Call for Govt probe into Murdoch's NZ operations

By Staff at ONE News

An American filmmaker and political activist has called on the Government to hold an inquiry into Rupert Murdoch's New Zealand operations, following a scathing report on the media mogul.

Murdoch was earlier this week declared unfit to run a major corporation by a British select committee investigating phone hacking at News Corp's United Kingdom newspaper arm.

A US senate committee is looking to launch its own investigation into illegal practices and influence peddling, while Australia's media regulator said it was "digesting the report".

Now the maker of Outfoxed, a documentary on Murdoch's controversial Fox news channel, says New Zealand should also be considering an inquiry.

In New Zealand, News Corporation owns 44% of Sky TV and Dunedin's Natural History New Zealand.

"Media is very critically important," Robert Greenwald told TV ONE's Close Up programme.

"It's how people get their information, it's how they get their news, and there should be an investigation of that in New Zealand and an investigation asking those questions - who's making the decisions about what we're seeing on the news?"

Greenwald said while there had been no evidence of phone hacking in New Zealand, Murdoch's political reach is reason enough for a probe.

"This is a company that functions and uses its media to politically bully the leaders of different countries, whoever is in control, whatever political party."

"They use their newspapers, they use their televisions, they threaten elected officials, they gain access. We're seeing all of this come out now, and it's for certain going on in your country as well as other countries, as we're beginning to see now."

"The New Zealand Parliament and every Parliament absolutely must hold him and his organisation to a standard."

Close Up asked Sky TV what it thought of Greenwald's suggestion that Murdoch's New Zealand operations need to be investigated.

The company said in a statement they run a raft of different news programmes on their platform and authorities like the Commerce Commission keep a weather eye on the industry.

Watch TV NZ's video at ONE News.