Steve Jobs: Fox News 'A Destructive Force In Our Society'

Steve Jobs told Rupert Murdoch that Fox News was a "destructive force in our society," according to the blockbuster biography of the late Apple CEO.

Poynter was the first to uncover Jobs' blunt words about the network in Walter Isaacson's new book. Isaacson writes that, after speaking at a News Corp. retreat, Jobs unloaded on Murdoch:

"You're blowing it with Fox News," Jobs told him over dinner. "The axis today is not liberal and conservative, the axis is constructive-destructive, and you've cast your lot with the destructive people. Fox has become an incredibly destructive force in our society. You can be better, and this is going to be your legacy if you're not careful." Jobs said he thought Murdoch did not really like how far Fox had gone. "Rupert's a builder, not a tearer-downer," he said. "I've had some meetings with James, and I think he agrees with me. I can just tell."

This was part of Jobs' apparent love of tough talk with other powerful people. He also told President Obama that his economic policies would rob him of a second term.

Nevertheless, Jobs was a close collaborator with Murdoch, working with him on the mogul's iPad newspaper The Daily.

To read about what Jobs thought of the New York Times, click here.

Other nuggets from the book:

Comments

[skatoolaki]

09:56 AM on 11/01/2011

We are much "less" as a race and a world without Steve Jobs in it.

[Owlwriter16]

01:31 AM on 10/29/2011

Nice to learn Steve Jobs told Murdoch what a destrucive force his brand of 'fair and balanced' media had become in this country. Too bad few others do.

[leajazz]

05:11 PM on 10/30/2011

fave!

[Theatrixnyc]

09:29 PM on 10/28/2011

Fox News, Destructive To Our Society? What? And I'm just now hearing this? ;-D

[nbk4real]

08:07 AM on 10/28/2011

it sure does not take Jobs intelligence to understand what a terrible disservice faux noise has done to the the United States. Some have even lost their lives due to comments from billo the clown and the beckster...non stop lies, spin and misinformation all to incite the low information sheeple that buy into that garbage just to prop up their failed and corrupt ideology...gop paid for lies, from multi-national corporations, millionaires and billionaires...faux noise represents the 1%, no one else and nothing else but their agenda.

[HopeisEternal]

05:38 AM on 10/28/2011

I think Jobs got this (constructive vs. destructive)right. And it looks like Occupy Wall Street process agrees with this concept. Americans have for too long been divided by their leaders into two political camps- one which embraces very destructive policies which work against 99% of Americans and the other completely undisciplined and always in defense mode against the aggressive tactics of their counterparts. The destructive side is smart; it has wealthy allies who contribute to their campaigns and it has ways to control its message to the Americans who don't pay much attention to the issues. They do this with talk radio and FOX, It's truly amazing to see how brainwashed so many Americans are who believe their distortions and outright lies. Ordinary Americans had better wake up- the destructive forces are not on their side and anything they try to do in the way of policy is going to hurt them.

[General Public]

01:04 AM on 10/28/2011

Fox News is destructive, but Steve Jobs was mistaken to think that Rupert Murdoch agrees with him. Rupert Murdoch doesn't even speak English, he just mumbles incoherently. Steve Jobs was mistaking Rupert Murdoch's incoherent mumble of confusion for an incoherent mumble of agreement.

[Juliawerck]

12:54 AM on 10/28/2011

Fox news is the same as the GOP "debates" they are all a pagaent wearing a dumb sash.

[advchaser]

05:33 AM on 10/28/2011

... and Obama is wearing a dummer sash. He had control of both houses and has failed! He said if he couldn't turn the economy around he should serve one and out. I want to hold him to those words!

[Benjamin Sergio Zeledn]

11:26 AM on 10/28/2011

Remember, you never cut a coach a year after taking a crappy team. You give them time. I know...this society is all about instant gratification, but the economy doesn't work like that. Crashes are not instant and fixing them are even more time consuming. You have to allow time for this to heal and just voting a new guy in every four years when the federal reserve is independent of government and the economic issues in this country are complex, coming from various sources, and deeply cut into our nation (housing, insurance, etc.) is just not going to work in the long run. We need a strategy for the future and outside of Huntsman (who has a snowball chance of even getting elected)...no one against Obama is impressive or really has shown me the capability of doing better. Hold him to his words, but just remember for all the fire in them, some thing are just too hard to control.

[Juliawerck]

08:39 PM on 10/28/2011

Just stating facts that there have not been any Republiclown DEBATES only pageants with each of them wearing a DUMB SASH.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

10:44 PM on 10/27/2011

Steve likes Rupert? Did he "Look em in the eye? How Bush 2 like!

[stupid humans]

10:24 AM on 11/12/2011

if steve looked you in the eye ..you'd wither.

[jsim6974]

08:43 PM on 10/27/2011

If there were no Fox News....? No Iraq War, No Bush, No trillions in debt,etc...

[samuraifrog37]

11:31 PM on 10/27/2011

Fox perpetuates these issues but does not create them. If there was no Fox it's working agenda would come from elsewhere.

[MarsAmbassador]

04:10 PM on 10/29/2011

It creates temporary support for them, which is required for the paid politicians to push the issue through.

[Carly Lee]

09:02 PM on 10/27/2011

wow...

[kstatements]

07:45 AM on 10/28/2011

oh adv, you have said far worse.......your false outrage is tangible

[velvetcookie]

07:00 PM on 10/27/2011

He gave us an Iphone and an Ipad on a plate and now Murdoch? Gee that guy was a saint. St. Peter should start to worry for his job and avoid taking the elevator with him.

[samuraifrog37]

11:37 PM on 10/27/2011

"on a plate". What does that mean? Saint? hardly. Now their selling us iPhone # 2,3,4,...iPad #2...etc. consume, consume, consume....can't last....and it won't !!

[Balance4good]

06:12 PM on 10/27/2011

Some thoughts about Jobs' surprising choices for his cancer treatment, as well as his unique lifestyle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkUVPlr-ec8

[CynAnne]

04:39 PM on 10/27/2011

Regarding the sheer volume of falsehoods and yellow-rag rhetoric that can be found regularly at Cluster-Fo­­x, we'll just paraphrase Wilde: "To make one mistake is unfortunat­­­e...to make dozens sounds like ill-willed stupidity."

[CainStain]

05:01 PM on 10/27/2011

Did I miss some thing? I get my news from the sponsor breaks on FOX.

DVR on fast forward when the pundits appear & start the oil, gas, & coal promotion segments. Otherwise known as Fair & Balanced coverage for the EPA.

Factor viewers, pay close attention to where the spin stops........ According to Bill, at the end of his program. He repeats it daily with a spin of his pen / magic fact wand?

It must be true..........

[Danl 86]

02:44 PM on 10/27/2011

The hacker group, Anonymous, has just decided to "take down" Fox News. This is going to be fun!

[luckylindee]

02:48 PM on 10/27/2011

Trick or treat!
Both!

[edlindaspy]

04:01 PM on 10/27/2011

Yes, I read that ,, they should take down Rush Limbaugh too ....

http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/anonymous-fox-news-1278/