Not a surprise. Look at what Murdoch did to the Times (London). It has become a tabloid, literally and metaphorically. Not to mention how he lowers the tone wherever he enters a media market: the Sun in England with its tits on page 3 turned the working-class newspapers into total trash; Fox News here has had similar effects on the other TV news oferings, pathetic though they already were.
Dumbing down, appealing to the lowest common denominator, has been Murdoch's consistent strategy, hence his appellation, the Dirty Digger. It makes money and also makes it easier to get his way with politicians - since a dumb electorate is more likely to listen to his outlets' trash talk than to their leaders and their own interests.
If a high-quality, independent fourth estate is a required condition for democracy - and it surely is - then Murdoch proves that unfettered capitalism and democracy are not compatible in some wished-for steady-state equilibrium.
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