James Murdoch Says He Left Fox News Because it Legitimizes Disinformation & Obscures Facts

James Murdoch is growing a conscience and apparently wants to undo some of the damage that Fox News has done to journalism. Nice. A bit late, but nice.

James Murdoch, the son of the Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch, told the New York Times last week that he left his father's media organization because it obscures facts and legitimizes disinformation.

New York Times: “I reached the conclusion that you can venerate a contest of ideas, if you will, and we all do and that’s important,” he told me. “But it shouldn’t be in a way that hides agendas. A contest of ideas shouldn’t be used to legitimize disinformation. And I think it’s often taken advantage of. And I think at great news organizations, the mission really should be to introduce fact to disperse doubt — not to sow doubt, to obscure fact, if you will."

It's an interesting interview and Maureen Dowd of the Times asked the question that James has yet to fully answer; why didn't he stay on the board of Fox and change the organization from within, make it something that he could be proud of.

New York Times: “I think there’s only so much you can do if you’re not an executive, you’re on the board, you’re quite removed from a lot of the day-to-day decisions, obviously,” he said. “And if you’re uncomfortable with those decisions, you have to take stock of whether or not you want to be associated and can you change it or not. I decided that I could be much more effective outside.”

So, James left Fox in July "due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company's news outlets and certain other strategic decisions." He said that he and his wife were in the process of establishing a foundation called Quadrivium, that would support democracy, voter participation, and climate-change ventures.

#news

By: Don Lam & Curated Content