Fox and Private Equity: Perfect Bedmates

Posted by Cliff Schecter, Brave New Films at 7:15 AM on December 27, 2007.

Via Nicole Belle Via Greatscat!, we learn the following:

From Reuters yesterday afternoon:

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp [..] will sell eight U.S. television stations to private equity firm Oak Hill Partners for about $1.1 billion.

I couldn't help but wonder who was buying up TV stations in an election year, so a quick check of Texas billionaire worth approximately $5.46 billion as of 2006.

Bass was born into an extremely wealthy family with an uncle, Sid Richardson, worth $810 million. He and his three brothers Lee, Ed, and Sid Bass all attended Yale University, where they solidified their moneyed and political connections. Ed Bass was a classmate and personal friend of George W. Bush, and the brothers, especially Lee Bass, helped Bush financially both before and throughout his political career.

Ta da, I give you another way in which ultra-rich, private equity profit-gorgers-cum-beneficiaries-of-Bush-tax-policy buy up media organizations from other Bush friends so they can promote Republicans in 2008 (thankfully no Bushes...yet). But Rudy has bought into the oil pipeline down there, and got could he use some good coverage! So let's see what happens....

In any case, if matters like these don't wake us from our collective slumber to fight the consolidation of our media in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy elites, I don't know what will (ps watch the video to learn more about what is at stake)...

Tagged as: kerry, media consolidation, fcc

Cliff Schecter blogs at Brave New Films.