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| Al Gore hits out at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp |
| 2011-05-19 |
| Former US vice-president says media giant is forcing his liberal Current TV service off air in Italy for hiring Keith Olbermann Former US vice-president Al Gore has hit out at Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, accusing it of "an abuse of power" by forcing his liberal TV station off air in Italy because it did not fit in with the media giant's "ideological agenda". In an interview with the Guardian, Gore said the Current TV news and documentary channel was told unexpectedly three weeks ago that it could no longer be carried by Sky Italia because of its decision to hire a US left-leaning commentator often critical of Murdoch's company. He added that the decision reflected how News Corporation operated worldwide. "News Corporation is an international conglomerate with an ideological agenda. It seeks political power in every nation they operate. They wield that power to shut down voices that disagree with the agenda of Rupert Murdoch," Gore said. The decision, he added, was "a complete shock" but Current TV executives were told "off the record that the decision was taken on News Corp instructions from New York". The primary reason, he said, was "because Current is launching Keith Olbermann next month". Olbermann – who styles himself as a leftwing alternative to the rightwing shock jock journalism of Fox News – worked at rival cable news network MSNBC until he left abruptly in January. This came after he was briefly suspended by MSNBC in November for making donations to three Democratic candidates in the midterm elections without seeking prior approval, in breach of company rules. "Olbermann has often been critical of News Corporation," Gore added. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #3 Maybe the clowns that told you it was Murdoch just didn't have the guts to tell you the truth, Al - NOBODY WANTS TO WATCH YOUR STUPID "NETWORK." |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2011-05-19 19:08 |
| #2 Leave Murdoch alone and go back to hawking your worthless discredited global warming snake oil. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2011-05-19 16:14 |
| #1 Haven't heard much out of the crazed sex poodle for a while. I think he spent last winter on his home world of Hoth. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-05-19 15:18 |