Seven years ago, Brave New Films and I exposed Rupert Murdoch's top down journalism at FOX News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know. As recent news makes clear, Murdoch only has continued to lead a legacy of corrupting journalism and harming the public interest. The latest information released reveals how widespread internal knowledge and support was around wiretapping practices. We've learned that the Murdochs lied before parliament, and this story is far from over.
In the wake of Murdoch's NewsCorp scandal, it is more pertinent than ever to revisit Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism and work to restore integrity in journalism. As we've seen in the last seven years, Murdoch's empire won't stop their corruption without the eyes of the world demanding they be held accountable.
In order to celebrate the anniversary of Outfoxed, I thought it would be most fitting to host an anniversary event that features clips from Outfoxed, as well as timely commentary from notable media and public figures.
Gathering some of the brightest minds out there, the event included Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks; former MSNBC host), Janeane Garofalo (Actor/Comedian), Katrina vanden Heuvel (The Nation), Eli Pariser (MoveOn.org), James Rucker (ColorofChange.org), Ilyse Hogue (Media Matters) and Ellen Brodsky (News Hounds). I also answered live and previously submitted questions from the audience.
The current Murdoch investigation continues to unveil the criminality, corruption, distortion and overall unethical behavior woven through the NewsCorp fabric. Seeing that Brave New Films has thoroughly examined how NewsCorp has long blurred the line between corporate interests and journalistic integrity, the Outfoxed 7th anniversary event was a great opportunity to inform and inspire people across the spectrum.
Janeane Garofalo shared her memories of appearing on Fox News, and the form of bullying they would regular engage in with their progressive guests. Her thoughts follow a montage of the "shut up" O'Reilly clips -- which are, as you might guess, where he tells his guests to "Shut Up."
Katrina vanden Heuvel weighed in on her thoughts around the need for journalistic integrity. After watching a series of Fox clips where the anchors cite "some people say," as a way to present unjournalistic perspectives, Katrina reminds us of the importance of having media by the people, for the people.
Cenk Uygur provides additional detailed analysis on how Fox News refuses to uphold any journalistic integrity. His thoughts are shared after watching one of the most important clips from Outfoxed, a segment where we expose internal Fox News memos which outline political messaging strategies the network is told to follow throughout a given news day.
In addition to the above great clips, James Rucker spoke on the history of Fox News attacking African Americans. Ilyse Hogue spoke about the role of Outfoxed in laying the groundwork for the present look into News Corp practices. Eli Pariser additionally speaks to how Outfoxed is influencing the present debate. And Ellen Brodsky weighs in on the need that remains for Fox News to continue to be monitored.
As more revelations start to come out about how widespread wiretapping practices have been at News Corp, we need to continue rigorous examination into where journalistic standards have not been upheld, and what can be done to stop News Corp's spread of ethicless action.
If you'd like to get more information on Fox News, check out Outfoxed: Special Edition FOX Attacks DVD.
The work continues with all of us. We at Brave New Films look forward to watching as Fox News and News Corp continue to be exposed, and as integrity in journalism can be restored.