Murdoch and Murdoch Flak Confused About Racism, Truth

Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet at 2:20 PM on November 11, 2009.

Last week, Rupert Murdoch assured us that race-bating is a News Corps priority, when he said Fox host Glenn Beck was right to call President Obama a racist (in the same interview, Murdoch also declared war on Google, so it was great fun all around). Beck's statement, which has cost the talk show host 80 advertisers, was no less controversial when parroted by his boss. So now some flak has to spin Murdoch's remarks. Their strategy? Claiming Murdoch didn't say what he said.

 Here's what Murdoch said in the interview:

On the racist thing, that caused a [unintelligible]. But [Obama] did make a very racist comment, about, you know, blacks and whites and so on, and which he said in his campaign he would be completely above. And, you know, that was something which perhaps shouldn't have been said about the president, but if you actually assess what he was talking about, he was right.

And here's what News Corp. spokesperson Gary Ginsberg told Politico:  “He does not at all, for a minute, think the president is a racist,” Ginsberg said. 

Except for that minute when he said the President was racist. 

What must it be like to do spin for News Corps? 

Here's a Media Matters petition asking Rupert Murdoch to apologize for his statement, as opposed to having P.R. lackeys say he doesn't believe things he says in interviews.

Tagged as: race, obama, glenn beck, murdoch