conservatism in foreign policy and neo-liberalism in economics; has style and tone unlike any other newspapers; and ruthlessly pursues its opponents’ stand points” (Kent, 2006). In line with arguments by Rudd (2010), the newspaper advocates for market fundamentalism, little action on climate change, federal intervention in internal affairs, “uncritical support for American alliance and for Israel”. Further still, the newspaper is opposed to “political correctness” and “moral relativism”, exhibits ‘hatred’ for “the Left” – particularly, the Greens – and is contemptuous to its two rivals, Fairfax and ABC (Kimball, 1998). In the views of Langer (1996), the Australian is a “remorseless campaigning paper” which is “unusually self-referential and boastful”, extravagantly praises itself, and “explodes with indignation and rage when criticised”, and bears “many grudges”. Moreover, the newspaper embodies what Coeyman (1996) calls “an intensely aggressive culture”, citing close observers who say the newspaper is not only bullying but also swaggering and macho. As illustrated in the newspaper, the editorial spirit is “omnipresent” and the atmosphere inside the paper is that of a cult, asserted by Michael (1984). Although this paper is the only “genuinely national general newspaper” straddling across ‘state, territory, capital cities, regional towns and rural areas’, its national circulation comes third after Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun. Surprisingly, the paper influences the readership of these two tabloids, and is considered the only newspaper that is read by the “political class” – politicians, public servants, business people and “politically engaged citizens” (Hamilton, 2013). Robert Manne concludes his article by pointing out that when the Australian abdicates its role of “reporter\analyst” to engage in state and federal politics, the newspaper’s editorship under Chris Mitchell has become not only overbearing but needs to be critically analysed. For this reason, he suggests a “series of case studies” on the paper since it has become a very “important political force” in Australia that can not be ignored. ARGUMENTS The present section examines the author’s arguments and suggests what the arguments mean to the Australian population in particular and to the global community in general. Also, the author’s arguments are contrasted with the counterarguments from the general public and professional fields. The author of this essay concurs with Robert Manne that phone-hacking scandal by News of the World that cause a lot of consternation to Britons is absolutely unacceptable for a media house to employ such unethical means of doing its business (Pearson, 2000). While it is true that Murdoch’s media empire has assumed tremendous power and influence in the three Anglophone democracies especially in Australia which is Murdoch’s country of birth as brilliantly explained by Robert Manne, evidence has it that Murdoch’s media empire is not unlike other media houses because all of them have developed into powerful political and socio-economic tools that are employed by present-day governments and multinationals alike in advancing their ideologies (Lois, 1984). Additionally, when Robert says Murdoch’s genius is inspired by ‘desire for money’ and ‘thirst for power’, it is not unlike other global business moguls because a strong financial muscle tends to accumulate ‘power’ and more power tends to make one thirst for more (Robert, 1996). For this reason, Robert is persuaded to consider Murdoch’s drive as a “moralistic issue” – which is surely relative from one person to another – rather than a negative trait (Woll, 2001). After all, it is this drive that inspires Murdoch to guide some of the “most profitable businesses” in US. When Robert Manne conclusively says that the Australian has been abdicating its role of “reporter\analyst” to engage in politics and in the process assuming “power without responsibility”, he is not entirely incorrect. This is because the case studies he suggests would unearth any detriment the newspaper is doing to the overall good of the country. EVALUATION This section evaluates the article by Robert Manne. Firstly, Robert’s arguments seem to be very unforgiving towards Murdoch’s media business conglomerate. In his essay, the boundary between Murdoch’s business entity and Murdoch’s personal entity is very blurred. Furthermore, Robert has very many unkind words to Murdoch’s media conglomerate. Notwithstanding the above point, Robert’s essay is clearly instructive in warning the global community to reflect deeply on the missions and visions of diverse media houses. For instance, when a newspaper like the Australian abdicates its major role of “reporter\analyst” and instead engages politics, the paper tends to accumulate ‘tremendous influences’ in the welfare of a country and usually strays away from its main vision of fortifying a nation (Cook, 1989); and instead assumes “power without responsibility” to the detriment of a country’s political, social and economic wellbeing (Mark, 1996). It is evident that Robert’s essay is well written and easy to read, and has quoted sufficient works and witnesses to come to his decision of writing the article. However, the counterarguments in the Arguments Section of this essay need to be considered when undertaking further studies on Murdoch’s media empire. CONCLUSION This critique has appraised the article “Murdoch’s Australian and the shaping of the Nation” by Robert Manne. The critique has proved that the arguments in the article indicate a lot argumentative writing (Ropers-Huilman, 1998), although with sufficient supporting details; and presence of some prejudice or bias, especially on Murdoch’s personal entity. Even if these points tend to weaken Robert Manne’s arguments, his credibility is clearly enhanced when he recommends further case studies on this media empire. REFERENCES Beres, L. (2006). A Critical Review of Man’s Search for Meaning, Inver Hills College Bowers, J. M. (1989). “Feminist Scholarship and the Field of Musicology: I”. College Music Symposium 29: 81-92. Coeyman, B. (1996). “Applications of Feminist Pedagogy to the College Music Major Curriculum: An Introduction to the Issues”. College Music Symposium 36: 73-90. Cook, S. C. (1989). “Women, Women’s Studies, Music and Musicology: Issues of Pedagogy and Scholarship”. College Music Symposium 29: 93-100. Goldsworthy, A. (2013). ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Sex, Freedom and Misogyny’. Quarterly Essay (QE), 50, pg 1 – 13 Green, L. (1997). Music, Gender, Education. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press. Hamilton, A. (2013). Marring the Cardinal’s image. Quarterly Essay, Vol. 23 No. 19 Kent, B. (2006). ‘Performatives’, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Routledge Kimball, R. (1998). Tenured Radicals. New, York: Harper & Row. Langer, C. (1996). A Feminist Critique. New York: Harper Collins. Levine, L. (1996). The Opening of the American Mind. Boston: Beacon Press. Lois, B. (1984). Women in Modern America: A Brief History. 2nd ed. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Manne, R. (2011). ‘BAD NEWS: Murdoch’s Australian and the Shaping of the Nation’. Quarterly Essay (QE) 43, pg 1 – 5 Mark, M. L. (1996). Contemporary Music Education. 3rd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan. Michael, D. (1984). ‘An Unsuccessful Dig’. The Philosophical Quarterly, 34; 2, pp. 194-226. Pearson, S (2000) A Critical Review of Three Articles on Music and Feminist Pedagogy, Critical Review, Advanced Expository Writing, University of Minnesota Robert, F. (1996). ‘Wittgenstein’s Critique of Philosophy’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 34-58. Ropers-Huilman, B. (1998). Feminist Teaching in Theory and Practice. New York: Teachers College Press. Rudd, K. (2010). Power Trip: The Political Journey of Kevin Rudd, Quarterly Essay 38, Black Inc Books. Woll, P. (2001). Review of “Condom use will increase the spread of AIDS”, Critical Review. Advanced Expository Writing, University of Minnesota Read More