Murdoch speech: attack or reconstitution

A SYTYCB entry

While the message is out that Elisabeth Murdoch, second born to renowned media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has presented herself as possessing a corporate philosophy straying from her father’s, it may still be premature to allude to her “attacking” her family’s corporate model.

Presenting the opening address to the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture, Ms. Murdoch began her speech by referencing the abysmal lack of previous female speakers to the event. This, on top of Elisabeth being one of the few women in corporate America given a public platform, opened my heart and mind just a smidgeon as to what was to follow. Elisabeth went forward to express her conflict of belief in a solely profit-motivated business model for the television industry. This sentiment, though morally minded, ended up feeling supererogatory toward the final stages of the speech; granted maybe that is just me being a corporate skeptic.

While Murdoch’s sentiments against a profit-only directive in the industry are progressive, and stand as much of a chance as any to be authentic, it should still be understood that News Corp has undergone considerable scrutiny within the past few years and may also be employing the application of a new face to the company alongside expressing a more “liberally-minded” approach. Regardless as to whether Elisabeth is truly “attacking” her father’s business or simply re-shaping the playing field, it would still be a pleasant surprise to find her methodology taking hold as a major tenant of News Corp in coming years. Though to reassert my multinational corporate skepticism, Elisabeth’s speech feels to be a fairly toothless attack, if it even ever was one.