Murdoch's Grand Wishes for Net Control CNet: Media chief decries Net's moral fiber. The president of media giant News Corp. warns that the Internet has become a "moral-free zone," with the medium's future threatened by pornography, spam and rampant piracy. The word "hypocrite" is grossly insufficient to describe Peter Chernin and his corporate master, Rupert Murdoch, but it'll have to do for now. News Corp. has done more to bring down the level of journalism and entertainment than perhaps any other organization on the planet. These are the people responsible for much of the tabloidization of the press. These are the owners of the putrid Fox TV network. News Corp. is a member in good standing of the entertainment and information cartel that is trying to capture absolute control of all digital information. It is attacking the users -- the customers -- of technology and entertainment, in a profound and damaging way. If you believe the garbage you see on the Fox network, and in Rupert Murdoch's right-wing tabloids (which play up sex when it sells; note the bare-breasted women in its British newspapers), then you'll believe anything. If you have an ounce of independence of thought, you will find remarks like Chernin's some of the most dangerous rhetoric yet. ( Posted by Dan Gillmor, 08/21/2002 01:36 PM PDT