 |
| Rupert Murdoch |
Three of the architects of Fox Broadcasting and Fox TV have issued a public apology for their roles in unknowingly creating the “Fox disinformation machine.”
Bill Reyner, who was outside counsel; Preston Padden, DC lobbyist; and Ken Solomon, EVP-network distribution; worked with Rupert Murdoch during the 1990s to create the fourth TV network.
They admired Murdoch and believed the creation of a fourth competitive force in broadcast television was in the public interest, according to their blog of July 12.
The trio never envisioned what Fox would become.
They wrote: “In our opinion, the Fox News Channel has had many negative impacts on our society. Arguably the worst has been Fox’s role in promoting Trump’s “Big Lie” about alleged widespread fraud in the 2020 election and, in our opinion, Fox’s role in contributing to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that undermined our democracy. In fact, the connection between Fox and the January 6 attack is so strong that multiple Jan 6 defendants have pleaded not guilty arguing they were suffering from “Foxitis”—a disease caused by watching false news on Fox!
The writers call out Murdoch for letting the lies and disinformation run amok on Fox.
Padden and Murdoch traded emails during 2020 and 2021.
“Murdoch made it very clear to Preston that he understood that the 2020 election had not been stolen. Nonetheless, during the same time period, Fox continued to perpetuate the 'Big Lie' and promote the Jan 6 'Stop the Steal' rally in DC,” they wrote.
Reyner, Padden and Solomon claim that many ofter people who worked to create Fox “share our resentment that the reputation of the Fox brand we helped to build has been ruined by false news.”
They should come forward.
Adman Burrell drops single... Tom Burrell, who established Burrell Communications Group in 1971, has released “Deep,” a spoken word composition available on Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.
Deep is a love song dedicated to his wife, Madeline, expressing how “deep” she is. It also is a tribute to Black women.
“In a world with so much idle chatter about things that don’t much matter you magically appear, filling empty space with wisdom, substance, grace and mucho mas. Baby, you’ve got gravitas. You’re the company I want to keep, because you’re deep.”
“Deep like MLK, Marvin Gaye, Lady Day, Janelle Monae… deep like Barry tones, James Earl Jones. The profound sound that is Nina Simone’s, Deep like Invisible Man, Trouble Man, I Am A Man, Nothing But A Man.”
Joe Bruce performed Burrell’s prior single, “Hate Power.”
Burrell, who led the Chicago-based transcultural shop through 2004, is the author of “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority.”
A huge PR opportunity looms for a firm that is willing to take some heat by promoting Immigration & Customs Enforcement... Disgraced New York mayor Eric Adams couldn't wait to make another pilgrimage to Israel to stick it to his successor Zohran Mamdani... Hats off to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett for writing his always engaging and witty annual reports over the years.
The ADL plans a Mamdani Monitor to track down any whiff of antisemitism from the policies and appointments made by his administration. It should have given him a chance to live up to Election Night promise... Brendan Carr, Alden Global Capital, Alphabet, Meta and Elon Musk make Reporters Without Borders' roster of Press Freedom Predators.
Andrew Cuomo's political career is not dead yet... Steve Bannon says Republicans should learn from Zohran Mamdani and his Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America, instead of mocking them... Internet advertising model is on the way out, says Tim Berners-Lee... Gannet rebrands as USA Today Inc. What about its other 200 papers?
Thomas Jefferson warned about the dangers of an imperial president who would deny an election loss in a bid to cling to power. Sound familiar?... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says reporters don't need his permisson to take a photo of the Pentagon's 9/11 memorial, as long as they are not on the job... Kirkland and Ellison lawyers need some negotiating tips. 
Shareholder activitism is poised to hit an all-time high for 2025... Kamala Harris’ “107 Days” reads like an autospsy of her failed presidential run. Democrats need to look forward, not backward... The Reagan Foundation dishonored The Gipper by providing PR cover to tariff-loving Trump.
