The Daily Beast reports:
FIDDLING WHILE OZ BURNS
Rupert Murdoch’s younger son and his wife issued a rare public rebuke of the family’s media empire and its promotion of climate-change skeptics during Australia’s bushfire crisis.
Lachlan Cartwright
Senior Daily Beast Reporter
In a long-simmering rift between factions of the Murdoch family over climate change, Rupert’s younger son, James, and his activist wife, Kathryn, are attacking the climate denialism promoted by News Corporation... a spokesperson for the couple exclusively told The Daily Beast as wildfires rage in Australia.
“They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary.”
The extraordinary public rebuke from Kathryn and James comes as Australia has been ravaged by the worst fires seen in decades... with an estimated 1 billion animals feared dead...
One longtime News Corp executive, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, described the comments by James... as an intentional attack on Lachlan and Rupert.
A day later, News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt wrote in The Herald Sun:
[Rupert Murdoch] was forced to address the climate issue at News Corp’s annual general meeting in New York in November
“There are no climate-change deniers around, I can assure you,” Murdoch Senior responded while also touting that the company had “reduced our global carbon footprint by 25 percent, six years ahead of schedule.”
Last week, a News Corp staffer based in Australia, Emily Townsend, sent a damning all-staff email...
The email was quickly deleted from News Corp employees’ inboxes.
FIDDLING WHILE OZ BURNS
Rupert Murdoch’s younger son and his wife issued a rare public rebuke of the family’s media empire and its promotion of climate-change skeptics during Australia’s bushfire crisis.
Lachlan Cartwright
Senior Daily Beast Reporter
In a long-simmering rift between factions of the Murdoch family over climate change, Rupert’s younger son, James, and his activist wife, Kathryn, are attacking the climate denialism promoted by News Corporation... a spokesperson for the couple exclusively told The Daily Beast as wildfires rage in Australia.
“They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary.”
The extraordinary public rebuke from Kathryn and James comes as Australia has been ravaged by the worst fires seen in decades... with an estimated 1 billion animals feared dead...
One longtime News Corp executive, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, described the comments by James... as an intentional attack on Lachlan and Rupert.
“They are pissing inside the tent and that’s unusual. It’s evidence of how high tensions are within the family over climate change. The majority of people who work here agree with James. We are hoping this may be the tipping point,” the exec said.
A day later, News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt wrote in The Herald Sun:
“Let’s assume you’re silly enough to think global warming is causing worse bushfires around the world. (In fact a recent NASA study found that the area burned by fire has dropped 24 percent over 18 years.)… True, the world has warmed slightly as it rebounds from the little ice age that stretched from 1300 to around 1870, but can we cool it on this panic? In that time of warming, life expectancy has shot up, world grain crops have set new records, and the death rate from extreme weather has been slashed by 99 percent...”
[Rupert Murdoch] was forced to address the climate issue at News Corp’s annual general meeting in New York in November
“There are no climate-change deniers around, I can assure you,” Murdoch Senior responded while also touting that the company had “reduced our global carbon footprint by 25 percent, six years ahead of schedule.”
Last week, a News Corp staffer based in Australia, Emily Townsend, sent a damning all-staff email...
“I have been severely impacted by the coverage of News Corp publications in relation to the fires, in particular the misinformation campaign that has tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to rather focus on arson (including misrepresenting facts),” she wrote.“I find it unconscionable to continue working for this company, knowing I am contributing to the spread of climate-change denial and lies. The reporting I have witnessed in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, and Herald Sun is not only irresponsible, but dangerous and damaging to our communities and beautiful planet that needs us more than ever to acknowledge the destruction we have caused and start doing something about it.”
The email was quickly deleted from News Corp employees’ inboxes.
