The world had a look. It was covered by everybody and their brother. Even Fox News turned on the feed. And in the end there were no revelations, no bombshell disclosures, surpluses of stammering, flashes of defiance but mostly a sad disconnect. Disconnect of arrogance, absolute power feigning impunity, an inability to acknowledge or even truly comprehend the extent of damage they have caused to countless people and institutions over such a long period of time.
The elder Murdoch, at 81 has become a figurehead - claiming unawareness of what either the right or left hand are doing and truly caring less. The proclamations of humility and contrition rang as hollow as a cardboard tube because he is convinced beyond any measure of doubt that he is innocent. The Murdoch Style is free of any fault, absolute in its righteous quest for domination in the marketplace.
The younger Murdoch is a poorly assembled clone, cast in the ill-conceived role of heir. Stumbling over himself while feigning an air of well-rehearsed assurance. It didn't wash.
It was, for all intents and purposes, sad to watch. A poor man's Nuremberg Trial. With proclamations of victimhood and refusals to accept responsibility. By pointing fingers and blaming the oversights of others for this terrible mess they are in. That they knew nothing.
And it went that way for the better part of 3 hours. Broken up only by an attempted pie toss. A maladroit attempt at cashing in on fame by one Johnnie Marbles that wound up becoming the big distraction and ultimately has become the headline for the day. The real issues getting buried somewhere in the back. But maybe that was the intention. As we all know, The Murdoch Style of Journalism has been to deflect from real issues by glorifying insignificant ones. Replacing useful information for trivia. So perhaps, just perhaps it was an orchestrated stratagem, guaranteed to deflect from the severity of the moment. We'll never know for sure.
No doubt you have all been glued to your TV sets and computers all day, watching this sideshow unfold. But for those of you who may have missed it, didn't Tivo it, and don't want to hear soundbites, here is the entire testimony as it was broadcast by LBC in London. It's broken up over two players, each about an hour in length.
And as a supplement, there is also the testimony of Rebekah Brooks some ten minutes later. Not all that much different than the Murdochs claims of innocence and ignorance, but without the pie. Her humility and contrition were strangely missing as evidence continues to pile up against her.
So, here is the complete testimony of Rebekah Brooks, also as it was broadcast by LBC.
Interesting day for a story that has no end in sight.
And next?
